Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. During the 1950s and 1960s, pop music encompassed rock and roll and the youth-oriented styles it influenced. Rock and pop music remained roughly synonymous until the late 1960s, after which pop became associated with music that was more commercial, ephemeral , and accessible.
157-455: Girls Aloud are a British-Irish pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. The line up consisted of members Cheryl , Nadine Coyle , Sarah Harding , Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh . In 2012, the group was named as Britain's biggest selling girl group of the 21st century so far, with over 4.3 million singles sales and 4 million albums sold in
314-473: A chorus that contrasts melodically, rhythmically and harmonically with the verse . The beat and the melodies tend to be simple, with limited harmonic accompaniment. The lyrics of modern pop songs typically focus on simple themes – often love and romantic relationships – although there are notable exceptions. Harmony and chord progressions in pop music are often "that of classical European tonality , only more simple-minded." Clichés include
471-523: A 1GB memory card featuring Girls Aloud content. Girls Aloud appeared in television advertisements for Nintendo DS the following year. The group signed a deal to front a promotional campaign for a new low-calorie KitKat bar called "Senses" in March 2008. Sales increased 6.8% in the United Kingdom. Beginning in 2009, Girls Aloud teamed with Eylure to release five sets of false eyelashes , each set designed by
628-491: A 2004 interview with The Observer , Higgins said, "We don't let them out of the room till they've given every ounce of melodic instinct that they've got in them, [...] at the end, you find they've contributed really well." Neil Tennant noted that Higgins "works you very hard. He's very headmaster-ly." Tennant's partner, Chris Lowe , said Higgins "puts stars by your work, and comments. It's ruthless. It's fantastic!" Norwegian singer Annie said of Higgins, "he's making music all
785-515: A UK number-one single for Sugababes in 2002. Higgins praised Sugababes for the "crucial role" in Xenomania's subsequent success—"To me they represented something superior to what was out there. As a result, the Sugababes undoubtedly brought the best out of us as we always felt under pressure to produce results that would do justice to their voices and overall talent." Xenomania were approached to create
942-460: A basic format (often the verse–chorus structure ), and rhythms or tempos that can be easily danced to. Much of pop music also borrows elements from other styles such as rock, urban , dance , Latin , and country . The terms popular music and pop music are often used interchangeably, although the former more accurately describes all music that is targeted for mass appeal (compare art music ) and includes many disparate styles. Although much of
1099-576: A big range." The varied sound of the production house is influenced by Higgin's own wide tastes growing up. Higgins says, "I discovered punk music, then New Romantic music, then dance music, which got me into the music business professionally." Higgins was a fan of punk rock groups such as the Buzzcocks and the Sex Pistols , as well as more electronic groups such as New Order . Additionally, Higgins "was obsessed with synthesisers [...] Duran Duran and
1256-449: A concert at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, England on 2 July. They also served as a headliner at Brighton Pride on 3 August. On 6 November 2024, Girls Aloud announced ' I'll Stand By You (Sarah's Version)', their first single in 12 years, is due 17 November 2024, featuring newly discovered lead vocals from the late Sarah Harding from the original recording sessions. The release, marking
1413-452: A different member of the band. A range of festival -themed lashes followed in 2010, while limited edition "10th Anniversary" lashes were released in 2012. Similarly, to celebrate their tenth anniversary, each member designed a charm bracelet for Pandora, available as either a complete bracelet or a "starter" bracelet. All five members of the group have been involved in charity work. Girls Aloud's cover of The Pretenders' " I'll Stand by You "
1570-538: A fantastic song and hopefully will raise tons of money for people living in really difficult situations here and in Africa." In March 2009, Cheryl, Kimberley Walsh, and various other celebrities climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Comic Relief. Walsh is also a charity ambassador for Breast Cancer Haven . She helped open a £2.2 million breast cancer centre in 2008 and participated in a "heel-a-thon" in 2009. In February 2011, Cheryl Cole launched her own charitable foundation named
1727-518: A first: it was a reality pop record that didn't make you want to do physical harm to everyone involved in its manufacture". After the success of their first single "Sound of the Underground", Girls Aloud spent five months recording the follow-up single and their debut album. Sound of the Underground was completed in April 2003 and released the following month. The album entered the charts at number two and
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#17328722756891884-472: A four-member girl group called unperfect, releasing their debut single "Gots To Give The Girl" on the following day. However, unperfect did not stay together for very long, with Xenomania moving on to produce a five-piece girl group called CuteBad by 2022. Xenomania worked with American pop singer Britney Spears in 2003 during sessions for her fourth album In the Zone . The song submitted, " Graffiti My Soul ",
2041-564: A great band and they deserve to be centre stage." Chris Martin also said that he is a fan of the group, referring to them as "the ultimate form of life," while Julie Burchill has stated that Girls Aloud are "simply the most perfect pop group since The Monkees ." In addition, Girls Aloud have had their music covered by artists as varied as Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party , and Coldplay, among others. Sarah Harding Pop music Identifying factors of pop music usually include repeated choruses and hooks , short to medium-length songs written in
2198-570: A large English country house located in Kent , where Higgins also lives, and a flat in Shoreditch . They have also been known to write at hotels. The country home formerly belonged to Alice Liddell , the inspiration behind Lewis Carroll 's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland . It was put up for sale in 2015. Of the production group's philosophy and outlook, Higgins says, "What we stand for [...]
2355-399: A light entertainment and easy listening tradition. Pop music is more conservative than other music genres such as folk, blues, country, and tradition. Many pop songs do not contain themes of resistance, opposition, or politics, rather focusing more on love and relationships. Therefore, pop music does not challenge its audiences socially, and does not cause political activism. Frith also said
2512-436: A list of 100 songs that defined the 2000s, while NME included it at number 39. Spinner.com named "Sound of the Underground" the eighth best British song of the 2000s. In 2009, The Times included 2007's Tangled Up at number 62 on a list of the decade's best pop albums. MSN listed 2005's Chemistry as one of the decade's best albums. Girls Aloud were one of the pop acts to achieve continued success and longevity throughout
2669-569: A little bit guilty of having an inner pop star desperate to get out of Xeno". In 2014, Xenomania produced " What Are You Waiting For? " for The Saturdays, the lead single from the group's greatest hits album Finest Selection . Also that year, Xenomania reunited with former Girls Aloud member Nadine Coyle to write and produce material for Coyle's upcoming second studio album. The sessions have so far yielded three singles, " Go to Work ", " Fool for Love " and "All That I Know" as well as an EP, titled Nadine . On 23 January 2019, Xenomania launched
2826-728: A love of everything, of all cultures." Current members of the Xenomania writing and production team are Higgins and Cooper. Long term members Tim Powell and Nick Coler left in 2010. Xenomania also includes a house band who work on potential songs, including Florrie on drums. French remixer Fred Falke also frequently works with Xenomania. Xenomania started a "record label" of the same name in 2008, developing artists and working on material before looking for major label deals. Artists include Alex Gardner , Jessie Malakouti , Mini Viva and Vagabond . Brian Higgins found early success after producing Australian singer Dannii Minogue 's third album, Girl (1997), which gained favourable reviews at
2983-447: A modern-day version of RAK Records . Of Higgins and Xenomania, Girls Aloud's former manager Louis Walsh says, "He just makes great songs for radio. They just jump out at you and stay in your brain." There are wide influences present in their productions, including electronic , glam rock , Motown soul , punk , and more traditional pop music. The name "Xenomania" means, according to Higgins, "the exact opposite of Xenophobia [...]
3140-515: A one-week promotional tour, "Biology" peaked at number twenty-six on the ARIA Singles Chart , failing to break the group in the Australian market. " Whole Lotta History ", the fourth and final single to be taken from Chemistry , was released in March 2006 and charted at number six. In 2005, Girls Aloud filmed a one-off documentary entitled Girls Aloud: Home Truths for ITV2 . The success of
3297-564: A platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry . "Round Round" and "Sound of the Underground" have been called "two huge groundbreaking hits", credited with reshaping British pop music for the 2000s. The Telegraph placed the latter song at number 15 on a list of 100 songs that defined the 2000s, while NME included it at number 39. In 2003, Xenomania wrote and produced " No Good Advice " for Girls Aloud, which reflected Higgins' general mood of failure after
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#17328722756893454-498: A pop song is to them, songs from the 1960s turned out to be the most memorable, significantly more than songs from recent years 2000 to 2015. Before the progressive pop of the late 1960s, performers were typically unable to decide on the artistic content of their music. Assisted by the mid-1960s economic boom, record labels began investing in artists, giving them the freedom to experiment, and offering them limited control over their content and marketing. This situation declined after
3611-455: A separation which was "also, broadly, one between boys and girls, middle-class and working-class." The latter half of the 20th century included a large-scale trend in American culture in which the boundaries between art and pop music were increasingly blurred. Between 1950 and 1970, there was a debate of pop versus art. Since then, certain music publications have embraced the music's legitimacy,
3768-517: A solo artist under the stage name Moonbaby but failed to find success. "That's when we started writing for other people", according to Cooper. "I'd had writer's block for myself, but as soon as it was for somebody else all these songs popped out." Moonbaby's " Here We Go " would later be recorded by both Lene Nystrøm Rasted and Girls Aloud . We first met them [the Sugababes] in October 2001 and we'd spent
3925-575: A sound that blurs the edges between pop and indie. We know that people aren't really interested in pop music as it was." "Sound of the Underground" received critical acclaim, with The Guardian exclaiming it "proved a first: it was a reality pop record that didn't make you want to do physical harm to everyone involved in its manufacture." The song was the Christmas number-one of 2002, selling just over 213,000 copies in its first week of release. The single spent four consecutive weeks at number one, achieving
4082-650: A stellar team of pop producers [...] who seem to have taken the precarious state of Stevens' career as an excuse to let their imaginations run amok". Xenomania continued their work with both Saint Etienne and Sugababes, producing the latter's UK top five single " Red Dress " (from the 2005 album Taller in More Ways ), described by The Observer as "a thumping tour de force from Xenomania [...] Not unexpectedly, it flirts vivaciously with pop songwriting convention, boasting not one but two killer choruses". Xenomania also produced Totally Frank stars Frank 's 2006 debut album;
4239-454: A sub-label of Polydor Records . In October 2006, Girls Aloud released their first greatest hits collection, The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits . It debuted at number one on the UK album chart and went on to sell over one million copies. The album was accompanied by the single " Something Kinda Ooooh ". Girls Aloud became the first British act to reach the top five purely on download sales;
4396-401: A team in the kitchen listening to Radio 1 all day, monitoring what's being played. And he has somebody watching fashion TV all day making notes on what kind of beats they're using." Cooper has mentioned that one of Xenomania's policies is to recruit young people "as Brian and I aren't out in the clubs raving it up anymore". Since their inception, Xenomania has garnered praise from all areas of
4553-416: A tendency to reflect existing trends rather than progressive developments ; and seeks to encourage dancing or uses dance-oriented rhythms. The main medium of pop music is the song, often between two and a half and three and a half minutes in length, generally marked by a consistent and noticeable rhythmic element , a mainstream style and a simple traditional structure . The structure of many popular songs
4710-472: A thriving pop music industry, most of which is devoted to Western-style pop. Japan has for several years produced a greater quantity of music than everywhere except the US. The spread of Western-style pop music has been interpreted variously as representing processes of Americanization, homogenization , modernization, creative appropriation, cultural imperialism , or a more general process of globalization . One of
4867-407: A tiny place, a seed of an idea. Round Round was a beat. Biology, that was just the little piano hook at the beginning, but I remember it probably took two years to work out how to come out of that intro, what it would go into. The Promise, that track was ready to go. Brian was so sure it was going to be a huge hit that we literally planned the day that we would be writing this 'number one'. I think that
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5024-483: A trend referred to as " poptimism ". Throughout its development, pop music has absorbed influences from other genres of popular music. Early pop music drew on traditional pop , an American counterpart to German Schlager and French Chanson , however compared to the pop of European countries, traditional pop originally emphasized influences ranging from Tin Pan Alley songwriting, Broadway theatre , and show tunes . As
5181-442: A universe entirely of their own, standing as one of the greatest pop acts of this century". Cooper later said of Xenomania's relationship with the group, who split up in 2013, "We kind of thought of ourselves as a bit of the band, so the essence of Xeno was Girls Aloud. They were our creative muses and, therefore, a lot of the stuff was written by ourselves. They got more involved in the writing as time went on, but we were probably all
5338-519: A vague sneer. The real phrase is 'producer driven'." The Guardian described the Xenomania audition process as "find keen, dreamy singers they like and nurture them into fresh, distinctive shape over many months, patiently creating a soundtrack specifically tailored to the energy, background and character of the performers". In 2009, Xenomania held a "mini festival" entitled Xenofest in which they showcased their artists to journalists, record label representatives, and PRs . Vagabond were formed through
5495-466: A vocal has gone anywhere near it", Higgins and Cooper will "sketch out" the melody and lyrics. Xenomania may also create multiple melodies over the same backing track and then select the best. Higgins said "we're just not interested in the way other people do things. [...] I've trained not just me but myself, Miranda, Tim, we've trained our minds to think that way". Higgins also insists that artists are involved to an extent. Referring to Girls Aloud in
5652-528: A wide audience [...] since the late 1950s, however, pop has had the special meaning of non-classical mus[ic], usually in the form of songs, performed by such artists as The Beatles , The Rolling Stones , ABBA , etc." Grove Music Online also states that "[...] in the early 1960s, [the term] 'pop music' competed terminologically with beat music [in England], while in the US its coverage overlapped (as it still does) with that of 'rock and roll'". From about 1967,
5809-423: A year-long hiatus to pursue solo projects, and would reunite for a new studio album in 2010 which did not materialise. In September 2009, the group briefly interrupted the hiatus to do two shows supporting Coldplay along with Jay-Z at Wembley Stadium . After three years of hiatus, Girls Aloud reunited for the group's tenth anniversary. On 16 November 2012, the group released their new single, " Something New " –
5966-417: Is "designed to appeal to everyone" but "doesn't come from any particular place or mark off any particular taste". Frith adds that it is "not driven by any significant ambition except profit and commercial reward [...] and, in musical terms, it is essentially conservative". It is, "provided from on high (by record companies, radio programmers, and concert promoters) rather than being made from below (...) Pop
6123-496: Is "somewhere where concentration would be easy [and] no one 'pops' in." Higgins met Miranda Cooper at the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest when she was a backing dancer for Gina G , while Matt Gray had started his musical career in the 1980s, writing music for the Commodore 64 home computer. Nick Coler programmed The KLF 's singles and Tim Powell started out in 1989 "doing hardcore rave stuff". Higgins attempted to launch Cooper as
6280-519: Is a 1960s Spector -influenced number, while "Rolling Back the Rivers in Time" was compared to the works of Burt Bacharach . Girls Aloud's debut single "Sound of the Underground" and Sugababes ' " Round Round ", both of which were produced by Xenomania, have been called "two huge groundbreaking hits". Emily MacKay of NME deemed the two "a whole new kind of pop". The Telegraph placed the song at number 15 on
6437-412: Is about enormous enthusiasm for something. And therefore big artists can come in and they think "they're the flavour of the whatever, let's take their thing and then we'll do what we want with it..." Well, no, that's not acceptable anyway. I've had that experience happen where the big artists were fine until they got into the mix room and then they basically pulled the record to pieces. So I took my name off
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6594-425: Is all the collective clubs around the world. Radio is just doing its best to keep up." Songs that talked of escapism through partying became the most popular, influenced by the impulse to forget the economic troubles that had taken over the world after the 2008 crash . Throughout the 2010s, a lot of pop music also began to take cues from Alternative pop . Popularized by artists such as Lana Del Rey and Lorde in
6751-553: Is everything about the interesting side of music, but with tunes the postman will whistle." There are a number of influences present in Xenomania's productions, including electronic , glam rock , Motown soul , punk , and more traditional pop music. The Observer wrote that Xenomania are "sonically pioneering songs that have combined dance, rock and rave and resulted in the group being championed by NME as often as MTV." Pet Shop Boys member Neil Tennant noted that Xenomania "never stick to one sound, so they're never boring. They have
6908-526: Is just the singles charts and not the sum of all chart music. The music charts contain songs from a variety of sources, including classical , jazz , rock , and novelty songs . As a genre, pop music is seen to exist and develop separately. Therefore, the term "pop music" may be used to describe a distinct genre, designed to appeal to all, often characterized as "instant singles-based music aimed at teenagers" in contrast to rock music as "album-based music for adults". Pop music continuously evolves along with
7065-526: Is largely the story of the intertwining pop culture of the United States and the United Kingdom in the postwar era. — Bob Stanley According to Grove Music Online , "Western-derived pop styles, whether coexisting with or marginalizing distinctively local genres, have spread throughout the world and have come to constitute stylistic common denominators in global commercial music cultures". Some non-Western countries, such as Japan, have developed
7222-489: Is no pop in the world like Girls Aloud today." All four of the album's singles (" The Show ", " Love Machine ", " I'll Stand by You " and " Wake Me Up ") were top five. Xenomania were approached to work with Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue on new tracks for her greatest hits collection Ultimate Kylie , including the single " Giving You Up ", which developed a reputation among her fans as one of her worst singles. Other Xenomania productions proved less successful. Mania
7379-479: Is not a do-it-yourself music but is professionally produced and packaged". According to Frith, characteristics of pop music include an aim of appealing to a general audience, rather than to a particular sub-culture or ideology, and an emphasis on craftsmanship rather than formal "artistic" qualities. Besides, Frith also offers three identifying characteristics of pop music: light entertainment, commercial imperatives, and personal identification. Pop music grew out of
7536-430: Is that of a verse and a chorus, the chorus serving as the portion of the track that is designed to stick in the ear through simple repetition both musically and lyrically. The chorus is often where the music builds towards and is often preceded by "the drop" where the bass and drum parts "drop out". Common variants include the verse-chorus form and the thirty-two-bar form , with a focus on melodies and catchy hooks , and
7693-407: Is where the cutting edge of music is but it needs to be done with total sincerity and an incredible amount of skill, otherwise it doesn't warrant its own existence. There is a science to it, but there's magic too. You have to find the space where art and commerce truly meet in the middle, with genuine feeling and sentiment." He has also said, "pop music is maths." A lot of the songs have come out of
7850-630: The 2009 BRIT Awards , while Gabriella Cilmi 's " Sweet About Me " won Best Single at the ARIA Music Awards of 2009 . Pet Shop Boys ' Yes was nominated in the Best Electronic/Dance Album category at the 52nd Grammy Awards . The Observer placed Higgins at number thirteen in a 2008 list of the twenty most powerful "celebrity makers." The article labelled Xenomania "not only UK pop's most successful songwriting and production team, they're also its most cutting edge." Miranda Cooper
8007-518: The IFPI as a million-seller. Their fourth studio album, 2007's Tangled Up , was labelled "yet another unrelenting pop masterpiece." The Times included it at number 62 on a list of the decade's best pop albums. The single " Call the Shots " was critically acclaimed, with pop music journalist Peter Robinson calling it the "greatest pop song of the 21st century." Xenomania also worked with Alesha Dixon (on
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#17328722756898164-509: The Spice Girls . Similarities to Kylie Minogue and Madonna were also noted. A majority of the songs make use of guitars and electronic beats . The rise of indie rock also inspired Brian Higgins to "blur the edges between commercial music and so-called 'indie' music." He continued, "pop music was on its backside and indie music was about to rise, through The Strokes and everything else. We were an independent company and we were as indie as
8321-581: The UK Albums Chart at number one and became their most successful studio album to date, being certified double platinum. The album's lead single, " The Promise ", became the group's fourth number one on the UK Singles Chart . The single also returned the group to the top two on the Irish Singles Chart . "The Promise" was awarded Best British Single at the 2009 Brit Awards; the group also performed
8478-434: The barbershop quartet-style harmony (i.e. ii – V – I) and blues scale -influenced harmony. There was a lessening of the influence of traditional views of the circle of fifths between the mid-1950s and the late 1970s, including less predominance for the dominant function . In October 2023, Billboard compiled a list of "the 500 best pop songs". In doing so, they noted the difficulty of defining "pop songs": One of
8635-891: The "Cheryl Cole Foundation with The Prince's Trust following a meeting with The Trust's President, Charles, Prince of Wales ". The foundation provides vital funds for The Trust in the North East, helping disadvantaged young people from her own region. Girls Aloud celebrated their 10 years as a group by releasing another Children in Need single, " Something New ", which they performed on the Children in Need TV special on 16 November 2012. Girls Aloud worked closely with Brian Higgins and his songwriting and production team Xenomania throughout their career. Xenomania produced all of Girls Aloud's albums and singles, excluding nine songs from their debut album, Sound of
8792-540: The 2000s" list. It was also listed at number 23 on The Observer Music Monthly ' s 75 best singles of the decade. Chemistry was praised by critics upon its release. BBC Music decided that the album was "quirky, modern and dripping with attitude" and "holds no disappointments." Virgin Media gave the album five stars, saying it was "bursting [...] with invention, quirky lyrics, tongue-in-cheek sauciness and [...] appeals to grown-up pop fans and music critics as well as to
8949-452: The 20th anniversary of their original BBC Children in Need single, was announced as 2024's Children in Need single and follows the song's noteworthy inclusion in the setlist of The Girls Aloud Show . Girls Aloud came together with Mattel in 2005 to produce Fashion Fever Barbies . Each member designed the outfit and look of a doll modelled after themselves. In addition to live DVDs of their tours and both of Girls Aloud's television series,
9106-435: The American and (from the mid-1960s) British music industries , whose influence has made pop music something of an international monoculture, but most regions and countries have their own form of pop music, sometimes producing local versions of wider trends, and lending them local characteristics. Some of these trends (for example Europop ) have had a significant impact on the development of the genre. The story of pop music
9263-627: The Sirens' Call , but Peter Hook said they "scrapped the Brian Higgins stuff because we didn't like it. I thought he did quite a good job on Girls Aloud but he didn't do a good job on us." Franz Ferdinand 's drummer Paul Thomson said, "We wrote with Higgins for a while and initially we thought we'd work more with him but it didn't really work out. We just realized that we're not really a pop group." Higgins spoke of bad experiences with bigger artists to Literally magazine in 2009: "Everything about us
9420-586: The UK Albums Charts at number eleven and received platinum certification. The first single from the album, " Long Hot Summer " was released in August 2005. The single ended Girls Aloud's run of top five singles when it charted at number seven. The follow-up single from the album, " Biology " was released in November 2005. The song was critically acclaimed; Peter Cashmore of The Guardian labeled it "the best pop single of
9577-519: The UK Singles Chart, becoming the first single of the group to miss the top ten. The group embarked on the Out of Control Tour , from April to June 2009. A singles boxset collection was released to coincide with the tour. In February 2009, Girls Aloud signed a new record deal with Fascination that would see the group release another three studio albums. In July 2009, the group announced that they were taking
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#17328722756899734-490: The UK by a Female Group" in the 2008 edition. The group disbanded in March 2013 following the conclusion of the Ten: The Hits Tour . Harding died of breast cancer on 5 September 2021 at the age of 39. The remaining members reunited for a 2024 concert tour, The Girls Aloud Show , which became the biggest UK arena tour of 2024. Girls Aloud was formed on 30 November 2002 on ITV 's Popstars: The Rivals . The concept of
9891-601: The UK. The group achieved a string of twenty top-ten singles on the UK singles chart , including four number ones. They also achieved seven BPI certified albums, two of which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart . They have been nominated for five Brit Awards and won one of them, Best Single in 2009 for " The Promise ". The group's main musical style is pop, and they have also experimented with other sounds including electropop , dance-pop and dance-rock throughout their career. The group's collaborations with Brian Higgins and
10048-409: The Underground " have been credited with reshaping British pop music for the 2000s. Gabriella Cilmi 's " Sweet About Me " and Girls Aloud's " The Promise " were named Best Single at the ARIA Music Awards of 2008 and the 2009 BRIT Awards , respectively. The team has been referred to as "a Phil Spector " and "a Motown of the 21st-century". Higgins himself has said that Xenomania aspires to be
10205-628: The Underground , the charity single "Walk This Way" and two songs from Ten . Of Higgins and Xenomania, Girls Aloud's former manager Louis Walsh says, "He just makes great songs for radio. They just jump out at you and stay in your brain." In a review of the group's debut single "Sound of the Underground", The Guardian' s Alexis Petridis exclaimed it "proved a first: it was a reality pop record that didn't make you want to do physical harm to everyone involved in its manufacture." In response to Girls Aloud's debut album, Jacqueline Hodges of BBC Music said that "Higgins injects an element of instant-catchy-cool to
10362-609: The Underground . After a brief hiatus, Girls Aloud released " The Show " in June 2004, the first single from What Will the Neighbours Say? , the group's second album. The single entered the charts at number two. The next single, " Love Machine ", also peaked at number two in September 2004. Girls Aloud then recorded a cover of The Pretenders ' " I'll Stand by You " which was released as the official Children in Need charity single. The song
10519-461: The United Kingdom. Girls Aloud then recorded two tracks for the soundtrack to the 2007 film, St Trinian's . They made a cameo appearance in the film, as the school band. The soundtrack was released on 10 December 2007, and the music video for "Theme to St. Trinian's" premiered in December 2007. In November 2008, Girls Aloud released their fifth studio album, Out of Control . The album entered
10676-471: The age of 39. On 24 July 2022, Girls Aloud appeared in Hyde Park, London to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research. Tweedy, Roberts and Coyle participated in the event, with Walsh taking part in a remote event. In November 2023, the group announced a 2024 tour – The Girls Aloud Show , serving as a dedication in memory of Harding and a "celebration" of the group's music. Consisting of thirty shows,
10833-451: The album's release, another round of sessions during that summer yielded three new tracks that later surfaced on a reissue of the album in November, including a massively successful cover version of The Pointer Sisters song " Jump " for the film Love Actually . It was said that "Higgins injects an element of instant-catchy-cool to the songs without going overboard in trying to shape uber-chic dance floor hits." Also that year, they produced
10990-410: The artists they've discovered and developed." He also noted, "We'd love to be a modern day version of RAK, where the artists are signed and developed here." The goal is to establish an "entertainment company, with Higgins [...] presiding over a pool of talent, retaining key rights to the artists they develop." Higgins also says, "I object to the word 'manufactured' cause I think it's invariably said with
11147-433: The best bit about the music business. We try to find perfect matches unique to the artist we are working with". Cooper—who recalled being "scared" of Sugababes because of their heavy involvement in the songwriting process—said that Xenomania made a conscious effort to differentiate their Sugababes work from that of Girls Aloud, giving the former group an "urban feel" and the latter a "punky [and] guitar-led" sound. Following
11304-436: The best bits and building up songs like jigsaws." The various pieces of music are discussed at daily meetings and the best become the basis of songs. Higgins "separate[s] music, melody, lyric" and strives to preserve "high level of originality, excitement and dynamism in the writing." Higgins has "the final say on everything [and establishes] the creative direction projects will take". If a piece of music "sounds enticing before
11461-487: The birth of the modern pop music industry, including in country , blues , and hillbilly music . According to the website of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , the term "pop music" "originated in Britain in the mid-1950s as a description for rock and roll and the new youth music styles that it influenced". The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that while pop's "earlier meaning meant concerts appealing to
11618-437: The challenge we feel it holds for us". On paper, Girls Aloud shouldn't still be around, so we go into the making of every record with a view that they have to do something exceptional to warrant even existing. It means their records have to try and be as competitive as anyone else's, whether it's the hottest hip-hop producer from LA, or the hottest guitar band from Sheffield. That's been the driving force of our relationship with
11775-407: The deal between Xenomania and London Records fell through. Shortly afterwards, Higgins heard the other tracks that Girls Aloud had recorded for their debut album Sound of the Underground and was dissatisfied with the obscurity and inconsistency of the group's direction, and personally intervened to produce four more original tracks for the album to replace some of the weaker content. Shortly after
11932-428: The debut single for a girl group formed through the television talent show Popstars: The Rivals . The eventual winners, Girls Aloud , recorded " Sound of the Underground ", one of sixty songs that Higgins and Cooper had written with the aim of launching their own girl group. Higgins said Girls Aloud were "a blueprint for a girl group that we'd had in our minds for ages, one that was individual rather than generic, with
12089-770: The decade, it was common for pop producers, songwriters, and engineers to freely experiment with musical form, orchestration , unnatural reverb , and other sound effects. Some of the best known examples are Phil Spector 's Wall of Sound and Joe Meek 's use of homemade electronic sound effects for acts like the Tornados . At the same time, pop music on radio and in both American and British film moved away from refined Tin Pan Alley to more eccentric songwriting and incorporated reverb-drenched electric guitar, symphonic strings, and horns played by groups of properly arranged and rehearsed studio musicians. A 2019 study held by New York University in which 643 participants had to rank how familiar
12246-783: The early 2010s and later inspiring other highly influential artists including Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift , it gave space to a more sad and moody tone within pop music. Xenomania Xenomania is an English songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent . Formed by Higgins with his Creative Director Miranda Cooper and Business Director Sarah Stennett of First Access Entertainment , Xenomania has written and produced for artists such as Cher , Kylie Minogue , Dannii Minogue , Sophie Ellis-Bextor , Pet Shop Boys , The Saturdays and Sugababes . In particular, all but one of Girls Aloud 's studio albums have been entirely written and produced by Xenomania. Sugababes' " Round Round " and Girls Aloud 's " Sound of
12403-609: The effectiveness of Xenomania's output with the number of people working with Higgins: "it's not really just five girls [Girls Aloud] and Brian Higgins—a whole team were at work with an acute understanding of how to manufacture an excellent pop phenomenon". Songwriters and producers who have worked for Xenomania include Annie, Fred Falke , Tove Lo , Edele Lynch (of Irish girl group B*Witched ), MNEK , Deedee Ray, and Olivia Redmond (formerly of SoundGirl ). Cooper says that high levels of quality control result from "a group of all sorts of artists, all songwriters, writing hooks on
12560-482: The fastest selling single of 2008 at the time. "The Promise" won Best British Single at the 2009 BRIT Awards , Girls Aloud and Xenomania's first win at the ceremony. The album Out of Control became Girls Aloud's first number-one studio album. Pet Shop Boys ' tenth studio album, Yes , was produced by Brian Higgins and Xenomania. Yes reached number four on the UK Albums Chart in 2009, Pet Shop Boys' highest placing since their 1996 album Bilingual . The album
12717-403: The fee" for the same reasons. He says, "People are coming to me already with a quality idea in mind, because they've heard it. [...] But people need to understand that when they hear something that we've done on the radio, a process has been followed to achieve that." Xenomania have reportedly turned away Atomic Kitten and Gareth Gates . Peter Robinson , writing for The Guardian , credited
12874-510: The first line-up of the Sugababes—and Little Mix . Xenomania contributed two new tracks—including the single " Something New "—to Girls Aloud's second compilation album, Ten , the group's first album since announcing a hiatus after Out of Control (2008). BBC Music hailed Ten as "incredible proof of how perfect pop can be in the right hands" and wrote that "Alongside the Xenomania hit machine, at their best Girls Aloud create
13031-578: The genre evolved more influences ranging from classical , folk , rock , country , electronic music , and other popular genres became more prominent. In 2016, a Scientific Reports study that examined over 464,000 recordings of popular music recorded between 1955 and 2010 found that, compared to 1960s pop music, contemporary pop music uses a smaller variety of pitch progressions, greater average volume, less diverse instrumentation and recording techniques, and less timbral variety. Scientific American ' s John Matson reported that this "seems to support
13188-400: The girls and boys). Each week the contestant polling the fewest phone votes was eliminated until the final line-ups of the groups emerged. The five girls who made it into the group were Cheryl Tweedy, Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle, Kimberley Walsh, and Sarah Harding; Javine Hylton missed out on a place in the group, despite previous expectations that she would be placed in the line-up. The group
13345-474: The group embarked on Ten: The Hits Tour . On 20 March 2013, the group performed their final concert at Echo Arena Liverpool . A few hours later, they announced their split on Twitter. On 26 August 2020, group member Sarah Harding stated that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer that had advanced to "other parts" of her body. In March 2021, she said that the disease was terminal and that she "won't see another Christmas". She died on 5 September 2021 at
13502-461: The group has also released Girls on Film and Style . Official calendars were also issued annually from 2004 to 2009, the only exception being 2005. Girls Aloud co-wrote an autobiography titled Dreams That Glitter – Our Story . The book, named after a lyric in "Call the Shots", was published in October 2008 through the Transworld imprint Bantam Press . Before the release, OK! magazine bought
13659-425: The group was dropped after their album failed to perform well. In 2006, Girls Aloud released their first greatest hits collection, The Sound of Girls Aloud , which featured their singles to date—all produced by Xenomania—including the new track " Something Kinda Ooooh ". The song was referred to as "another head-spinningly innovative number from the Xenomania team." The Sound of Girls Aloud has been recognised by
13816-479: The group's third number one. In May 2007, Girls Aloud embarked on their third tour, The Greatest Hits Tour . Girls Aloud released their fourth studio album, Tangled Up , in November 2007. The first single from the album, " Sexy! No No No... " peaked at number-five on the UK Singles Chart. The second single, " Call the Shots " entered the top three. The third and final single from the album, " Can't Speak French ", continued Girls Aloud's top ten streak. The release of
13973-439: The group—to defy expectations. Brian Higgins, GQ , June 2006. Higgins and Xenomania were once again given free rein for Girls Aloud's third album, Chemistry . The album's second single, " Biology ", was critically acclaimed, being called "the best pop single of the last decade". Despite the group's near total obscurity in the United States, the song was listed at number 245 on Pitchfork Media 's "The Top 500 Tracks of
14130-530: The highest-earning UK reality television stars, having amassed a fortune of £25 million by May 2009. The figure was increased to £30 million the following year, following Cheryl's appearance on The X Factor . All five members were included in a 2010 list of Britain's richest stars under 30. Reviews of Girls Aloud's debut album noted the high quality of the album compared to output from other reality show contestants. In 2004, David Hooper of BBC Music exclaimed that "Girls Aloud are currently British pop royalty [...] in
14287-409: The home. By the early 1980s, the promotion of pop music had been greatly affected by the rise of music television channels like MTV , which "favoured those artists such as Michael Jackson and Madonna who had a strong visual appeal". Multi-track recording (from the 1960s) and digital sampling (from the 1980s) have also been used as methods for the creation and elaboration of pop music. During
14444-439: The international media . Pitchfork Media , which generally focuses on independent music , praised Xenomania for their "deathless hooks and multi-genre pyrotechnics [...] songs stuffed to the gills with one, two, three, sometimes four different choruses, sounding like patchwork assemblages of the best bits of a hundred fantasy pop songs." In 2006, British pop website Popjustice stated, "This cartel of songwriters and producers are
14601-656: The last decade". The release was followed by a cover of Dee C. Lee 's " See the Day ", released in the Christmas week of 2005., following this they presented one-off TV Special, Christmas Mania, on ITV, where they sang songs taken from their Christmas album. Girls Aloud won the Heart Award for the single at the O 2 Silver Clef Lunch. The group travelled to Australia and New Zealand in February 2006 to release "Biology" and Chemistry . Despite,
14758-414: The late 1970s and would not reemerge until the rise of Internet stars. Indie pop , which developed in the late 1970s, marked another departure from the glamour of contemporary pop music, with guitar bands formed on the then-novel premise that one could record and release their own music without having to procure a record contract from a major label. The 1980s are commonly remembered for an increase in
14915-401: The late 20th century that became global superstars include Whitney Houston , Michael Jackson , Madonna , George Michael , and Prince . At the beginning of the 2000s, the trends that dominated during the late 1990s still continued, but the music industry started to change as people began to download music from the internet. People were able to discover genres and artists that were outside of
15072-410: The live shows began: Hazel Kaneswaran was found to be too old to participate, while Nicola Ward refused to sign the contract, claiming the pay the group would receive was too low. Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts were chosen as their replacements. During October and November, the finalists took to the stage participating in weekly Saturday night live performances (alternating week-by-week between
15229-501: The main purpose of pop music is to create revenue. It is not a medium of free articulation of the people. Instead, pop music seeks to supply the nature of personal desire and achieve the instant empathy with cliche personalities, stereotypes, and melodrama that appeals to listeners. It is mostly about how much revenue pop music makes for record companies. Music scholar Timothy Warner said pop music typically has an emphasis on recording, production, and technology, rather than live performance;
15386-508: The mainstream and propel them to fame, but at the same time smaller artists had a harder time making a living because their music was being pirated. Popular artists were Avril Lavigne , Justin Timberlake , NSYNC , Christina Aguilera , Destiny's Child , and Britney Spears . Pop music often came from many different genres, with each genre in turn influencing the next one, blurring the lines between them and making them less distinct. This change
15543-448: The manner in which pop has been disseminated", which helped to move pop music to "a record/radio/film star system". Another technological change was the widespread availability of television in the 1950s with televised performances, which meant that "pop stars had to have a visual presence". In the 1960s, the introduction of inexpensive, portable transistor radios meant that teenagers in the developed world could listen to music outside of
15700-403: The mid-1960s, pop music made repeated forays into new sounds, styles, and techniques that inspired public discourse among its listeners. The word "progressive" was frequently used, and it was thought that every song and single was to be a "progression" from the last. Music critic Simon Reynolds writes that beginning with 1967, a divide would exist between "progressive" pop and "mass/chart" pop,
15857-483: The mid-2000s while R&B and rock music became more popular. In a review for the group's 2008 Tangled Up Tour, David Pollock of The Independent noted that "Girls Aloud remain confidently the only pop show in town." The Times stated, "Not since ABBA and Michael Jackson has pure pop been so unanimously praised." Girls Aloud are notably one of the few British reality television acts to achieve continued success and longevity. According to The Times , Girls Aloud are
16014-406: The moment", waited weeks to write the song's lyrics; they wrote the song in seven minutes. Higgins said, "We knew that was the piece of music Girls Aloud needed to announce them as a supergroup in this country, so we knew we couldn't drop the ball melodically or lyrically." "The Promise" became Girls Aloud's first non-cover version number-one single since "Sound of the Underground". The single became
16171-638: The most life-affirming and innovative pop songs of the last decade." They were named Music Week's Producer of the Year award for 2009. Higgins won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for his work on Cher 's " Believe "; it was also awarded the sales-based International Hit of the Year and Best Selling UK Single. It also won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording . Xenomania won Best British Single for Girls Aloud 's " The Promise " at
16328-410: The most talented pop powerhouse since the glory days of Cheiron , and could easily become the most exciting British hit machine of all time." Xenomania has been given various accolades and recognition. British music industry trade magazine Music Week said in an October 2008 piece, "As one of song-writing and production team Xenomania, the publicity shy Brian Higgins has been responsible for some of
16485-421: The music that appears on record charts is considered to be pop music, the genre is distinguished from chart music . David Hatch and Stephen Millward describe pop music as "a body of music which is distinguishable from popular, jazz, and folk music". David Boyle, a music researcher, states pop music as any type of music that a person has been exposed to by the mass media. Most individuals think that pop music
16642-508: The official charity single for Children in Need . The single peaked at number-two on the UK Singles Chart. The group released their second greatest hits compilation, Ten on 23 November 2012. The second single taken from Ten , " Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me ," was released on 17 December 2012, and failed to chart in the top-forty. A documentary special entitled Girls Aloud: Ten Years at the Top aired on ITV1 on 15 December 2012. In February 2013,
16799-450: The other bands around us. The guitar riff on No Good Advice is very very similar to the riff on the track Michael by Franz Ferdinand ." What Will the Neighbours Say? further explores different subgenres of pop, especially electropop . Synthesizers are more prominent on the album, although the usage of guitar remains prominent in several songs. The backing track to "Love Machine", composed by Xenomania musicians Tim Powell and Nick Coler,
16956-591: The pop genre Girls Aloud have experimented with other genres. In particular rock music with singles like " Sound of the Underground ", " Graffiti My Soul ", " Wake Me Up " and " Sexy! No No No... ". The band members themselves are known to be fans of artists such as Ne-Yo and Oasis . The group's debut album Sound of the Underground takes influence from a number of 1980s genres, such as synthpop , power pop , and new wave , and 1990s styles like big beat , drum and bass , and garage . The album received comparisons to girl groups such as Bananarama , The Bangles , and
17113-802: The pop music styles that developed alongside other music styles is Latin pop , which rose in popularity in the US during the 1950s with early rock and roll success Ritchie Valens . Later, Los Lobos and Chicano rock gained in popularity during the 1970s and 1980s, and musician Selena saw large-scale popularity in the 1980s and 1990s, along with crossover appeal with fans of Tejano musicians Lydia Mendoza and Little Joe . With later Hispanic and Latino Americans seeing success within pop music charts, 1990s pop successes stayed popular in both their original genres and in broader pop music. Latin pop hit singles, such as " Macarena " by Los del Río and " Despacito " by Luis Fonsi , have seen record-breaking success on worldwide pop music charts. Notable pop artists of
17270-400: The popular anecdotal observation that pop music of yore was "better", or at least more varied, than today's top-40 stuff". However, he also noted that the study may not have been entirely representative of pop in each generation. In the 1960s, the majority of mainstream pop music fell in two categories: guitar, drum and bass groups or singers backed by a traditional orchestra. Since early in
17427-491: The previous twelve months working on our own musical direction. We were getting quite desperate as we were struggling to connect with the predominantly R&B artists we'd get sent. Our ideas seemed a bit out of place, and for that reason we connected with the Sugababes as I felt they too were a little out on a limb from the pop mainstream at the time. Brian Higgins, Popjustice , 2004. Higgins says, "We developed this sound of electronics and guitars fusing together but this
17584-448: The production team Xenomania earned the group critical acclaim, because of an "innovative" approach to mainstream pop music. The group became one of the few British reality television acts to achieve continued success, amassing a fortune of £ 30 million by May 2010. Guinness World Records listed them as the "Most Successful Reality TV Group" in the 2007 and 2011 edition. They also hold the record for "Most Consecutive Top Ten Entries in
17741-554: The programme, hosted by Big Brother presenter Davina McCall , was to produce a boy band and a girl group who would be "rivals" and compete for the 2002 Christmas number one single. Following the initial success of Hear'Say (winners of the original Popstars show), several thousand applicants attended auditions across the United Kingdom in hope of being selected. Ten girls and ten boys were chosen as finalists by judges Pete Waterman , Louis Walsh and Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell . However, two of these were disqualified before
17898-423: The programme. Vagabond's vocalist Alex Vargas said, "It sounds cheesy, but we really are one big family". Mini Viva , who were formed in 2007, spent two years working with Xenomania before their launch. Other artists discovered and developed through Xenomania Records include Alex Gardner , Brooke X and Jessie Malakouti . Commenting on the underperformances of Gardner and Mini Viva's singles, Popbitch wrote that
18055-588: The publicity surrounding the latter act may have placed "too much emphasis on a 30 and 40-something production duo" that "shouldn't be trying to be the next Timbaland or Red One [ sic ]". In 2012, Xenomania Records became an imprint of Sony Music Entertainment and signed Amelia Lily , a finalist from The X Factor . Xenomania's in-house drummer Florrie Arnold signed to Sony after finding Internet success. Xenomania held an open audition for recording artists in London's Shoreditch area in 2013. Higgins told The Telegraph in August 2009, "Pop
18212-467: The puzzle", and songs with "amazing" choruses have been shelved as a result of the artist not sounding adequate on them. On Xenomania's relatively low output (compared to a group like Stock, Aitken & Waterman ), Higgins says, "If you're a production house, you're supposed to work with anyone and everyone: that's the rule...but if we don't feel excited by the prospect of the artist, then the record's going to be shit." Higgins refuses to work "purely for
18369-503: The reasons pop can be hard to summarize is because there’s no real sonic or musical definition to it. There are common elements to a lot of the biggest pop songs, but at the end of the day, "pop" means "popular" first and foremost, and just about any song that becomes popular enough...can be considered a pop song. In the 1940s, improved microphone design allowed a more intimate singing style and, ten or twenty years later, inexpensive and more durable 45 rpm records for singles "revolutionized
18526-562: The record and the writing credits off the record. Because they're assholes. And they sold about 20,000 copies, and they've never been seen since. So big artists are often jerks of the biggest order. And often people say don't meet your heroes because you'll be let down, and I sort of understand why people would say that." Xenomania spent two years looking for talent worldwide, establishing Xenomania Records. Higgins said, "It's very difficult to get in. Everyone's hand-picked." They write, produce, and rehearse music before they "sell record companies
18683-575: The rights to preview and serialise the book. In 2007, Girls Aloud signed a £ 1.25m one-year deal to endorse hair care brand Sunsilk . The girls filmed a television advertisement and appeared in and magazine advertisements, with each of the five members being the face of a different shampoo. The same year, Girls Aloud also signed a deal with the UK division of Samsung . They endorsed mobile phones and MP3 players, made personal appearances and sang at Samsung events, and contributed to competition prizes, among other activities. The Samsung F210 Purple came with
18840-511: The same track [...] Brian had no worries choosing melodies from wherever they came from. He didn't mind if it was the person making tea in the office—if they came up with something, which they often did, that would be used". Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys said that Xenomania "reminded me of working at Smash Hits 'cos [ sic ] you've got this house full of people and they're all totally into music. [...] They all have comments to make. A truly great atmosphere." Xenomania work from
18997-501: The show later made way for Girls Aloud: Off the Record , a six-part fly on the wall documentary series for E4 . Girls Aloud then appeared in an episode of Ghosthunting with... (without Nadine) towards the end of 2006, in which Yvette Fielding guided them through haunted locations. In May 2006, Girls Aloud embarked on their first arena tour, named Chemistry: The Tour . In the same month, Girls Aloud were moved to Fascination Records ,
19154-411: The single " Knockdown "), Sophie Ellis-Bextor , and produced two songs for Sugababes' fifth studio album, Change . In 2008, Xenomania's success continued. Australian singer-songwriter Gabriella Cilmi released her Xenomania-produced debut album, Lessons to Be Learned . The single " Sweet About Me ", inspired by "obscure Parisian psychedelic records" that Higgins and Cooper had introduced to Cilmi,
19311-531: The single coincided with Girls Aloud's second television series, The Passions of Girls Aloud . The show revolved around each member, with the exception of Coyle, achieving aspirations outside of the group. The group received their second Brit Award nomination in 2008, nominated for the Best British Group award. In May 2008, Girls Aloud embarked on the Tangled Up Tour which consisted of 34 concerts around
19468-432: The single peaked at number three following its physical release. The next single was a cover of " I Think We're Alone Now " which peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. In March 2007, Girls Aloud collaborated with fellow British girl group Sugababes for the cover of the song " Walk This Way " by Aerosmith . Billed as "Sugababes vs. Girls Aloud", the song served as the official single for Comic Relief which became
19625-461: The singles "Miss Perfect" and "7 Ways" for former Five member Abs 's solo album, Abstract Theory . Sugababes' " Hole in the Head ", another UK number-one, was one of several tracks for their album Three that were co-written and produced by the Xenomania team. According to Higgins, he knew "Hole in the Head" was " the single " as soon as he heard the backing track again: "Those moments of clarity are
19782-455: The song during the ceremony. For the promotion of the album, Girls Aloud appeared in a variety show entitled The Girls Aloud Party which aired on 13 December 2008 on ITV. The second single from Out of Control , " The Loving Kind " was produced by Xenomania. Peaking at number ten, it became the group's twentieth consecutive top ten single. The final single from the album, " Untouchable " was released in April 2009. It peaked at number eleven on
19939-403: The song to "bottled happiness". Xenomania produced seven more tracks for the album The Alesha Show and an additional two for its reissue. While at work on Girls Aloud's fifth studio album, Out of Control , two members of the Xenomania house band, Jason Resch and Kieran Jones, composed the backing track for " The Promise ", which they played for Higgins. He and Cooper, afraid they'd "ruin
20096-588: The songs without going overboard in trying to shape uber-chic dance floor hits." Petridis of The Guardian described What Will the Neighbours Say? as "a great album: funny, clever, immediate, richly inventive." He later wrote that Chemistry is "a record that dispenses with the tiresome business of verses and instead opts for songs apparently constructed by stitching eight different choruses together." Talia Kraines of BBC Music exclaimed that Girls Aloud "have resuscitated [pop music's] corpse by wedding chart-friendly melodies to experimental avant-garde sounds". "Biology"
20253-492: The success of Girls Aloud's first four singles, Xenomania was enlisted to produce Girls Aloud's second album, What Will the Neighbours Say? , in its entirety. Higgins said, "The pressure to come up with singles was, as always, immense. But [...] we were able to have a lot of fun working on ideas that were maybe a little too odd to be on the radio." The Guardian hailed Neighbours as "a great album: funny, clever, immediate, richly inventive." Stylus Magazine declared, "There
20410-465: The success of their 2006 single "Something Kinda Ooooh". "Call the Shots", "Close to Love", and "Girl Overboard" are all electropop numbers reminiscent of 1980s music . However, "Control of the Knife" is more inspired by reggae and ska , while "Black Jacks" recalls "sixties psychedelica". Out of Control features a number of songs inspired by 1980s electropop, while also exploring retro styles. "The Promise"
20567-400: The teenyboppers." In 2008, Slant Magazine said that " Chemistry is probably still their crowning glory". Xenomania worked with other British artists such as Bananarama , Texas , and Rachel Stevens . They contributed tracks to Stevens' album Come and Get It , a commercial failure that The Guardian listed among its "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" and hailed as "a riot, thanks to
20724-399: The term "pop music" was increasingly used in opposition to the term rock music, a division that gave generic significance to both terms. While rock aspired to authenticity and an expansion of the possibilities of popular music, pop was more commercial, ephemeral, and accessible. According to British musicologist Simon Frith , pop music is produced "as a matter of enterprise not art", and
20881-419: The term's definition. According to music writer Bill Lamb, popular music is defined as "the music since industrialization in the 1800s that is most in line with the tastes and interests of the urban middle class." The term "pop song" was first used in 1926, in the sense of a piece of music "having popular appeal". Hatch and Millward indicate that many events in the history of recording in the 1920s can be seen as
21038-405: The time and he's really creative and has a lot of good ideas. Serious and ambitious. It gave me an extra punch to work really hard and that was exactly what I needed." Australian singer Gabriella Cilmi has remarked that working with Higgins "brings out the best in me [...] He knows how to make my silliness good". According to Cooper, the artist's vocal performance on a track is "the final piece of
21195-711: The time but failed to enter the British Top 40 . However, the success of the lead single, " All I Wanna Do ", led to a collaboration with American singer Cher and Higgins co-writing her international number-one hit single " Believe " (1998). Although the song outperformed all expectations and won him three Ivor Novello awards, Higgins found himself without a label when London Records was sold in 2000. After eighteen months, he decided to found Xenomania as an independent production company based in Westerham in Kent, outside London, because it
21352-487: The top ten, was co-written by Annie and Fred Falke . The song was critically acclaimed, and all three singles were shortlisted for the annual Popjustice £20 Music Prize . Xenomania worked with a number of other new artists, such as Alex Gardner , Jessie Malakouti , and Vagabond , to varying degrees of success (see artist development ). In 2011, Xenomania produced two tracks for The Saturdays ' album On Your Radar , including their top five hit " All Fired Up ", which
21509-510: The top three. In early 2005, the group was nominated for a BRIT Award for Best Pop Act. Following the album's success, Girls Aloud announced their first tour, the What Will the Neighbours Say...? Tour , which took place in May 2005. The group also released their first DVD, Girls on Film . Following their first tour, Girls Aloud began work on their third studio album, Chemistry . The album peaked on
21666-561: The tour opened in Dublin , Ireland in May 2024, and concluded in Liverpool , England in June. Grossing US$ 19.1 million from twenty shows, it became the biggest arena tour of 2024 in the UK. On 14 October 2024, ITV announced that The Girls Aloud Show would premiere as "The Girls Aloud Show - Live at the O2 " on 17 November 2024 on ITV1 , with an extended version showing afterwards on ITVX . The group held
21823-403: The tricksiest Chicago art rock band. And all but one song here gives guitars a starring role." The songs are noticeably less rooted in electronic music , although "Swinging London Town" is "a dark, squiggly synth pop epic a la Pet Shop Boys " and "It's Magic" is composed of "little Röyksopp -like keyboard riffs". Alternatively, Tangled Up features a dancier , more electronic sound, inspired by
21980-428: The ultra-fickle world of TV-generated pop, Girls Aloud have real staying power." Andrew Lynch of entertainment.ie said, "Girls Aloud really shouldn't have made it as far as a second album. [...] There's just one problem – the girls have a knack of coming up with utterly infectious pop songs". Bono has referred to himself as a fan of the group, saying: "I think Girls Aloud are at the cutting edge of pop music. They are
22137-623: The use of digital recording , associated with the usage of synthesizers , with synth-pop music and other electronic genres featuring non-traditional instruments increasing in popularity. By 2014, pop music worldwide had been permeated by electronic dance music . In 2018, researchers at the University of California, Irvine , concluded that pop music has become 'sadder' since the 1980s. The elements of happiness and brightness have eventually been replaced with electronic beats making pop music more 'sad yet danceable'. Pop music has been dominated by
22294-425: The way they utilised synths, which I thought was amazingly clever, and Japan , and Depeche Mode ." To stay relevant, Higgins said the team avoids "listening to the radio [or] following contemporary fashions", noting that Girls Aloud's " Call the Shots " "started as a piece of music in 2005, was written as a song in 2006 and came out [...] in November 2007." However, Paul Thomson of Franz Ferdinand said, "He has
22451-422: Was a joint venture between Higgins and BMG . The duo, consisting of Xenomania songwriters Giselle Sommerville and Niara Scarlett , released one single before being dropped. The boy band V , whose single "Hip to Hip" was produced by Xenomania, was short lived. Higgins called V "bright and motivated, with a lot of charisma [...] When we decide to work with an artist it is normally a decision based on personality and
22608-434: Was an international success. The Independent called the song "one of the most infectious, radio-friendly pop tunes [...] of the past five years, right up there with ' Video Games ' and ' American Boy '". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2009 , Cilmi won six awards including Single of the Year for "Sweet About Me". In the United Kingdom, Alesha Dixon 's " The Boy Does Nothing " was her first solo top five single. Higgins likened
22765-483: Was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry . The second single, " No Good Advice ", was also released in May 2003 to similar success. Girls Aloud's third single, " Life Got Cold ", charted at number three in August 2003. In November 2003, Girls Aloud released a cover version of the Pointer Sisters ' 1980s dance hit " Jump ". The single, which charted at number two, accompanied a new edition of Sound of
22922-422: Was co-produced with Space Cowboy and MNEK . The same year, they produced songs for The X Factor runner-up Rebecca Ferguson , British boy band The Wanted , and girl group SoundGirl . Xenomania worked with another X Factor alumnus (and Xenomania Records signee), Amelia Lily, producing and writing an album that was subsequently shelved. Lily's debut single, " You Bring Me Joy " (2012), reached number two and
23079-522: Was described as "about as far from tired formula as you can possibly get. It sounds like three separate melodies condensed into one." Popjustice referred to the song as "pop music which redefines the supposed boundaries of pop music." In a review for 2007's "Sexy! No No No...", Nick Levine of Digital Spy complimented Xenomania's work on the song: sacrificing "conventional song structure in the name of keeping [...] hooks coming thick and fast – and quite right too." Despite being most generally associated with
23236-453: Was described by pop music blog MuuMuse as "110% incredible". Higgins assumed production duties for indie rock Gossip 's album A Joyful Noise , a collaboration met with scepticism by Vice magazine—"This is not the first time indie artists have fallen for his [Higgins'] cred-pop charms [...] no one involved managed to work out that Gossip isn't a pop band". Also in 2012, Xenomania recorded with Mutya Keisha Siobhan —a group consisting of
23393-453: Was epitomized in Spears' highly influential 2007 album Blackout , which under the influence of producer Danja , mixed the sounds of EDM , avant-funk , R&B , dance music , and hip hop . By 2010, pop music impacted by dance music came to be dominant on the charts. Instead of radio setting the trends, it was now the club. At the beginning of the 2010s, Will.i.am stated, "The new bubble
23550-444: Was in the late Nineties when R'n'B lite dominated pop music and we had to wait for our opening." When British girl group Sugababes were dropped by London Records, they recorded " Round Round " with Xenomania, which Higgins says was "fusing electronics and guitars and tempo changes and melody shifts, so that the chorus was the only repetitive melody whereas traditional pop structure repeats verse melodies." The song would later become
23707-521: Was inspired by The Smiths , while "Wake Me Up" includes a guitar riff inspired by garage rock . Chemistry takes influences from a wide variety of sources, including "everything from French chanson to piano-pounding blues to the clipped R&B of the Small Faces ". Rapping in the same vein as artists like Betty Boo and Neneh Cherry is prominent. Yahoo! Music says "there's nary a 'formula' in sight. There are as many sudden tonal and tempo switches as
23864-525: Was named Girls Aloud and were managed by Louis Walsh, until 2005 when Hilary Shaw replaced him. The new group competed with the boys' winning group, One True Voice to have 2002's Christmas number one single. Girls Aloud won the battle with their single " Sound of the Underground ", produced by Brian Higgins and Xenomania . The song spent four consecutive weeks at number one and was certified platinum in March 2003. The song received critical acclaim; Alexis Petridis of The Guardian stated that "it proved
24021-595: Was nominated in the Best Electronic/Dance Album category at the 52nd Grammy Awards . Don't Stop , the second album by Norwegian singer Annie , was released in 2009 and includes several tracks produced and co-written by Xenomania, including the single " My Love Is Better ". NME magazine called Don't Stop "Xenomania-abetted lipstick-pop genius". Pop duo Mini Viva 's three singles—" Left My Heart in Tokyo ", " I Wish " (both 2009), and " One Touch " (2010)—were produced by Xenomania. "Left My Heart in Tokyo", which charted within
24178-443: Was not chosen for the album. While the record company loved the song, Spears felt that it needed more of a chorus. Higgins said that they wanted "essentially 'Sound of the Underground 2'." It later appeared on Girls Aloud's What Will the Neighbours Say? . The production team were due to work with rock bands New Order and Franz Ferdinand , but both sessions proved fruitless. Xenomania was due to produce for New Order's Waiting for
24335-476: Was not well received by critics. The cover became Girls Aloud's second number one single, holding the position for two weeks. The album What Will the Neighbours Say? was entirely written and produced by Xenomania. Upon its release on 29 November 2004, the album charted just outside of the top five and was quickly certified platinum. The final single from the album, " Wake Me Up ", was released in February 2005. It charted at number four, making it their first to miss
24492-575: Was obviously when we'd had a lot of success and we were very confident. With Something Kinda Ooh he was thinking of doing a bit like a Too Funky George Michael vibe, which was actually how it started off, but then it ended up something very different. He always has a vision, he knows exactly what he's doing before we do. Miranda Cooper, Songwriting Magazine , April 2015. Xenomania are notable for their abnormal writing process. According to an article in Q magazine's October 2009 issue, "they each work on backing tracks, chords or beats, Higgins choosing
24649-449: Was released as the official 2004 Children in Need single, with proceeds going to the charity. Nicola Roberts said, "Hopefully if our single does well it's a lot of money going to the charity." Their cover Aerosmith and Run DMC 's " Walk This Way ", a collaboration with the Sugababes, was the official charity single for Comic Relief in 2007, recorded at Comic Relief co-founder and trustee Richard Curtis ' request. Kimberley Walsh said, "It's
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