Girls Aloud: How did band first form in 2002 and did members know each other before Popstars: The Rivals?

Prior to 2002, the world didn't know the names Cheryl Tweedy, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. But, now they are all household names as they are part of Girls Aloud, one of the most successful girl groups of all time.

In 2012, in fact, ten years after they first hit the charts, the group was named the United Kingdom's biggest selling girl group of the 21st century at that point, with over 4.3 million singles sales and 4 million albums sold in the UK alone.

It's just one of the accomplishments the band have to their name; they released a string of twenty consecutive top ten singles in the United Kingdom, including four number ones. They also achieved seven certified albums, of which two reached number one. They have been nominated for five Brit Awards, winning the 2009 Best Single for "The Promise".

They announced their hiatus in 2013, but now they have delighted fans by announcing they're going back on tour in 2024 and picking up where they left off. But, where did their story begin? Here's everything you need to know about how Girls Aloud were first formed.

Girls Aloud - how did the members meet?

Cheryl Tweedy (now better known as just Cheryl), Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh did not know each other when they all applied to be contestants in an ITV reality show called Popstars: The Rivals.

The show's predecessor, Popstars, had created the pop group Hear'Say the year before and at the time they were enjoying lots of success. The new show had the same premise overall - singers from around the country would audition for a chance to be chosen to be part of a new band - but there was one new added twist.

This time, the judges - who were some of the top names in the music industry, Pete Waterman, Louis Walsh and Spice Girl Geri Halliwell - were looking to create two groups: a girl band and a boy band. They would then go on to the 'rivals' to compete for the Christmas number one slot that year.

Auditions began for the ITV show in early September 2002, and live shows began a month later after ten girls and ten boys were chosen to compete. Each week, on a Saturday, one girl and one boy would be eliminated from the series via a public vote so that two new five-piece groups could be created.

Two of the girls were disqualified before the live shows began, howeer; Hazel Kaneswaran was found to be too old to take part (by just ten days), while Nicola Ward refused to sign the contract, claiming the pay the group would receive was too low. Walsh and Roberts, who had not originally made it to the final 10, were chosen as their replacements. The rest, they say, is history.

Girls Aloud - what was the controversy surrounding Javin?

The last girl to be voted off the contest before Tweedy, Coyle, Harding, Roberts and Walsh were announced as the final girl band was called Javin Hylton. There was a lot of shock at the time that she had not been given a spot in the new group as she had received lots of praise throughout the competition and it was expected that she would be included in the line-up.

Several people who voted for Hylton claimed their votes were either not registered or that they heard a recording telling them they had voted for Harding. These claims of a technical glitch, which allegedly left viewers unable to vote for Hylton, were later rejected by the programme.

Hylton, who is now often known simply as Javine, launched a solo career and had some success. She represented the UK at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv with "Touch My Fire". She has also had a string of singles in the UK including "Real Things".

Girls Aloud - who was the boy band they went head-to-head with?

At the same time as Girls Aloud were formed, a boy band called One True Voice was also created. The band was made up of members Anton Gordon, Matt Johnson, Daniel Pearce, Keith Semple and Jamie Shaw. The two groups began competing against each other for the Christmas number one spot on the UK Singles Chart.

In an effort to win the race, each band released a single and began a campaign. Girls Aloud, for example, released their single with the words 'Buy girls, bye boys' printed on a sticker that was stuck to the front of every CD. One True Voice's debut single was double A-side "Sacred Trust/After You're Gone".

The final episode of Popstars: The Rivals aired live on December 22, 2002, and it was announced that "Sound of the Underground" recorded by Girls Aloud had reached number one. The song spent four consecutive weeks at number one and was certified platinum in March 2003. It also received critical acclaim across the industry and was loved by fans.

The single from One True Voice, on the other hand, reached number two in the charts. It sold 147,000 copies compared to first week sales of 213,000 for Sound of the Underground. One True Voice had fully disbanded by August 2003, having never released an album and having to cancel a tour due to poor ticket sales.