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Girls Aloud emerged triumphant from the 2002 reality TV talent show Popstars: The Rivals to confound the expectations of a brief shelf life normally surrounding this path to fame to become one of the most British successful girl groups of all time. The show set them up against boy band One True Voice to compete for the Christmas Number 1 spot, resulting in a resounding victory for Girls Aloud with "Sound of the Underground" in 2002. They followed it with a string of further hits – including 2003's cover version of the Pointer Sisters' 1983 dance hit "Jump," which took the number two spot, 2004's Number 2-charting "Love Machine" – with a debut album, Sound of the Underground, pulling up in 2003. With the cutting-edge production team of Xenomania coming on board for the group's second album, What Will the Neighbours Say? (2004), Girls Aloud quickly became a national pop treasure with their sexy image, sharp productions, classy, dance-orientated music and a willingness to push the boundaries of pop. Their third studio album, Chemistry (2005) yielded four Top 10 singles, including the smash hit "Biology." In 2006, they achieved another breakthrough, becoming the first act to reach the UK Top 5 on download sales alone with the single "Something Kinda Ooooh." The group's fourth album, Tangled Up, landed in 2007 with their fifth and final studio album, Out of Control, appearing in 2008. Each of the five members became celebrities in their own right - especially Cheryl Cole - and took time off for individual projects in 2009, but remained determined to keep the band going. They briefly reunited for a tour to celebrate their tenth anniversary in 2012 and released a charity single, "Something New," in aid of Children in Need in 2013. They performed their final concert at Echo Arena Liverpool on March 20, 2013 before announcing their split a few hours later. On 26 August 2020, Sarah Harding revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer that had advanced to "other parts" of her body. In March 2021, she stated it was terminal and she died on September 5, 2021, aged 39.
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