Girl Thing

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Girl Thing
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Years active
  • 1998–2001
  • 2013–2014
LabelsRCA
SpinoffsWonderland
Members
  • Jodi Albert
  • Michelle Barber
  • Anika Bostelaar
  • Linzi Martin
  • Nikki Stuart

Girl Thing were a British–Dutch girl group, consisting of members Jodi Albert, Michelle Barber, Anika Bostelaar, Linzi Martin, and Nikki Stuart. They were formed in 1998 by Simon Cowell and were originally intended to rival the Spice Girls, but their success was minor and short-lived before disbanding in 2001.

The group reformed in 2013 for the second series of The Big Reunion to perform a one-off gig at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2014.

Career[edit]

In 1998, Simon Cowell, having previously turned down the Spice Girls, decided to form his own girl group. Girl Thing's debut single "Last One Standing", written and produced by the Steelworks production team of Tim Lever, Mike Percy and Eliot Kennedy. "Last One Standing" received major promotion and media attention and was expected to top the UK Singles Chart with ease.[1] Record company executives funneled huge amounts of money into the promotional campaign, including an appearance at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Girl Thing even pre-recorded their congratulatory interview with BBC Radio 1.[2] However, the song ended up only charting at number eight.[3] It also made the Australian top 20,[4] where it achieved gold certification.[5] Linzi Martin co-wrote the song "Bounce" for Aaron Carter (with Hawes and Kirtley) that featured on his second album, which went on to sell 3 million copies in 2000. After the failure of their second single "Girls on Top", which reached number 25,[3] the album release was cancelled in Britain. It was, however, still released in Australia, New Zealand, India and Japan. The band also recorded the songs "Young, Free & Happy", "Extraordinary Love", "Summer Daze", "If That's What It Takes", "Last Goodbye" and "You Can Run but You Can't Hide". The band also recorded "Pure and Simple", before it was given to Hear'Say, the winners of ITV's Popstars.[1]

In December 2013, the band reformed to take part in the second series of ITV2's The Big Reunion,[6] and performed a one-off concert in March 2014

Post-split[edit]

  • Jodi Albert appeared on the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks as Debbie Dean[7] before joining short-lived girl group Wonderland.[8] She married Westlife singer Kian Egan in 2009 with whom she has three sons.[9]
  • Michelle Barber worked as a presenter on Nickelodeon.[10]
  • In July 2007, Anika Bostelaar released a single called "King of the Dancefloor" under the name 'Kiana'.[11] She also passed the audition in the Dutch-Flemish TV programme K2 zoekt K3, but she did not qualify for the live shows. In 2016, Anika Bostelaar created a Dutch girl group named Hello August. Hello August released their debut single "Wrong Chick" in January 2018.[12]
  • Nicola Harrington makes occasional appearances on the ITV programme Lorraine.[13]
  • In 2014, Linzi Martin auditioned for The X Factor, but failed to get through to bootcamp.[14]

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions
AUS
[4]
Girl Thing 92

Singles[edit]

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Certification Album
UK
[15] 		AUS
[4] 		GER
[16] 		IRE
[17] 		NED
[18] 		NOR
[19] 		SWE
[20]
"Last One Standing" 2000 8 17 82 16 11 — 24 Girl Thing
"Girls on Top" 25 42 — — 52 13 —
"Young, Free and Happy" 2001 — 92 — — — — —

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Myers, Justin (27 February 2014). "Girl Thing interview: "It was horrible not to get to Number 1"". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  2. ^ Wightman, Catriona (6 February 2014). "The Big Reunion: 19 things we learned tonight (and two we didn't)". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London. p. 228. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ a b c d Australian (ARIA) chart peaks:
  5. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  6. ^ Wightman, Catriona (27 December 2013). "Eternal, A1 and a supergroup: Big Reunion series two lineup unveiled". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  7. ^ Neil Wilkes (31 March 2004). "Jodi Albert quits 'Hollyoaks'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  8. ^ Dawn Collinson (9 March 2011). "Jodi Albert on her new girlband Wonderland, and why she gets no favours from husband and manager Kian Egan". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Baby News! Kian Egan and Jodi Albert expecting second child". independent.ie. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  10. ^ Dave Simpson (10 December 2009). "Yesterday's promising music stars: where are they now?". the Guardian.
  11. ^ "Kiana-King Of The Dancefloor". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Debuut single Hello August 'Wrong Chick' op 19 januari - Debuut single Hello August 'Wrong Chick' op 19 januari". Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Lorraine Kelly fitness and diet expert tips for Brazilian Bikini Body - Diets - Life & Style - Daily Express". Express.co.uk. 7 June 2014.
  14. ^ "Awkward X Factor reunion for Girl Thing's Linzi Martin months after Simon Cowell calls her 'bitter'". Mirror.co.uk. 31 August 2014.
  15. ^ "Official Charts > Girl Thing". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  16. ^ "Girl Thing – Last One Standing" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  17. ^ "The Irish Charts – All there is to know > Search results for "Last One Standing" (from irishcharts.ie)". Imgur.com (original source published by Fireball Media). Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  18. ^ "dutchcharts.nl > Girl Thing in Dutch Charts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  19. ^ "norwegiancharts.com > Girl Thing in Norwegian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  20. ^ "swedishcharts.com > Girl Thing in Swedish Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
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