We've become conditioned to hate or disdain "puppets," popstars that proudly and brazenly contribute little to the making of their music. But when puppetry goes a step further, only an idiot could look down upon the results. Witness the case of four girls from Northern England and one insatiable lass from Londonderry, Ireland, who won a singing competition show and were thrown together to be a girl group. If Girls Aloud had hooked up with the wrong producers - or, heaven forbid, write their own material - they would not have made it past the third single. It was their collaboration with an emerging production house called Xenomania that led them to becoming the biggest pop group of their very British generation. Because the girls had little input, they could be the muses [for Brian Higgins and Miranda Cooper] and commit fully to whatever brilliant, audacious nonsense they cooked up. The result? The most top ten singles of any girl group, critical respect, and a place in history.
Never understood the love for them, their music is as generic as Katy's worst. Can't speak French and biology are one of the worst songs I've ever heard.
I like several of their songs, but as much as I try I can't love them as much as I adore Sugababes, All Saints, TLC, or Spice Girls.
Nonetheless, I think "Call the Shots," "Sexy No No No", and "Life Got Cold" are brilliant pop tunes. And even though everyone seems to pay dust to "Can't Speak French" I find it pretty cute.