With the reemergence of girl groups (Fifth Harmony, Little Mix, Girls Aloud...), today's feature is appropriately about one of the hottest girl groups hailing from the UK: The Saturdays.
Unlike Fifth Harmony, Little Mix and Girls Aloud who all got their start from reality shows, The Saturdays were formed in 2007 from a series of auditions held by Polydor Records (same label as Cheryl Cole, Girls Aloud etc). The group consists of band members (left to right in picture above) Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White, Rochelle Humes, Una Healy and Mollie King, all incredibly gifted artists who each bring something different to the group. In the middle of 2008, the girls released their first single 'If This is Love,' which debuted at number eight on the UK charts; not too bad for their first song. While in the midst of releasing their first album, the band was asked to support Girls Aloud on their Tangled Up Tour.
Here are the girls performing 'If This is Love' while supporting Girls Aloud on their Tangled Up Tour.
The band released their first studio album Chasing Lights that same year, which landed at number nine on the charts and eventually went platinum. Off the album, the girls had five hit singles including, "If This is Love," "Up," "Issues," "Work" and their cover of "Just Can't Get Enough" for Comic Relief. Due to the success of their album, the girls went on promoting and performing singles until 2009.
Here are the girls performing "Just Can't Get Enough."
While promoting their album they performed an incredible cover of 'Beggin' on MTV Session and BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge. Check it out.
The group then ventured on to the Work Tour, their very first headlining tour. Here is an amazing performance of their song 'Chasing Lights' with Mollie and Una on the guitar.
From there, they began to record their album Wordshaker, which featured the hit single 'Forever is Over;' the track debuted at number two on the charts. The album was eventually turned into an EP. They then went on to record their full length album Headlines. The incredibly successful album also featured singles such as "Missing You" and "Higher" featuring Flo Rida. "Forever is Over" and "Ego" went on to the Headlines album, and all four singles reached the top 10, with the album, released in November 2010, debuting at number three.
Here they are performing 'Higher.'
During the process of releasing the Headlines album, they began to film their first documentary series The Saturdays: 24/7, in which a camera crew followed them around for a month capturing every moment of their chaotic life.
Here is a great video from the series of when the girls go to LA to film their music video for 'Higher.' Notice: the sequence where Frankie and Mollie practice their American accents.
The girls then ventured out on another tour, the Headlines Tour, which was completely sold out all over the UK and Ireland.
Here are the girls performing 'Forever is Over' on their Headlines Tour.
Their last album to date, On Your Radar, features more electronic, dance sounds with their hits 'Notorious' and 'All Fired Up,' both charting in the top ten. The 2011 album came in at number three on the charts.
Here is the music video for 'Notorious.'
The girls followed their album release with their first UK and Ireland arena tour, playing venues such as Wembley Stadium and the O2 in Dublin. The All Fired Up Tour took place all throughout November and December and it is their last tour to date.
Here are a few pictures from the tour.
In May 2012, they released their '30 Days' EP as they left to make their way in the US. Upon arriving in the states, the girls signed with Island Def Jam and Mercury Records and landed a series on E! called Chasing the Saturdays, which follows the group and their journey trying to make it in America. Just recently, the girls released their first US single, 'What About Us,' on Itunes now. Currently, the girls are playing little gigs in LA and NY, slowing making their way stateside.
Here is a video of one of their first gigs here in the states. Included is a performance of their single 'What About Us'
The girls in detail:
Mollie King: Mollie reminds me a whole lot of Ashley Roberts, a former member of the Pussycat Dolls. Not just because of her blonde hair, but because of her passion and energy on stage. She adds a very cool, sexy vibe to the group. Mollie is my favorite of the group for many reasons. For one, she is absolutely hilarious, but also, she is an incredible performer. Every time she takes that stage, your eyes are immediately drawn to her because she just knows how to work it. Before the Saturdays, Mollie auditioned for the X Factor as both a solo artist and then a couple years later with another girl band. Despite being rejected by the show twice, she still auditioned for The Saturdays and never gave up. Her determination and passion for music is inspiring. You can just tell how much she loves performing by the way she yells out to the crowd and how she always gives it her all. Mollie adds a particular, fun, bubbly energy to the group that is refreshing. She has been criticized to be one of the weaker singers in the group, which is partially true, but what people tend to ignore is that she plays a huge role in the harmonies. Her harmonies are always spot on, adding to the beautiful sound the group creates. Even though I think all of the girls are equally talented, I would say Mollie is the most solid of the group, meaning she can dance as well as she can sing and she can just do everything well. Fun facts: Mollie has been rumored to date Prince Harry and she was a professional skier on the Great Britain team before she decided to pursue singing.
Here is Mollie killing it with the girls as they perform 'Work' on their Headlines Tour.
Like I previously stated, Mollie is absolutely hilarious, so here is a video I found that captures how funny she is.
Frankie Sandford: What I love about Frankie is that she brings an incredible energy that you don't even notice is missing until she is not there. What she lacks in her singing she definitely makes up for in her dancing and harmonies (like Mollie). Her moves are very spunky and so it her voice. Frankie has the most followers on Twitter out of the whole group for several reasons. One, she dated a member of the incredibly famous band, McFly. Two, she now dates a super well-know English football player. Lastly, she is known for speaking out about her depression, making her a huge inspiration for younger kids. Even though she is not the youngest in the group, she adds that sort of happy, carefree energy to the group.
Here are the girls performing 'Missing You' at A Concert for Heroes, a song that Frankie surely shines in.
Rochelle Humes: The Beyonce of the group. Rochelle has a very deep, but great voice and it definitely adds to the groups range as a whole. She has a very strong, femme fatale essence and it definitely brings a lot to the group. Rochelle is one hell of a performer and you can tell just from their performances that she is the leader of the group in an energy and attitude sense. Second, to Vanessa, I would say she is also one of the lead singers. However, although she gives 110% every time she performs, her dancing is a bit awkward. While Frankie and Mollie are very smooth and make the performance look effortless, Rochelle looks like she's trying to hard. Overall, Rochelle is a huge rock for the group.
Here are the girls performing a Rihanna medley on the Headlines Tour. Rochelle absolutely murders 'What's My Name.'
Una Healy: I absolutely adore Una and her extreme Irishness. Una is often the one to sing the bridge in majority of their songs, but it's primarily because of her incredible voice. Una is the musician of the group, the one who has a pure love for music itself. There are several behind the scenes clips of her jamming on the piano and at all of their acoustic sessions, Una will normally be playing guitar. Una is definitely the overlooked one in the group primarily because when she is not singing, she doesn't draw much attention. Una is married with a child, but does that hold her back? No. In their recent three month trip to LA, Una brought along her 1 year old child and her mom so that she could still be a mom, but when she had to work, Una's mother would watch the baby. Props to Una!
Here are the girls performing an amazing cover of 'I Need a Dollar/Buzzin' at BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge in 2011. The arrangement was all Una's idea.
Vanessa White: If you could not tell from every other video, Vanessa could be considered the lead singer of the group. In fact, the girls even refer to her as their lead singer. Vanessa has an incredible voice, so incredible that she was asked to be on the reality competition Popstars to Operastars. Vanessa is normally always the one to take the solos in the group. However, Vanessa often makes mistakes within their performances and although her dancing is quite good, she has to know when to not hit it so hard. Besides that, the band's sound would not be what is it without her.
Here is Vanessa on Popstars to Operastars. If you watch all the way through, you will see how cute the other girls are in the audience after her performance and after she is safe from elimination.
What I love about The Saturdays is that almost all members are included in every single song. Yes, Vanessa takes lead vocals on most songs, but the rest of them always sing a verse, the chorus or something so they are incorporated in the song as well. With Girls Aloud, Cheryl, Nadine and Sarah all have significant weaknesses, while The Saturdays are all well rounded as a whole so their slight weaknesses are not as noticeable. Further, the harmonies The Saturdays create are absolutely stunning and their voices together allow for an incredible sound. Further, there are no divas in the group; they are equally humble and because they did not just become famous overnight, they know they cannot let it ever get to them. What Girls Aloud and The Pussycat Dolls have over them is there ability to perform as a unit; their unison is clean and they "breathe" together. The Saturday's don not look like they are a unit when they are dancing and transitioning. It is partially the fault of their horrible choreographer, but mainly they need to figure out how to get on the same page with their strides and timing. It is clear The Pussycat Dolls all hated each other and it is clear that Girls Aloud are super tight, but we all knew Cheryl and Nadine wanted to go solo at one point. With The Saturdays, there is no question that they are there for the group and are in it for the success and betterment of the group. When all of them were asked in individual interviews what was next for them, they all stated their future was wherever the group took them, with no sign of any of them having any desire to go solo. Overall, it is so hard not to love these girls and I adore everything they do!
To give you an idea of what their chemistry is like, here is a video of them performing a medley on their Work Tour.
Look for The Saturdays on your TVs January 30th on the E! Network! 'What About Us' is out on Itunes now!
