Pop music and pop culture has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Here are just a handful of the girl bands that have contributed to evolution of the music industry since the 1990s.
The Spice Girls changed girl band pop culture
The Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were made up of Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton - thats Posh, Scary, Sporty, Ginger and Baby respectively.
The girls became the most commercially successful group of all time, having sold 80 million records during their career.
But their career as a pop group began back in the mid-90s, when an advertisement was published in The Stage magazine, calling on singers to audition for an all-female pop band.
"WANTED: R.U. 18–23 with the ability to sing/dance? R.U. streetwise, outgoing, ambitious, and dedicated? Heart Management Ltd. are a widely successful music industry management consortium currently forming a choreographed, singing/dancing, all-female pop act for a recording deal. Open audition. Danceworks, 16 Balderton Street. Friday 4th March. 11.00am - 5.30pm. Please bring sheet music or backing cassette".
Their breakthrough came in July 1996, with the release of their single Wannabe which revamped pop music and brought a wave of girl power.
In total, they produced a total of nine number one singles in the UK and received a number of notable awards. These include, five Brit awards, three American Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, three World Music Awards and an MTV Video Music Award. They also received a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to the British Music Industry, and sold 85 million records worldwide.
Destiny’s Child
Originally made up of Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett in 1990, the group didn’t rise to stardom until 7 years later, after some major changes in the their style and line up.
By 1997 the dynamics of the group had changed significantly from when they first formed as Girl’s Tyme. Their breakthrough album came with Writings on the Wall in 2000 which sold 11 million copies worldwide and was one of the top-selling albums of that year.
The final, and most well-known line-up consisting of Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland Michelle Williams quickly became one of the biggest girl bands of all time and a household name around the world. They’ve been referred to as R&B icons and have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Destiny’s Child went on to win three Grammys for Best R&B song with Say My Name, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals with Survivor, and Best R&B Album with Survivor.
Each third of Destiny’s Child has gone on to achieve successful solo careers in either singing or acting, and reunited in 2018 to perform at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Girls Aloud
Cheryl Tweedy, Sarah Harding, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh became Girls Aloud in 2002, formed in front of millions on ITV’s Popstars: The Rivals.
Their debut single Sound of the Underground spent four consecutive weeks at number one, and the group went on to achieve further success with No Good Advice, Life Got Cold and their cover of the Pointer Sisters’ hit Jump.
They continued to peak the charts with album and single releases until 2009, when they announced they would be taking a one-year hiatus, before reuniting to produce another album. However, this didn’t happen for another 3 years, when they released Ten to commemorate their 10 year anniversary.
The girl group are one of the few British reality television acts to achieve continued success and longevity, and all five members were included in a 2010 list of Britain's richest stars under 30.
Little Mix
Little Mix were also formed on a reality TV show - this time, The X Factor. In fact, they were the first ever group to win the show, back in 2011.
It’s not uncommon for artists to peak at their win, but this was certainly not the case for Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock.
The girl group have not only used their platform to produce some extremely catchy and successful music, but they also promote body positivity in a culture of online shaming. This, along with their strive for girl power, makes them modern day role models for women and girls all over the world.
The group won the 2017 Brit Award for Best British Single with Shout Out to My Ex, and have also received two MTV Europe Music Awards, two Teen Choice Awards and two Glamour Awards.
They’ve also achieve four platinum certified albums and sixteen certified singles in the UK, and have been named on the the Debrett’s 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK.
TLC
The No Scrubs singers original line-up consisted of Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins, Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes and Rozonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas.
TLC formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 1990. Over their career, they achieved nine top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and recorded four multi-platinum albums, including CrazySexyCool in 1994. This album remains the only album by a female group to receive a diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.
As well as being named as one of the greatest music trios, they were also seventh most successful act of the 1990s. Their accolades include four career Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards and five Soul Train Music Awards. Twenty years after their debut they were honored with Outstanding Contribution to Music at the 17th MOBO Awards and Legend Award at the 2013 MTV Video Awards Japan.
When Lisa sadly passed away in 2002 aged only 30, Tionne and Rozonda continued to perform as a duo.