GIRLBANDS FROM 16 to 46!!!
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16. Rouge (Brazil)
You know I said only three bands from the PopStars fleet had produced Greatest Hits packages (No Angels, Girls Aloud and this week L5)..
. well I was wrong. There's 1 more and thats the delightful Brazilian band Rouge.
They were the most fun of the PopStars' Girlband regime because they managed to, somehow, bring back the vibe of the Spice Girls. Indeed they became the most successful girlband in South American history sale-wise. Which is pretty impressive considering the pop industry is so big there.
They even recorded a number of their songs in Spanish at the height of their success. They produced dolls, toys, merchandise, food and a very lucrative fashion line. In 2002 they released their version of Asereje which was later covered in Spanish by Las Ketchup(whose version actually includes the Rouge girls on backing vocals).
Rouge themselves were not prone to covers as they re-did the B*witched debut and some Hear'Say album tracks. Despite huge success right up till their last release they've called it a day but I don't think its the last Brazil will see/hear of Rouge.
Tracks: Popstar [ ], C'est La Vie(Spanish version) [ ], Ragatanga [ ]
17.
Miio (Sweden)
Miio have managed to do something quite shocking; they've actually made Girls Wanna Have Fun even more poptastic than the original. Hailing from Sweden, Miio are Josepfine and Mia and have so far released two albums with their latest Fever causing a commotion on my Ipod. If you like Ace Of Base you'll like Miio!
Tracks: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun [ ], Fantasi [ ], Once [ ]
18. Monrose (Germany)
Monrose are the latest girlband from Germany following in the stiletto glories of No Angels and Preluders where the PopStars franchise looks as robust as it did back in the TrueBliss days. The three are just about to release their new album and Shame enters the German charts this week.
You can buy their album and check out their simple but effective official website for more information. Notice that Shame appears to be a cover of one my all time girlband tracks, The Lie by Clea!
Track: Shame(Radio Edit) [ ], Work It(B-side) [ ]
Video: Shame [ ]
19.
Milk Honey (Germany)
Milk and Honey just entered the charts this week with this rather brilliant ode to international pop music. Despite being German, the only languages you'll hear on this are Arabic, English and French. Totally camp.
So who are they? Anne Ross was from the girlband Preluders (see below) and her bandmate Maneli Falei is a well established world-music singer. They've joined forces to make the some of the most interesting pop music coming out Europe this year.
Track: Habibi [ ]
Video: Habibi [ ]
20. Cosmo4 (Sweden)
So we've returned to Sweden(get use to it!).
Cosmo4 have yet to release their album but their singles have all been fabbubbletastic and well worth the shipping costs. I'm not sure whether they've called it a day but we hope not as their music fell on this side of 60's bubblegum pop that we rarely hear around these woods these days. Edit: I said wasnt sure whether Cosmo4 had split up because they havent!
They are trying out to represent Sweden this year at Eurovision (thanks ). Yay!
Track: Adios Amigos [ ]
Videos: Peek-a-Boo [ ], Mexico [ ]
21.
EyeQ (Denmark)
DontStopThePop covered EyeQ during our DanskePop season but they were so classy we thought it only right to return to them. Tracks like Be Okay sound ever so close to Kelly Clarkson's move into indiePop that worked so well for her. Sadly EyeQ were before their time and they disbanded.
However they did release a brilliant second album from which Be Okay was the title track and needs as much attention as they truly deserve. As girlbands go, EyeQ's kinky lyrics and excellent melodies make them very special. Check out their interesting take on their "girlband-grannies" key track We Are Family for proof of their rather leftfield (for a PopStars group) attitude.
No cut-run disco cover for EyeQ...
.
Tracks: We Are Family(bonus Track) [ ], Be Okay [ ], Let The Record Spin [ ]
22. Caracola (Sweden)
Now to a Swedish girlband that hasn't disbanded!
Caracola are very now and doing rather well in their native country. I hope and pray they secure some kind of English album. Hell, if Miio can record an English album on the back of their monster of chart history then Caracola can!
Thanks to some very cute special fairies we've had a little listen to a track they've done in English and, despite being work in progress, I hope they throw caution to the wind and follow their hearts cos what I heard was magic! Bring on summer 07!
Track: Summarnatt [ ]
23.
Samajona (Germany)
It would seem that todays journey into girlband zips from Stockholm to Berlin. Thats because Sweden-Germany love their girlbands and for this we love 'em! Samajona, like Caracola, have no TV show to support them which could explain why the band have sadly come stuck.
Still, they released two excellent pop albums that can be placed somewhere in-between Solid HarmoniE and No Angels. The English lyrics to Take Me To The Top are so dirty they make me either think of a male pornstar or a BratWurst.
Track: Take Me To The Top [ ]
Video: Wird Es Heute Passieren [ ]
24.
NG3 (Sweden)
Cutting back to Sweden, if you got hot under your cover over Samajona's lyrics prepare to get all sexually educated with this rather fantastic girlband. NG3 push aside the red-faced double meanings and go straight to the point. Holler contains the timeless lyric "don't be silly put a condom on ya willy" and for this alone NG3 have gone into DontStopthePop Hall of Fame.
However as you'll hear on Holler, which is no relation to the Spice Girl song, they then have that high pitched "heeeee" that we most know as Bo Selecta's tribute to Michael Jackson. Well this band did it first. The girls released one brilliant album, As Nasty As We Wanna Be, which was the album that the Spice Girls should have released instead of Forever.
This was the first 'adult' girlband aimed not to teenage girls but to 23 year olds who knew about Bombay rolls and remembered Kylie when she was Neighbours and a world without reality TV.
Track: Holler [ ]
Videos: Tell Me [ ], The Anthem [ ]
25. YooMii (Germany)
From an adult girlband to Yoomii who probably recall Atomic Kitten before they got all boring (when Kerry was still in the band basically).
Or, alternatively you could say Yoomii are related to Aqua or are the little sisters of Caracola. Their album, Here We Are, is a database of poptastic Euromusic and, as such, a perfect 'getting-ready-to-go-out' soundtrack. YooMii are pretty big in their native Germany where they've just released a DVD-movie to cash-in on the christmas market.
Track: Party Girl [ ]
26. Girlband (Australia)
So to our second stray out of Europe.
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