The Saturdays
The Saturdays performing in September 2011
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Pop, electropop, dance-pop, R&B
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Polydor, Fascination
Website	thesaturdays.co.uk
Members
Una Healy Mollie King Frankie Sandford Vanessa White Rochelle Wiseman

The Saturdays are a British-Irish girl group based in London. The group consists of Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White and Rochelle Wiseman. In 2007 the band were formed through Fascination Records which gave them an instant record deal with Fascination, a sub-division of Polydor Records.

The band rose to fame when they released their debut single "If This Is Love", which gave them their first top ten hit. They later released their first mainstream studio album Chasing Lights. It was accredited platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry, while "Up", "Issues" and "Just Can't Get Enough" all received silver certifications. After the album, the band began their first sell-out tour The Work Tour. While touring, the band began recording their second studio album, Wordshaker which was released in October 2009, which gained silver certification by BPI.

In 2010, as a bridge between their 2010 release Wordshaker and their planned 2011 album, the band released their first extended play, Headlines!, the first single "Missing You" released and second single, "Higher" which featured guest vocals from Flo Rida. On Your Radar is their third studio album which was released in November 2011, with top ten singles "Notorious" and "All Fired Up" released before the album. To date the band have released thirteen singles in the United Kingdom alone.

In 2011, it was revealed that the band were attempting to crack the American music industry, They are currently due to star in their own TV show on American cable network E!, in 2012. The band have previously had their own TV show in the UK, The Saturdays: 24/7. They have furthermore written a book titled, The Saturdays: Our Story.

History[link]

[edit] 2007–09: Formation, Chasing Lights and The Work Tour

The Saturdays were formed in 2007 after holding auditions to become a member of the group. The group was put together through the record label Polydor Records which meant they would have an instant record deal and were signed to Fascination Records, a sub-label of Polydor. The band began recording their debut album while touring with Girls Aloud on their Tangled Up Tour. They were also offered songs which were rejected by Girls Aloud.^[1] They said "We all thought it was a bit of a cheek. Why would we want their rejects? [...] It's bad enough with all the comparisons being made."^[1] Whilst on tour with Girls Aloud, the band released their first single "If This Is Love". The song features additional backing vocals from Danish singer Nabiha.^[2] The song charted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart after it sold 14,990 copies in its first week of release.^[3] The single was also the second highest new entry of the week behind Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" which debuted at number four.^[4] As well as supporting Girls Aloud, The Saturdays also supported the Jonas Brothers at their Hammersmith Apollo gig.^[5]

Their debut album, Chasing Lights was released in October 2008 and peaked at number 9 on the UK Albums Chart. Later the album was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.^[6] The last track of Chasing Lights, "Why Me, Why Now" was originally a demo by Alex Cartana, but later picked up by the band. The band were often compared to other British female acts such as the Sugababes and Girls Aloud, however they have been praised for their debut album.^[7] "Up" was confirmed to be the second single from the album and first studio version of "Up" premiered on Popjustice on 17 July 2008 in the form of a short clip, after the group previously performed the song, when it was being recorded, live at various gigs in the United Kingdom.^[8] The song then officially premiered in full on 31 August 2008 on BBC Radio 1.^[9] On 19 October 2008 "Up" debuted at number five on the UK Singles Chart with first week sales of 26,593.^[10] In turn outpeaking and outselling previous single "If This Is Love" which debuted at number eight with first week sales of 14,990.^[10] Third single released "Issues" which became a commercial success after charting at number-four. Both "Up" and "Issues" found themselves gaining a certification of Silver by the British phonographic industry.^[6] In March 2009 The Saturdays released a cover of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" for Comic Relief, the single was a success and charted at number-two on the UK Singles Chart and was also certificated Siver by the BPI.^[6] "Work" was released as the fifth and final single from the album and was their first single to miss the top-ten on the Singles Chart.

Their first headlining tour, The Work Tour, had twenty-seven dates.^[11] McFly's Dougie Poynter, Sandford's boyfriend played bass guitar during "Just Can't Get Enough".^[12][13][14] White tripped on some wires back stage and had a foot injury, she remained seated on stage for some shows.^[15] In 2008 and 2009 the Saturdays appeared in adverts for several products including a brand of deodorant, tampons,^[16] mobile phones, an operating system, and hair removal products.^[17] The band was named as models for hair removal product, Veet.^[18] The band later became new faces of major campaign of Impulse women's deodorant.^[19] The Saturdays said that fashion is a huge part of the band, saying people look up to them as their icons.^[20] Sandford stated in an interview with Mail Online "'We aren't models who can't sing. We all sing and we all dance. No one's telling us what to do. We're all different because we're just ourselves – and that's the way it should be."^[21]

The Saturdays performing at The Civic Hall in Wolverhampton on 20 June 2009.

[edit] 2009–11: Wordshaker and Headlines!

Whilst performing on their first headlining tour, The Work Tour, the band started to go back into the recording studio, to record their second studio album in early March 2009. This was so the second studio album would be due for release in late 2009.^[22] The group performed two songs from the recording sessions "One Shot" and "Wordshaker" were part of the setlist of The Work Tour and will appear on the album.^[22] The official cover was revealed in a special mailer to fans on the group's official form/website on 23 September 2009.^[23] The band began working with a number of writers and producers, including; Louis Biancaniello, Chris Braide, Jörgen Elofsson, Quiz & Larossi, Steve Mac, Per Magnusson and Norwegian songwriter Ina Wroldsen who has written previously for the group as well as working with The Pussycat Dolls, Pixie Lott and Leona Lewis.^[24] "Forever Is Over" was released as the lead single from the band's second studio album and was originally written for former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson by former Busted star James Bourne and production group, The Runaways, who is well known for their writing for the likes of Jordin Sparks' single "Battlefield". The single was also wanted by American pop rock artist, Pink.^[25] "Forever Is Over" charted at number-two on the UK Singles Chart.

Wordshaker was released in October 2010 a whole year after Chasing Lights was released. The album had almost identical peaks to their first studio album with the album peaking at number-nine on the UK Albums Chart and thirty-six on the Irish Albums Chart. The album also gained a certification of Silver by the BPI.^[6] "Ego" was released as the second and final single from the album, which was written by Steve Mac and Ina Wroldsen. Mac also acknowledged the influence of producer RedOne's work with Lady Gaga, "There’s no question that without [Lady] Gaga we wouldn’t be where we are at the moment, with what Red has done and how he has changed radio in America, and what’s acceptable, and where dance is." "Ego" follows a chord progression of: Bm-G-D-Bm-G.^[26] The band decided that "Ego" would be the final single from their second studio album. Rochelle Wiseman backed the album by saying "We are not releasing any more singles from the album, as we want to release a new album, not because there is no more good songs on the album." as there was people question the album's songs.^[27] "Ego" charted at number-nine and number-ten on the UK and Irish Singles Charts and later gained a Silver certification by the BPI.^[6] However the song was released and one of the band's lowest chart peaking singles, it became one of the band's best selling singles.

The band originally intended not to release any material in 2010,^[28] but Rochelle Wiseman explained in an interview with Digital Spy that "[they]'d come across some songs that [they] were really excited about. [...] [so they] wanted to just get everything out [then]."^[29] "We finished [Wordshaker] and we'd come across some songs that we were really excited about. The songs that we had found were so current, and we'd written a couple of songs ourselves, [so] we wanted to just get everything out now."^[29] The band confirmed that the album would not be a studio album and would in fact be an Extended play also known as a Mini album. The band confirmed to be working with Steve Mac and Ina Wroldsen on the album as well as some new producers.^[30] "Missing You" was confirmed to be the first single released from the EP. Missing You" is an electropop song incorporating elements of trance and synthpop.^[31] It was written by Lukas Hilbert and Alexander Kronlund.^[32] The music video was shot at the end of May 2010, in Málaga, Spain^[28] and later premiered on 26 June on the group's official website.^[33] "Missing You" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three.^[34]

After Headlines! was released it charted at number-three on the UK Albums Chart and number-ten on the Irish Singles Chart which made it their third top-ten album in the United Kingdom and the band's first top ten album in Ireland. "Higher" was confirmed to be the second single from the EP. After the group's previous single "Missing You" was beaten to number one for a second time by Flo Rida, Wiseman joked that the group would have to record a song with the US rapper before they could top the UK Singles Chart.^[35] Then several days later it was confirmed that a collaboration had gone ahead with Flo Rida recording vocals for one of the group's songs.^[36] The single charted at number-ten on the UK Singles Chart and number-eleven on the Irish Singles Chart.

[edit] 2011—: On Your Radar and 30 Days

The group announced they were working on their third full-length studio album in late 2010.^[37] While recording the album they worked with a variety of collaborators for the album, including producers Lucas Secon, Labrinth^[38] Danish pop band, Alphabeat,^[39][40] Taio Cruz,^[41] Space Cowboy,^[42] Carl Falk,^[43] Rami Yacoub,^[44] and Steve Mac.^[45] Wiseman confirmed that the record was "different" and "fierce".^[46] The band promised that their third studio album would be different and they would be taking risks in their music. They announced that their new sound is "dance floor" music.^[47] The band confessed that the album would be a lot "sexier" and a lot more R&B that their previous albums.^[48] The band confirmed that they have wrote the majority of the album themselves which makes the album a lot more personal to them.^[49] They said that the new album is; "it’s a very cool".^[48] The band said their new music was "current", "fun", "naughty", "girly" and "dancy".^[50] Emeli Sandé said that she wrote a track for the band which was very dark and a strong ballad. She said that the lyrics are dark and very honest.^[51] The first single released from the album was "Notorious". The single was released digitally on 22 May 2011 in the UK.^[52] The single peaked at number-eight on the UK Singles Chart and nineteen on the Irish Singles Chart. After the release of "Notorious" the band released a clothing line with high street store, Miss Selfridge. The t-shirts with feature lyrics from the band's song; "Notorious" and "Higher" with the lyrics on T-shirts saying. 'I'm Notorious' and 'Whatcha Doing Saturday Girl?' slogan tees. The T-shirts were designed by the band themselves and picked the lyric[s] out themselves.^[53] "All Fired Up" was released on 4 September 2011, which charted at number-three on the UK Singles Charts and six on the Irish Singles Charts. It was confirmed that the album would be titled, On Your Radar with third single released "My Heart Takes Over".^[54]

After the band's previously tour finished, The Headlines Tour the band confirmed that they would go on tour again in December 2011, however this time the tour would be an arena tour,^[50] instead of a theatre tour like the band has previously done on the last two headlining tours.^[55] They also revealed that they are going to "fly" during the tour as it is a dream for the band. It was confirmed that the tickets would be released on Monday 13 June 2011 and tour would be titled All Fired Up Tour. There has been 11 dates confirmed [so far].^[56] They said "It's an arena tour so we're forced to go all out for a big production."^[20] Mollie King said that fans should expect a lot of bright colours and brightly coloured blocks for the production.^[20] The Saturdays later revealed in late June Irish tour dates.^[57] The girls confirmed during an interview with Capital FM that their new single, "30 Days" would be "very pop", "amazing" and "crazy". The single was premiered on March 30, 2012 on BBC Radio 1's breakfast show with Chris Moyles. The video premiered on April 5, 2012. It was further confirmed that the group were working on their fourth studio album, their fifth over-all release.^[58].

Other endeavours[link]

Filmography[link]

The Saturdays outside the Rovers Return Inn on the set of Coronation Street.

In mid-2008, The Saturdays made a cameo appearance in Hollyoaks Later. In 2009, they appeared in Myths which was their first acting role as a band. The band was featured performing in the episode they were also featured talking to the cast members and the cast members where their "fans".^[59]

In 2010 The Saturdays filmed a documentary series entitled The Saturdays: 24/7 for ITV2. Which witnessed the group touring while promoting the upcoming release of their single "Missing You", and recording sessions for the their first extended play, Headlines!. The documentary had six episodes. The band later announced that they done the show to prove that there is no bitchiness in the band like the papers always rumour. "You always see in the papers, that me and girls are always arguing, we really don't, and there is no bitching at all."^[60] In the first episode of The Saturdays: 24/7 the band were shown gigging around the UK, without King, after she was taken ill after being bitten by a horse-fly^[61] The show was a success and later the band confirmed to be doing another show, however entitled The Saturdays: What Goes On, On Tour which was also a six-part fly on the wall documentary for Channel 4. The program featured the band on tour and what happens on tour with the band and promotional activities including beginning to record their third studio album. It also showed the band travelling a lot. The Saturdays then also appeared in an episode of Ghosthunting with... towards then end of 2010, in which Yvette Fielding guided them through haunted locations. The Saturdays later released a DVD of them performing on tour, entitled The Saturdays: Headlines Live! Which was only included with the Deluxe Fan Edition of On Your Radar.^[62]

Before the band, Frankie Sandford and Rochelle Wiseman were regular cast members in children's musical television comedy, I Dream they were featured in with their band mates of S Club 8. The programme aimed at and mostly about teenagers, which aired in 2004 (see 2004 in television). It was set at an esteemed performing arts college near Barcelona, Spain, and focuses on thirteen youths who are invited to enrol at the college, Avalon Heights, over the summer. Mollie King appeared on The X Factor as a solo act and in a band in aid to find fame as singer. Vanessa White made common appearances on Almost Famous she also appeared in a Cheese strings advert which she promoted.^[63]

Merchandise and sponsorship deals[link]

In 2010 The Saturdays each contributed their part to a book The Saturdays: Our Story an autobiography which was released on 25 October 2010. The book was written with a ghostwriter and published by the Transworld imprint Bantam Press.^[64][65][66] The band also began a book signing tour starting at WH Smith in Bluewater.^[66] The book gives an insight into the world of each band members, where they explain the success with the band and before their lives in the band (Wiseman and Sandford's case their time in S Club 8). They also talk about they love life, their friendship within the band and a personal insight before they found fame. They give fashion and beauty tips throughout the book and gossip accompanied by photos from each other bands own collection.^[67]

The Saturdays became the new face of hair removal product, Veet in 2009.^[18] In 2010 the band became the face of Impulse, a women's deodorant.^[68] They become ambassadors for Nintendo 3DS game, Nintendogs + Cats prior to the release of their third studio album, taking over from Girls Aloud.^[69] The band also worked with FashionistA to release a new brand of nail varnish, which was launched in Superdrug.^[70]

Philanthropy[link]

All five of the members have been involved in charity work. The Saturdays released a cover of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough". The single was released on 1 March 2009 in aid to 2009's Comic Relief. The song debuted at number-two making the band the first artist to miss the number-one spot with a Comic Relief single. However, the single out sold the original version. The Saturdays later changed to yellow tabards and they toured London's Westfield Shopping Mall with buckets and asked customers to part with their cash. The Saturdays have supported Marie Curie, which provides nurses to help care for people with terminal cancer.^[71] King and Wiseman appeared on the 24 March 2012 episode of The Million Pound Drop to raise money for Marie Curie, leaving with a £5000 consolation prize after missing the 8th and final question.

The band also have done a charity gig for Sport Relief.^[72] The band went onto become supporters of Elton John's charity, Elton John AIDS Foundation.^[73] They also went onto do a charity gig with other artists for Help for Heroes to raise money for injured British soldiers.^[74]

Artistry[link]

Musical style[link]

Their first debut album was described as "sassy, modern, chart-ready pop is more straightforward than most Girls Aloud singles and younger than the music Sugababes are now recording."^[7] Petridis of Allmusic described Wordshaker "combining aggressive basslines and vocals that are a pinch of prowess" and "praised the catchiness [that the songs] can't be denied".^[75] And said "If anything, the girls are showing even more confidence this time around" and said that the album was a "fresh-sounding".^[76] Later, when the band released their first Extended play, Headlines! critics said "offers a tantalising glimpse of what to expect from the group's next album proper".^[77] Others said that the band were "assert a more serious side of their personality"^[78] "packs a pop punch" and complimented the "sheer swooning, girly drama of "Died in Your Eyes".^[79] and "a feisty edge", and concluded by calling the album "short but sweet".^[80]

Influences[link]

The album's debut album, Chasing Lights takes influence from a number of genres such as, synthpop, power pop, and New Wave. The album also takes a big electro-pop influence in the album and dance-pop.^[81] Upon the release of the album, it was compared to Girls Aloud, Sugababes and Spice Girls. However, the band refused to accept that their music had comparisons.^[1][7] The band's debut single, "If This Is Love," featured elements of Synthpop and New Wave genres.^[2][82] Many critics pointed out that they believe that the band's music would appeal more to the gay community.^[83][84] However, the band's music has taken criticism from some; Sir Elton John labelled the band's music "crap" and stated that he could tell the difference between Girls Aloud's music and The Saturdays' music.^[85] Upon the release of the second album, Wordshaker the band released a pop rock track, "Forever Is Over". The album was also said to be a laid-back electro poppy offering that recalls the more subdued moments from their debut album."^[86] Talking about the album and the single "Ego"; We were searching for sounds and found the basic hook sound that’s in the verse and carries all the way through. I started playing along to it and then Ina started singing along, and the song was written over that. No drums were ever put down.^[87] Headlines! was released in 2010, which was the band's first Extended play on the EP, the band have made use of auto-tuning on their vocals, most notable on "Missing You" and "Higher"^[77] The said said about the music on Headlines! "We finished [Wordshaker] and we'd come across some songs that we were really excited about. The songs that we had found were so current, and we'd written a couple of songs ourselves, [so] we wanted to just get everything out now".^[29] The synth-laden "Higher" has become an instant fan fave following recent live performances and, with its infectious chorus and super-sassy lyrics.^[77]

On Your Radar the third studio album from the band, they said they were beginning to take risks in their music genre. They spoke; "I think every artist needs to, sort of, reinvent themselves and we don’t want any track to sound like it could have been on our previous albums. It’s going to be a step up from the last album but we’ll keep it The Saturdays-esque."^[50] The band described the songs lyrics as "playful" with a "drop-out chorus"^[47] and the song is often labelled "it’s a very cool" by the band.^[48] They described their album as "current", "fun", "naughty" and "girly".^[50] "Notorious" was described by critics "big" and that it was "quite amazing".^[88] Their new music was also compared to Rihanna, The Black Eyed Peas and Kelis' music.^[88] The Saturdays also teamed up with MNEK and Space Cowboy in order to help them to record "club bangers".^[89] "All Fired Up" is an Electro house and dance-pop track.^[42]

Solo projects[link]

Una Healy provided backing vocals for Ireland's Eurovision Song Contest 2006 entry, "Every Song Is a Cry for Love". Healy won Ireland's Glinsk Song Contest in both 2004 and 2006,^[90] Healy comes from a musical background and is the niece of country singer Declan Nerney.^[91] She is a cousin of Irish athlete Paul Hession^[92] and was an All-Ireland champion swimmer at age 9).^[93] and decided to teach herself to play using her mother's guitar and from then on began to write songs of her own. In 2006, Healy released an extended play, entitled Sorry.

Mollie King auditioned for The X Factor in 2005, however she was turned away by the judges. She joined girl-group, Fallen Angelz in 2006. The band failed to get the success they hoped and auditioned for The X Factor. They made it to bootcamp but were turned away at the second stage.

Frankie Sandford first found fame in 2001 when she was previously in band, S Club 8. Sandford first took a solo project on when she featured on track, "Dreaming" along with Calvin Goldspink. The single charted at number nineteen on the UK Singles Charts. In 2010 Sandford took another solo project on and she featured on a song "Undercover Lover" with Kids in Glass Houses.^[94] She also appeared on the bands' The Dirt Tour (2010) for a number of dates. She appeared in television show for charity, The Door and Sandford was the first to be eliminated. In 2011 Zoo Magazine voted Sandford No. 1 Hottest Body in the World^[95]

Vanessa White appeared in several theatre productions, including the West End production of The Lion King as Young Nala and also played one of the King's daughters in The King And I from 2000–2002.^[96] She has a brother, Ryan, and a younger sister, Celine.^[97] Her vocal range has been compared to a number of American artists including, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé and Mariah Carey.^[98][99] White provided guest vocals on Master Shortie's track, "Swagger Chick". In January 2010 White participated in the first series of British ITV1 celebrity reality television programme Popstar to Operastar.

Rochelle Wiseman also rose to fame in 2001 when she joined band, S Club 8 alongside Sandford. Wiseman presented children's television programme Smile from 2004 to 2006.

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Chasing Lights (2008)
• Wordshaker (2009)
• On Your Radar (2011)

Extended plays

• Headlines! (2010)

They have garnered 11 UK Singles Chart Top 10 Hits As Of May 27 2012.

Concert tours[link]

Other Concerts

• Party on the Pitch

See also[link]

• List of The Saturdays songs

References[link]