Having performed at the Royal Variety Performance in December to end a extremely successful year, Girls Aloud started 2005 with a bang, being nominated for Best Pop Act at The Brit Awards - one of biggest events of the year! They also announced the release of their 8th single, Wake Me Up, which was accompanied by a biker video and shot to #4 in the UK Charts.
The biggest event of the year was the sell-out UK tour which saw Girls Aloud perform at 24 locations around Great Britain. Fans and reviewers alike praised the girls for an amazing show each and every night with Love Machine, Teenage Dirtbag and Le Freak being some of the highlights.
After holidays for each of the girls and Cheryl announcing she was getting married to long-term boyfriend, Ashley Cole, they hit the studio to record the third album. The first track, Long Hot Summer, hit the Top 10 in August 2005.
However, it wasn't all good news. Besides Sarah's failed reunion with former lover Mikey Green; Nadine Coyle was also subjected to press attention of her weight. According to reports the girls were ordered to gain weight over fears they had gotten too thin. Not long after, Cheryl angered fans with a comment in Glamour magazine where she said those who had seen the girls more than 5 times may "have something missing in their lives."
During September, tabloids began printing rumours of a split. They had originally reported that several girls were going solo in February and, following mp3's becoming available of Sarah's tracks with Project G, the rumours were reignighted. What they failed to mention was the fact that these songs were actually recorded in 2002, before Sarah even auditioned for Girls Aloud. Stories of a rift in the band combined with the latest single falling quickly out of the Top 20 caused much speculation about how long the band could remain together.
Ignoring the tabloid trash, Nicola and Co announced 2006 Tour Dates and prepared to launch a double assault on the singles charts. 'Biology' was the be released in November with 'See The Day' following just one month later. As the promotional work begun a documentary showing girls with their families and each other reminded long-term fans what attracted them to the girls in the first place.
'Biology' become another big hit for Girls Aloud, storming to #4 in the UK Singles Chart. But it was elsewhere that it's appeal was truly showcased. The single made #1 on the iTunes Most Downloaded list, resulting it Girls Aloud's highest ever placing on the Official Download Chart - #2 behind Madonna. The video also hit #1 on the TV Airplay chart.
The groups 3rd album was already recieving amazing reviews from respected publications such as NME and The Guardian, with TOTP calling it the album of the year. Upon it's release it hit #11 in the albums chart selling just short of 82,000 copies in one week. Like 'What Will The Neighbours Say?' it went platinum just one month after it's release.
Shortly after, 'See The Day' become Girls Aloud's 11th Top 10 single - meaning they broke a record even the Spice Girls didn't manage. Thats right, they ended 2005 as the FIRST EVER all girl group to have 11 consecutive Top 10 singles with their first 11 releases!
