The Saturdays

The Saturdays
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Pop, Electro-pop, Dance-pop, R&B
Years active	2007 - Present
Labels	Polydor Records, Fascination Records, Island Def Jam, Mercury Records
Website	thesaturdays.co.uk
Members	Una Healy Rochelle Humes Mollie King Frankie Sandford Vanessa White

The Saturdays are a British-Irish girl group based and formed in London, United Kingdom. The group, which consists of members Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford and Vanessa White, were formed through Fascination Records in 2007, and have released three studio-albums, two EPs and fifteen singles as of 2013.

The band released their debut single, If This Is Love in July 2008, charting at number-eight, and earning The Saturdays their first top-ten single. The group's second single, Up followed in October 2008, and their debut studio-album was released two weeks later. Chasing Lights charted at number-nine in the United Kingdom, receiving positive reviews from most critics, and was later certified platinum by the BPI. The record also spawned the three further singles; Issues, Just Can't Get Enough and Work - all charting within the Top 20. Following the success of their first album, The Saturdays embarked on their first concert tour throughout June/July 2009, titled, The Work Tour. The band shortly began work on their second studio-album, Wordshaker, which was released in October 2009. It charted identically to Chasing Lights in the UK, and produced the two top-ten hits; Forever Is Over and Ego. The group released an EP, titled, Headlines! featuring six tracks included on previous album, Wordshaker, and six new tracks including the singles; Missing You and Higher, which featured guest vocals from American recording artist, Flo Rida in 2009. The success of these two releases saw The Saturdays perform at twenty-two venues across the UK in The Headlines! Tour. On Your Radar was released as the band's third studio-album in November 2011, featuring the three singles; Notorious, All Fired Up and My Heart Takes Over. In December 2011, the band took to their first arena tour, titled, All Fired Up! Live. 30 Days was released as the thirteenth single by The Saturdays in May 2012, and the first to feature on the group's upcoming fourth studio-album. It peaked successfully in the UK Singles Chart, charting at number-seven. Following their recording for Chasing The Saturdays throughout 2012/2013, the band earnt their first number-one single with What About Us, featuring Jamaican dancehall and reggae artist, Sean Paul. The group are due to release Gentleman as the third track to be taken from the upcoming album in June 2013.

Aside from their musical career, The Saturdays have also written an autobiography, entitled, 'The Saturdays: Our Story', and starred in three television series - ITV2's, 'The Saturdays: 24/7', Channel 4's, 'What Goes On Tour...' and most recently E!'s, 'Chasing The Saturdays'. The band have also appeared in British soap opera, Hollyoaks and their self-titled episode of paranormal television series, 'Ghosthunting With...'. They have also supported many charities, as well as fronting campaigns for Veet, Nintendogs + Cats, Tampax and launching a set of nail polishes sold exclusively through Superdrug.

History

2007-09: Formation, Chasing Lights and The Work Tour

The Saturdays were formed in 2007 through Fascination Records - an imprint of Polydor Records. Holding auditions were held to find five members to create a brand new girl group. Once the formation had been finalised, the band began recording their debut studio-album, titled, Chasing Lights. Whilst supporting fellow British girl band, Girls Aloud on their Tangled Up Tour in 2008, The Saturdays released their first single, "If This Is Love". The song charted successfully in the United Kingdom, and earnt the group their first top-ten single, charting at number-eight. The Saturdays also supported American pop rock band, Jonas Brothers at a performance at Hammersmith Apollo, London. The band confirmed the release of "Up" as the second single to be taken from their first album in October, whilst their debut studio-album, Chasing Lights followed two weeks later, charting at number-nine in the UK Albums Chart. Their third single, "Issues", became a commercial success, charting at number-four, and giving the group their second silver certification by the BPI. The Saturdays were chosen to represent Comic Relief in releasing the official single for the charity in 2008. The track - a cover of Depeche Mode's, "Just Can't Get Enough" charted at number-two in the United Kingdom. "Work" served as the fifth and final single to be released from Chasing Lights in June 2009. It failed to chart within the top-ten in the UK Singles Chart, reaching a peak of twenty-two. Their debut studio-album was re-released in March 2009, to feature "Just Can't Get Enough".

The Saturdays embarked on their first headlining tour, The Work Tour in June 2009, consisting of twenty-three dates. Their success saw them appear in advertisements for Veet and Impulse. The band stated that fashion plays a large part in their portrayal as icons to young women. Sandford said, "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."

2009-11: Wordshaker, Headlines! and Headlines! Live

The group began recording their second studio-album in March 2009. The official artwork for the album was first revealed via the band's official website on 23 September 2009. The Saturdays collaborated with several writers and producers for the follow up to critically-acclaimed album, Chasing Lights. These included; Louis Biancaniello, Chris Braide, Jörgen Elofsson, Quiz & Larossi, Steve Mac, Per Magnusson and Norwegian songwriter, Ina Wroldsen - who had previously contributed tracks to their first studio-album. "Forever Is Over" was released as the lead single taken from Wordshaker in October 2009. The track was initially intended to be recorded by former American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson. The single became the group's second number-two hit in the UK. Wordshaker was officially released a week later, charting identically to its predecessor in the United Kingdom, and thirty-six in Ireland. The album received a further silver certification by the BPI. "Ego" served as the second and final single from Wordshaker. It was written and produced by Steve Mac and Ina Wroldsen. Mac expressed the track's influence of producer, RedOne's previous work with American singer-songwriter, 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." Although charting in the lower regions of the top-ten in the UK, the track has become one of the band's best-selling and most recognised singles.

The Saturdays had originally intended not to release any further material in 2010, however, Wiseman backed the group's decision to release a new EP in an interview with Digital Spy - "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." The band confirmed that the album would not be a full studio-album, but an EP, containing a compilation of previous work featured in Wordshaker, and new material, including the two singles; "Missing You" and "Higher". The music video for Missing You was shot in Málaga, Spain in May 2010, with a digital release following in August. The single charted at number-three, becoming The Saturdays' seventh top-ten hit. Prior to the release of second single, Higher featuring vocals from American singer-songwriter, Flo Rida, the group released Headlines!, which become their highest-charting release, peaking at number-three in the UK Albums Chart.

2011-12: On Your Radar and All Fired Up! Live

The band announced that they had begun working on their third studio-album and fourth overall release in late 2010. Whilst recording the album, they worked with several collaborators including; Lucas Secon, Labrinth, Danish pop band, Alphabeat, Taio Cruz, Space Cowboy, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub and Steve Mac. Wiseman revealed that the style of the album would be "different" and "fierce". The group reassured fans that their third studio-album would still remain Saturdays-esque, but revealed that they would be taking risks in their music. They also revealed that the record would be a lot "sexier" and R&B-sounding than that of their previous releases. The band confirmed that they had written the majority of the album themselves, making it a lot more personal to them. The first single taken from On Your Radar, "Notorious", was released in May 2011, and charted moderately at number-eight in the United Kingdom. At the time of release, The Saturdays also designed a clothing line in collaboration with high street store, Miss Selfridge. The collection included t-shirts with lyrics from the band's singles; "Notorious" and "Higher". "All Fired Up" was released in September 2011, receiving positive reviews from most critics, and charting at number-three in the UK. My Heart Takes Over was released as the final single taken from On Your Radar in November 2011. It charted moderately at number-fifteen in the UK Singles Chart. The group revealed that they would be embarking on a third headlining tour, titled, All Fired Up! Live, in December 2011. It was the band's first arena tour, and saw them perform at fourteen venues across Europe.

2012-Present: Chasing The Saturdays and TBA

In March 2012, The Saturdays confirmed the release of "30 Days", the first single to be taken from their fourth studio-album. In an interview with Sugarscape, Wiseman explained the concept of the single - "It's a really amazing, catchy song but the sentiment behind it is being all excited and counting down the days to seeing someone when you've really been missing that person." Its accompanying music video premiered on 5 April 2012, and charted at number-seven in the United Kingdom, earning the band their eleventh top-ten single. In September 2012, after previous speculation, it was announced that The Saturdays had signed to Island Def Jam and Mercury Records to release future material in the United States and Canada. "What About Us" was first released to the American market in December 2012, to coincide with the release of their US EP, Chasing The Saturdays, and broadcast of their American reality television series of the same name. The programme features the group as they attempt to break America, and also details their personal lives. "What About Us" was later released in the United Kingdom in March 2013, and became The Saturdays' first number-one single. The track sold 114,000 copies in its first week of release - 40,000 more than its nearest competitor (Justin Timberlake). In May 2013, Sandford announced through her Twitter account she and fiancé, Wayne Bridge, were expecting their first child together. A few days later, it was confirmed that the fifteenth single to be released by the band would be previously rumoured track, "Gentleman". A preview of the track was posted with the announcement, and the full track received its radio premiere on 9 May 2013. It will be released both digitally and physically on 30 June 2013.

Other endeavours

Filmography

In November 2008, The Saturdays made a cameo appearance in Hollyoaks Later - a spin-off of the Channel 4 television series, Hollyoaks. In 2009, the band also appeared in the second episode of season one of British television drama, Myths - their first acting role as a band. The episode, titled 'The Syrens' Call', saw the group performing their hit single, "Issues", and also talking to other cast members. In 2010, The Saturdays participated in a documentary series, entitled, 'The Saturdays: 24/7', broadcast for ITV2. The programme followed the group as they promoted the release of their single, "Missing You" and EP, Headlines!. The documentary consisted of six episodes, and proved popular with fans. In May 2011, The Saturdays were subsequently picked up to star in a second series for Channel 4. 'What Goes On Tour...' The series was broadcast simultaneously over five days, with one episode told "through the eyes" of each member of the band. It featured the group preparing for their second headlining tour, Headlines! Live, as well as promotion and recording of their third studio-album. The Saturdays also appeared in an episode of paranormal television series, 'Ghosthunting With...' in November 2010, alongside presenter, Yvette Fielding, who guided them through various locations of a haunted house. In 2011, to coincide with the release of their third studio-album, the band released an exclusive DVD of their 2011 tour, Headlines! Live, only available as part of the deluxe fan edition of On Your Radar.

Merchandise, Sponsorship deals and Philanthropy

In October 2010, The Saturdays released an autobiography, entitled, The Saturdays: Our Story, detailing each member's personal lives, their lives before becoming part of the group, their rise to fame and success as part of The Saturdays. They also give fashion and beauty advice throughout the book. It was written with a ghostwriter, and published through Transworld Publishers - a division of Random House. The Saturdays have fronted campaigns, including; hair removal product, Veet (2009), body spray collection, Impulse (2009) and Nintendo 3DS video game, Nintendogs + Cats (2011). The band have also worked with FashionistA to create a brand of nail polishes sold exclusively through British beauty and health retailer, Superdrug. The group have supported UK cancer charity, Marie Curie, which helps provide nurses to help care for people with terminal cancer. King and Humes appeared on a celebrity edition of Channel 4 game show, The Million Pound Drop in March 2012 in order to raise funds for the charity. They failed to complete the game successfully, but left with a consolation prize of £5,000.

Members

Una Healy

• Born: 10 October 1981 (31)

Healy provided backing vocals for Ireland's Eurovision Song Contest 2006 entry, "Every Song Is a Cry for Love". She also won Ireland's Glinsk Song Contest in both 2004 and 2006. Healy derives from a musical background, and is the niece of country singer, Declan Nerney. She was also an All-Ireland champion swimmer at the age of nine, and is the cousin of Irish athlete, Paul Hession. In 2006, she released an EP, entitled "Sorry". Healy is the eldest member of the band, and has a daughter, Aiofe Belle (born 13 March 2012) with husband, Ben Foden.

Rochelle Humes

• Born: 21 March 1989 (24)

Humes rose to fame alongside Sandford through joining the band, S Club 8 in 2001. She also presented children's television programme, Smile broadcast on CBBC from 2004-06. Humes married JLS member, Marvin Humes on 27 July 2012 at Blenheim Palace, and are expecting their first child together in May 2013.

Mollie King

• Born: 4 June 1987 (25)

King first came to prominence in 2005, whilst auditioning for British teleivision music competition, The X Factor. Although she was rejected as a solo artist, she returned as part of girl group, 'Fallen Angelz' in 2006. The band failed to achieve the success they had anticipated, exiting the competition at the second stage of the competition.

Frankie Sandford

• Born: 14 January 1989 (24)

Sandford - alike Humes - found fame in 2001, as a member of S Club 8 - a spin-off of the original British pop group, S Club 7. Sandford's first solo work was as a featured artist on a track titled, "Dreaming", along with fellow band member, Calvin Goldspink. The single charted at number-nineteen in the United Kingdom. In 2010, Sandford participated in another solo project, appearing on Kids in Glass Houses', "Undercover Lover". She made an appearance in the track's accompanying video, as well as joining the band's, 'The Dirt Tour' in 2010 for selected dates. She also appeared in two-part celebrity television series, The Door, broadcast on ITV, however was the first to be eliminated. In April 2013, it was announced that Sandford and boyfriend-of-two-years, Wayne Bridge were engaged. The couple announced that they were expecting their first child toghether in May 2013.

Vanessa White

• Born: 30 October 1989 (23)

White appeared in several theatre productions before joining the band. These included the West End musical production of The Lion King as Young Nala and in The King And I from 2000-02. In 2009, she provided guest vocals for British MC, Master Shortie's, "Swagger Chick", as well as participating in the first series of British ITV celebrity reality television series, Popstar to Operastar. In 2013, she was also featured in Vince Kidd's track, "The Zoo". White is the youngest member of the band, but is often referred to as the lead-singer of the group, due to her impressive vocal range and ability.

Discography

Studio Albums:

• Chasing Lights (2008)
• Wordshaker (2009)
• On Your Radar (2011)
• TBA (2013)

EPs:

• Headlines! (2010)
• Chasing The Saturdays (2013)

Concert Tours

Headlining:

• The Work Tour (2009)
• Headlines! Live (2011)
• All Fired Up! Live (2011)

Supporting:

Tangled Up Tour - Girls Aloud (2008)

See also

• List of The Saturdays songs
• List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart

External links

Official website