The line up consisted of members Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh.

The group's main musical style is pop, and they have also experimented with other sounds including electropop, dance-pop and dance-rock throughout their career.

The concept of the programme, hosted by Big Brother presenter Davina McCall, was to produce a boy band and a girl group who would be "rivals" and compete for the 2002 Christmas number one single.

Following the initial success of Hear'Say (winners of the original Popstars show), several thousand applicants attended auditions across the United Kingdom in hope of being selected.

However, two of these were disqualified before the live shows began: Hazel Kaneswaran was found to be too old to participate,[6] while Nicola Ward refused to sign the contract, claiming the pay the group would receive was too low.

[8] During October and November, the finalists took to the stage participating in weekly Saturday night live performances (alternating week-by-week between the girls and boys).

[11][12] The song received critical acclaim; Alexis Petridis of The Guardian stated that "it proved a first: it was a reality pop record that didn't make you want to do physical harm to everyone involved in its manufacture".

In November 2003, Girls Aloud released a cover version of the Pointer Sisters' 1980s dance hit "Jump".

Girls Aloud then recorded a cover of The Pretenders' "I'll Stand by You" which was released as the official Children in Need charity single.

Despite, a one-week promotional tour, "Biology" peaked at number twenty-six on the ARIA Singles Chart, failing to break the group in the Australian market.

Girls Aloud then appeared in an episode of Ghosthunting with... (without Nadine) towards the end of 2006, in which Yvette Fielding guided them through haunted locations.

Girls Aloud became the first British act to reach the top five purely on download sales;[32] the single peaked at number three following its physical release.

The third and final single from the album, "Can't Speak French", continued Girls Aloud's top ten streak.

[47] In July 2009, the group announced that they were taking a year-long hiatus to pursue solo projects, and would reunite for a new studio album in 2010 which did not materialise.

[55] On 26 August 2020, group member Sarah Harding stated that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer that had advanced to "other parts" of her body.

[59] On 24 July 2022, Girls Aloud appeared in Hyde Park, London, to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research.

They endorsed mobile phones and MP3 players, made personal appearances and sang at Samsung events, and contributed to competition prizes, among other activities.

[76] The group signed a deal to front a promotional campaign for a new low-calorie KitKat bar called "Senses" in March 2008.

Girls Aloud's cover of The Pretenders' "I'll Stand by You" was released as the official 2004 Children in Need single, with proceeds going to the charity.

[82][83] Kimberley Walsh said, "It's a fantastic song and hopefully will raise tons of money for people living in really difficult situations here and in Africa.

"[88] In a review of the group's debut single "Sound of the Underground", The Guardian's Alexis Petridis exclaimed it "proved a first: it was a reality pop record that didn't make you want to do physical harm to everyone involved in its manufacture.

"[89] In response to Girls Aloud's debut album, Jacqueline Hodges of BBC Music said that "Higgins injects an element of instant-catchy-cool to the songs without going overboard in trying to shape uber-chic dance floor hits.

"[91] He later wrote that Chemistry is "a record that dispenses with the tiresome business of verses and instead opts for songs apparently constructed by stitching eight different choruses together.

[99][100] The group's debut album Sound of the Underground takes influence from a number of 1980s genres, such as synthpop, power pop, and new wave, and 1990s styles like big beat, drum and bass, and garage.

[91][94] Chemistry takes influences from a wide variety of sources, including "everything from French chanson to piano-pounding blues to the clipped R&B of the Small Faces".

"[107] The songs are noticeably less rooted in electronic music, although "Swinging London Town" is "a dark, squiggly synth pop epic a la Pet Shop Boys" and "It's Magic" is composed of "little Röyksopp-like keyboard riffs".

[121] Girls Aloud were one of the pop acts to achieve continued success and longevity throughout the mid-2000s while R&B and rock music became more popular.

In a review for the group's 2008 Tangled Up Tour, David Pollock of The Independent noted that "Girls Aloud remain confidently the only pop show in town.

"[120] Girls Aloud are notably one of the few British reality television acts to achieve continued success and longevity.

"[133] In addition, Girls Aloud have had their music covered by artists as varied as Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, and Coldplay, among others.