BIG VOTE THING
ULTIMATE GIRLBAND HITS an Higgins has since said that he legendary lyrics. “I BOUGHT IT.” knew the track was a hit when it was just a drum beat with nothing else on top of it, and he certainly 25 ’DNA‘ LITTLE MIX wasn’t wrong. He rarely is. The initial reception to Little Mix’s second proper single when it premiered last November was warm, 28 ’WHEN I GROW UP‘ but not particularly enthusiastic. PUSSYCAT DOLLS Sure enough, its noir-ish tendanThe trailer single from the Dolls’ cies soon earned it the mass acsecond and final album was an claim it deserved. electric, energetic Darkchild creation that was described by The Times as “batty and brilliant”. Exactly, The Times. Exactly.
The highest-placed Sugababes single on this Top 50 (No27? REALLY?) is this perfectly-formed pop gem, 24 ’BOOTYLICIOUS‘ helmed by Dallas Austin. It was the girls’ last chart-topper before Mut- DESTINY’S CHILD ya left and Amelle was recruited. Kelly, Michelle and Beyonce (none of whom can handle this) sailed to No1 in the US and No2 in the UK 26 ’INDEPENDENT WOMEN when they released this now legPART 1‘ DESTINY’S CHILD endary anthem in 2001. This excellent R’n’B anthem was unleashed in 2000 to accompany 23 ’UNPRETTY‘ TLC the first Charlie’s Angels film, and features some of the girls’ most As one of the coolest girlbands of
A cluster of bona-fide pop geeks give their personal Top 5s
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22 ’DON’T CHA‘ PUSSYCAT DOLLS Nicole Scherzinger and her army of Dolls, including a then-faceless Kimberly Wyatt and Ashley Roberts, stormed onto the scene in 2005 with this impossibly confident R’n’B/hip-hop/pop crossover.
21 ’ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID‘ TATU
27 ’PUSH THE BUTTON‘ SUGABABES
what the experts reckon
all time, TLC’s earnest R’n’B ballad about a woman’s self-image was particularly affecting, and secured them a Billboard No1 in 1999.
JAMES BARR
Controversial and odd as tATu may have been as a brand, they were still able to secure a mammoth hit with this single, simply because it’s absolutely freakin’ brilliant.
20 ’WHOLE AGAIN‘ ATOMIC KITTEN The fourth best-selling girlband single in UK chart history, ‘Whole Again’ was an unprecedented smash hit for the newly-revamped Kittens at the turn of the century. Simple, sweet and hugely likeable,
Capital FM DJ
As a massive Cheryl fanboy I could easily list EVERY Girls Aloud track ever but I’ll go with ‘Biology’!
01 ’STOP‘ SPICE GIRLS
03 ’JUMP DOWN‘ B*WITCHED
It’s maybe not the best Spice Girls song but if I can only go back 15 years then this is the oldest eligible track before Geri Halliwell left and it all went wrong… You can’t have a girl band top 50 and not include The Spice Girls! (‘Who Do You Think You Are’ is my actual favourite if you’re asking).
02 ’BIOLOGY‘ GIRLS ALOUD
Not an obvious B*Witched choice, agreed… but it’s AWESOME. It features 90s record scratches, a key change, and they finally ditched the denim, getting all sexy in the video!!! WIN!!!
04 ’no scrubs‘ tlc Every girl band I’ve interviewed will, depending on their cool points, always say