Girl Thing

Girl Thing
Origin	London, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Pop
Years active	1998–2001, 2013–2014
Labels	RCA
Associated acts	Wonderland
Members	Jodi Albert Michelle Barber Anika Bostelaar Linzi Martin Nikki Stuart

Girl Thing were an English-Dutch girl group, consisting of members Jodi Albert, Anika Bostelaar, Linzi Martin, Michelle Barber and Nikki Stuart. They were formed in 1998 by Simon Cowell and were originally intended to rival the Spice Girls, but their success was minor and short-lived. They sold 2 million records worldwide before disbanding in 2001.

The group reformed in 2013 for the second series of The Big Reunion to perform a one-off gig at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2014.

Career

In 1998, Simon Cowell, having previously turned down the Spice Girls, decided to form his own girl group. Girl Thing's debut single "Last One Standing", written and produced by the Steelworks production team of Tim Lever, Mike Percy and Eliot Kennedy. "Last One Standing" received major promotion and media attention and was expected to top the UK Singles Chart with ease. Record company executives funneled huge amounts of money into the promotional campaign, including an appearance at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Girl Thing even pre-recorded their congratulatory interview with BBC Radio 1. However, the song ended up only charting at number eight. It also made the Australian top 15, where it achieved gold sales.

After the failure of their second single "Girls on Top", which reached number 25, the album release was cancelled in Britain. It was, however, still released in Australia, New Zealand, India and Japan. The band also recorded the songs "Young, Free & Happy", "Extraordinary Love", "Summer Daze", "If That's What It Takes", "Last Goodbye" and "You Can Run but You Can't Hide". The band also recorded "Pure and Simple", before it was given to Hear'Say, the winners of ITV's Popstars.

On 27 December 2013, it was announced that Girl Thing were among the bands taking part in the second series series of ITV2's The Big Reunion.

Post-split

• Jodi Albert appeared on the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks as Debbie Dean before joining short-lived girl group Wonderland. She married Westlife singer Kian Egan in 2009 with whom she has two sons.
• Michelle Barber worked as a presenter on Nickelodeon.
• In July 2007, Anika Bostelaar released a single called "King of the Dancefloor" under the name 'Kiana'. She also passed the audition in the Dutch-Flemish TV programme K2 zoekt K3.
• Nicola Harrington makes occasional appearances on the ITV programme Lorraine.
• In 2014, Linzi Martin auditioned for The X Factor, but failed to get through to bootcamp.

Discography

Albums

• Girl Thing (2000)

Singles

• "Last One Standing" (Cardsleeve 2 Tracks)
• "Last One Standing" (Maxi Single Rare 2 Tracks with Interview & Enhanced CD (Featuring Video)
• "Last One Standing" (Maxi Single 4 Tracks with Interview & Enhanced CD (Featuring Video)
• "Last One Standing" (Cassette Tape 2 Tracks)
• "Girls on Top" (Limited Edition Maxi Single with Poster 2 Track with Videoclip)
• "Girls on Top" (Japan Edition EP 3 Tracks)
• "Young, Free and Happy" (Maxi Single 4 Tracks With Videoclip) (Australia Only)
• "It's a Girl Thing" EP (New Zealand And Japan Only)

External links

• Girl Thing on Myspace
• Girl Thing on Twitter