When frontmen of U2 and Coldplay named the most cutting-edge music of the decade, they pointed to a girl group manufactured on a reality TV show with its own line of false eyelashes. This deep dive explores how Girls Aloud dismantled the reality-TV curse and earned the unironic respect of rock critics while smuggling avant-garde music onto the mainstream charts.

Formed on Pop Stars: The Rivals and thrown into a battle for the 2002 UK Christmas number one, they won thanks to producer Brian Higgins and his hit factory Xenomania, whose disjointed, rule-breaking process built songs like the genre-jumping Biology. We trace their record-breaking run, their commercial empire, and the moving tribute to Sarah Harding.

• The Xenomania laboratory method that stitched together unpredictable pop songs
• Indie rock influences hidden inside glossy hits like Love Machine and No Good Advice
• Their record of 20 consecutive UK top 10 singles and a Brit Award for The Promise
• Sarah Harding’s cancer diagnosis, her passing, and the tribute I’ll Stand By You
• The biggest UK arena tour of 2024 and extensive anniversary reissues