Something New

"Something New" is a song by Girls Aloud, released as the lead single from their second greatest hits compilation Ten, released to commemorate the group's 10-year anniversary of their formation on Popstars: The Rivals. It marked the group's first single since "Untouchable" in the spring of 2009, which was infamously ignored on the JT40 fill-in-the-blank charts compiled following the chart's return in 2011. On Jessica's Top 40, "Something New" debuted at #30 based on just one day of impact following its release and went on to become Girls Aloud's sixth #1 single on December 2, 2012.

Girls Aloud - the closest thing the 2000s had to the Spice Girls - established themselves as one of the most successful pop acts on Jessica's Top 40 following a long-running streak of top 5 singles that began when the ballads "See The Day" and "Whole Lotta History" helped the Chemistry era recover from an initial disappointment. From there the group upped their total of chart-toppers to five, with the last of them, "The Loving Kind", being my personal favorite from Girls Aloud and going on to become their biggest hit to date.

But the girls never went anywhere following "The Loving Kind", as the group took an indefinite hiatus so its members could pursue solo projects. The most successful of those projects proved to be Cheryl Cole's three-album solo career, largely helped by her stint as a judge on the British talent competition The X Factor, with her 2009 solo debut "Fight For This Love" becoming one of the UK's fastest-selling singles of the year; despite this, none of Cole's solo singles have reached the top 10 on JT40. And like the Spice Girls' solo careers, Girls Aloud's members proved they're better as a group than individuals. Nadine Coyle's solo single "Insatiable" was lackluster, while Nicola Roberts' solo album Cinderella's Eyes, despite receiving acclaim among fans and critics, also proved to be a disappointment in my book, especially its atrocious lead single "Beat Of My Drum". For Girls Aloud to make an impression on me again, they needed a reunion - and they delivered with their 10-year anniversary in 2012.

In August 2012, Cheryl Cole confirmed a Girls Aloud reunion would take place near the end of the year, and two months later a countdown appeared on the group's website counting down to October 19. That was when "Something New" was officially released to UK radio, with a release as a physical and download single slated for the following month. Girls Aloud announced they would support their reunion with a greatest hits album and a tour.

"Something New", despite its title, brought the group back to familiar territory, working with production/songwriting team Xenomania on an electropop song featuring an unusual structure and multiple hooks - definitive of Girls Aloud's classic material. The song's poppy sound, shouted vocals and message of taking control received several comparisons to some of the Spice Girls' hits. The single was released November 18, 2012 in the UK and debuted at #2, upstaged by X Factor alum Olly Murs' comeback single "Troublemaker".

Despite my chart's domination by Lita Ford at the time of the song's release, "Something New" managed to become Girls Aloud's sixth #1, interrupting Lita's reign with "Devil In My Head" for one week. Its success on JT40 proved that Girls Aloud can continue to hold their own regardless of the dominant trends on my chart.