Sound of the Underground (song)

For the album of its namesake, see Sound of the Underground (album).

"Sound of the Underground"
Single by Girls Aloud
from the album Sound of the Underground
B-side"Stay Another Day"
Released16 December 2002 (2002-12-16)
RecordedNovember 2002[1]
Genre
Length3:41
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Girls Aloud singles chronology
"Sound of the Underground"
(2002) 		"No Good Advice"
(2003)
Audio sample
Music video
"Sound of the Underground" on YouTube

"Sound of the Underground" is a song that was the debut single of British-Irish pop group Girls Aloud, and later featured on their debut album of the same title. The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and Niara Scarlett, and produced by Higgins and his production team Xenomania. Following Girls Aloud's formation on the ITV1 reality television show Popstars: The Rivals, "Sound of the Underground" was released 16 days later, on 16 December 2002. Commercially, it was an immediate success; it became the year's Christmas number one in the UK, spending four consecutive weeks atop the chart. It also reached number one in Ireland and peaked within the top forty in Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.

The music video was recorded in an empty London warehouse days after Girls Aloud were formed. The song has been performed by Girls Aloud in a number of live appearances including Popstars: The Rivals and each of Girls Aloud's concert tours. Critically appreciated for its juxtaposition of surf guitar against electronic beats, "Sound of the Underground" was praised for its quality for both a girl group and a reality television act. The song was referred to as a defining moment of the decade musically, credited with reshaping British pop for the 2000s.[5][6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference boxset was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Robinson, Peter (19 October 2012). "Girls Aloud: the makings of a pop success story". The Guardian.
  3. ^ Cooper, Leonie (15 December 2006). "CD: Girls Aloud, The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Brocklehurst, Harrison (23 August 2022). "Every UK number one single from 2002, ranked from worst to best". The Tab. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  5. ^ Neil McCormick (13 August 2009). "Xenomania: how to write a hit song". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 16 August 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  6. ^ Emily MacKay (November 2009). "End of Decade: Sound of the Overground". NME. Retrieved 3 December 2009.