The greatest girl groups of the 20th century

The Girl Group has been ever important in popular music. Whether they were pushed together in a reality TV show or formed out of the love of a genre, these ladies have shown that the girl group has never gone out of fashion. We look back at the past century, remembering the greats - do you agree with our choices?

These swing sisters sold an incredible 80 million records and will go down in history as one of the greatest close harmony singing groups. Perhaps their most famous track was 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy', which was released in 1941. They became World War II sweethearts, becoming a favourite of American troops overseas.

“Stop! In the Name of Love” - Twelve number one hits and arguably the most successful Motown group of all time. During the 60s, they inspired and helped many people with their music at a turbulent time in history. Of course, they subsequently became Diana Ross & The Supremes. In fact, the group were due to reunite for a tour in 2000, but Ross was set to be paid up to 15 times more than her fellow members and the others declined.

Previously known as The Nolan Sisters, the Irish-born girl group gave us the classic hit “I’m in the Mood for Dancing” - the title you can’t read without singing it. The girls return for a second series of their travelogue documentary show The Nolans Go Cruising. In the series, the girls - Coleen, Linda, Anne, Maureen and Denise - hop on board the MSC Virtuosa for a tour around the coastline of the UK. Denise Nolan would be performing with the band for the first time in over 40 years.

Long before Destiny’s Child entered our lives, En Vogue were one of the most recognisable 90s girl groups, with never-forgotten hits such as ‘Hold On’, ‘Don't Let Go’, ‘You're Never Gonna Get It’ and ‘Free Your Mind’. They had serious diva stage presence and a jar full of talent - with each singer being as strong as the next. The girls made a ‘comeback’ in 2018, although they said “I wouldn't call it a comeback because we never left. We've been consistently working, with barely a day off, for 27 years.”

Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward, who were living in the YWCA had gone on to found one of history’s most loved girl groups. They had 32 top 40 UK hits and an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful female band worldwide with the most charting singles. They are still producing successful music today, having won Album of the Year in 2020 at the Classic Pop Readers’ Awards.

Everyone remembers 'Manic Monday' (1986), 'Walk Like an Egyptian' (1986) and 'Eternal Flame' (1989), released by pop rock sensations that were The Bangles. They won the She Rocks Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. Bringing female rock to the spotlight, The Bangles experienced a lot of controversy for their genre, they said “We try to wear blinders about the amount of sexism there is that goes both ways. Instead of walking around with a major chip on our shoulder and a real defensive attitude, we figure the best way to deal with the situation is be a band and go out there and do our job and not complain about how many people think that women can’t do rock ‘n’ roll.” Hear, hear.

Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys gave the world Carnie and Wendy Wilson, whilst the Mamas & the Papas stars, John and Michelle Philips gave us Chynna Phillips. Together they made Wilson Phillips, with 'Hold On' being their timeless masterpiece in 1990, bumping Madonna’s ‘Vogue’ off the top spot. The origin of the song? Michelle Phillips’ battle with drug and alcohol addiction. She said, "Well, AA tells me, just hold on, just one day at a time.’ I thought, ‘OK, if I can just hold on for one more day, then I can do this. If I can just take life one day at a time." And she penned the hit single.

Sisters With Voices are one of the best selling girl groups of all time, as well as one of the most successful groups of the 90s. The New York girls were together for ten years between 1988-1998 and then reunited in 2005 until they turned their focus to TV in 2019, partnering with Salt-N-Pepa in their TV series, 'Ladies Night'.

British phenomenon, The Spice Girls, topped charts all over the world and empowered young women and girls to promote ‘girl power’. With their debut album selling more copies than any other album from a girl group in music history, the legendary girls made a huge mark on music and pop culture. Their split in 2001 left many fans devastated but the Spice Girls phenomenon lives on.

'Pure Shores', made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio’s film, 'The Beach' was the start of fame for these ladies as they made their way into the spotlight with even more hit singles during the late 90s, such as their smash hit, 'Never Ever'. The were the ‘cool’ alternative to The Spice Girls. However, they split into two warring factions as they were promoting their second album but after a reconciliation 17 years later, they now continue to make music together.

A hugely successful girl group in the 90s, scoring nine top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100. They received the Outstanding Contribution to Music at the MOBOs and the girls together have been ranked number 12 on the list of 100 Greatest Women in Music. ‘Waterfalls’ and ‘No Scrubs’ are their best-known anthems and, despite losing Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes to a car crash in 2002, the two remaining members have continued making music to this day as a duo.

In 1998 a pop sensation was formed - Atomic Kitten who released 'Whole Again', a tune that would stay at the number one spot for four weeks in the UK, also gaining the title of the fourth best-selling song of all time by a girl group in the UK. Heidi Range, who was in the original lineup, left the group and Kerry Katona followed suit, leaving Liz McClarnon as the only original Kitten. But the girls were replaced with Natasha Hamilton and Jenny Frost, both of which saw the group continue to international success. Of course, most recently the girls were seen with a remake of their hit song, entitled 'Southgate You’re the One (Football’s Coming Home)' for the Euros 2020.

The much-loved Irish girl group from the late 90s enjoyed remarkable success in both Europe and North America. Their first four tracks, 'C'est la Vie', 'Rollercoaster', 'To You I Belong' and 'Blame It on the Weatherman', all reached number one in the UK charts. They joined other bands in the 2012 for the reality-documentary series, The Big Reunion on ITV2 and now host a podcast called 'Starting Over with B+Witched'.

British R&B girl group, Eternal walked into the scene in the late 90s, reaching number one with their hit, 'I Wanna Be the Only One', winning the MOBO for Best Single. They have received an incredible seven Brit nominations and joined their contemporaries for the ITV2 reality show, 'The Big Reunion'. They went their separate ways after just a few years of national and international success.

The makings of Beyoncé. Although the drama of changing members along with some well-publicised feuds, caused the the group some problems, they rose to become one of the most popular female groups of the 90s and 2000s. 'Bills, Bills, Bills' became the group's first number one pop hit in 1999 and they went from strength to strength with the three final members of the group going on to have hit solo careers after they went their separate ways in 2005.

Why is Las Ketchup on this list, you ask? Believe it or not, the Spanish group sold over 7 million copies worldwide of their 2002 hit ‘The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)', making them one of the highest selling girl groups. They represented Spain in 2006 at the Eurovision, and, well, that’s been about it for the flamenco Europop group.

The Russian duo definitely pushed boundaries when they released their single, 'All The Things She Said' in 2002. With some believing their video promoted controversial content because the 17 year olds kissed behind a fence in the shots, their outspoken and unforgiving political attitude made them international stars. Many reported the BBC had banned their video on Top of the Pops, but the BBC denied the ban, stating they simply had 'better footage to show'.

‘The Sound of the Underground’… Girls Aloud formed way back in 2002 during the TV show, 'Popstars: The Rivals'. All have gone on to earn respect in their own solo careers, most notably Cheryl Cole (previously Tweedy and - well, now Tweedy again) who became the UK’s sweetheart. Tragically, Sarah Harding passed away from breast cancer in early September 2021.

The anthem with lyrics 'Don’t Cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me,' was probably one of the most chanted of the mid 2000s. They started out as a burlesque dance troupe with some big names such as Christina Applegate, Carmen Electra and Christina Aguilera and then signed a record deal and became the world famous PCD. The successful pop group split in 2010 due to ongoing discomfort between the girls as Nicole Scherzinger was pushed further and further into the spotlight, leaving the others feeling like her ‘backing dancers’.

Japanese all-female idol group are from Akihabara in Tokyo, which is where their name came from: Akihabara48. The group consists of five teams and hold the Guinness World Record for the world's "largest pop group”. They also hold the record for highest overall single sales for a female group on the Oricon charts. Active from 2005 until the present day, the girl group produces music whose style is considered "bubblegum pop and synchronized dancing,” aimed mainly at young girls.

“Right now, it's Girls' Generation! Tomorrow, it's Girls' Generation! Forever, it's Girls' Generation!” The South Korean girl group started out as nine young ladies in 2007 but from 2014 the members started dropping out until finally they announced they could be on an indefinite hiatus. They brought international recognition for K-Pop and had been labelled as the “Asian version” of The Spice Girls.

The girl group was formed in 2007 after a management company had hoped to revive the lagging pop market - there hadn’t been a new group of girls in town for a while. They had huge success, especially in the UK and Ireland, selling millions of records and even documented it all in their autobiography, 'The Saturdays: Our Story'. Lovers of music and fashion, they also all love dogs - even becoming ambassadors for the Nintendo 3DS game, Nintendogs + Cats!

Between 2009 and 2016, iconic K-Pop girl group 2NE1 were known worldwide for their girl power anthems. The girls held the highest ranking K-Pop album on the Billboard 200 for two years until BTS took the title in 2016. Since splitting, they have pursued solo careers and, although there were rumours of a reunion, that has since been denied by members of the group.

The first group to win The X Factor UK in 2011, Little Mix have become one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, having sold 60 million records worldwide. They are the first girl group to have been awarded the Brit award for British Group, which they dedicated to all girl groups, including the Spice Girls. The group now consists of three members, with Jesy Nelson leaving in December 2020.

'I don’t care, I love it' was chanted by millions in 2012 and the pair who originated from Sweden, went on to become international music stars. Years later, they still make music and said, “We took the time to figure out who we are. After having huge success, a lot of people want to tell you what you should do. For us, it was so important to ask, ‘Who are we?’.” The group’s name is Italian for ‘pop icon’, so for many, that’s exactly who they are.

'Worth It' and 'Work from Home' were the girls’ huge hits, with 'Worth It' receiving triple platinum certification. They are an X Factor-made group, although the girls rose to fame through social media, after finishing third in the second season of the show. Now 5H is on an indefinite hiatus, but had previously sold over 15 million albums in the States alone. Did you know they even have their own Barbie Doll?

According to Spotify, the South Korean girl group have nearly 14 million monthly listeners today. The reached number 13 in the Billboard Hot 100 for their huge track, 'Ice Cream' in 2020 and set incredible records: Twice broke the most-viewed music video within the first 24 hours of release; the first musical act to receive over one billion views on YouTube; the most subscribed group on YouTube; and, this year, were placed second by Forbes in their Most Powerful Celebrities in South Korea. Blackpink truly are the “K-pop Queens.”