Atomic Kitten - "Whole Again"
Jan 31, 2004 19:29:13 GMT -5
Post by Pet Shop Boy on Jan 31, 2004 19:29:13 GMT -5
Considering the band has now broken up, it seems a good time to commemorate their finest hour (It was so good, the band spent the rest of their career rehashing it!)
In early 2001, Atomic Kitten were a group on the rocks. Having scored moderate hits with the catchy, trashy pop singles Right Now (UK: #10) See ya (UK: #6) and I Want Your Love (UK: #10), the groups 4th single 'Follow Me' had flopped, and their album had sunk without trace. They seemd like another post Spice Girls flash in the pan, destined to be forgotten. In fact, they were actually dropped by Virgin. However, 24 hours later the record company called teh girls back and said they were willing to give them one last shot, with an album track called 'Whole Again'.
Nobody could have expected the impact of that single. The tender ballad caught public imagination in a way rarely seen. Despite initial hesitancy by Radio to play a track by the group, written off as cheesy, the track debuted at the top of theUK charts. It stayed there for 4 weeks, each week selling more copies than it had previously, the first to do so since Michael jacksons 'Earth Song'. By the end of its run, the song had sold just short of a million copies, peaked at #2 on the airplay charts, and taken the parent album 'Right Now' to #1.
The track then spread internationally, topping charts throughout europe, where the Kittens were previously unknown, and also becoming an enormous hit in Australia, Africa and Asia. Only in the USA did the track get little attention.
The girls built on this success to enjoy a hugely succesful career, rivalling the Spice Girls and the Supremes in terms of consistent chart success. Love them or loathe them, you have to give them some credit. They had a pretty amazing run, and this was the main reason.
In early 2001, Atomic Kitten were a group on the rocks. Having scored moderate hits with the catchy, trashy pop singles Right Now (UK: #10) See ya (UK: #6) and I Want Your Love (UK: #10), the groups 4th single 'Follow Me' had flopped, and their album had sunk without trace. They seemd like another post Spice Girls flash in the pan, destined to be forgotten. In fact, they were actually dropped by Virgin. However, 24 hours later the record company called teh girls back and said they were willing to give them one last shot, with an album track called 'Whole Again'.
Nobody could have expected the impact of that single. The tender ballad caught public imagination in a way rarely seen. Despite initial hesitancy by Radio to play a track by the group, written off as cheesy, the track debuted at the top of theUK charts. It stayed there for 4 weeks, each week selling more copies than it had previously, the first to do so since Michael jacksons 'Earth Song'. By the end of its run, the song had sold just short of a million copies, peaked at #2 on the airplay charts, and taken the parent album 'Right Now' to #1.
The track then spread internationally, topping charts throughout europe, where the Kittens were previously unknown, and also becoming an enormous hit in Australia, Africa and Asia. Only in the USA did the track get little attention.
The girls built on this success to enjoy a hugely succesful career, rivalling the Spice Girls and the Supremes in terms of consistent chart success. Love them or loathe them, you have to give them some credit. They had a pretty amazing run, and this was the main reason.
