IT was a ratings hit and paved the way for talent shows like the X Factor. And this year marks two decades since ITV’s Popstars: The Rivals first hit our screens.
Hosted by Davina McCall, it created two opposing pop groups, a boy band and an all female group, in a battle of the sexes. Judged by music moguls Pete Waterman and Louis Walsh, and Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, wannabes had to compete for a place in the winning bands, later named One True Voice and Girls Aloud.
The bands were then pitted against each other in a race to be Christmas number one. Girls Aloud - made up of Cheryl Tweedy, Nicola Roberts, Kimberley Walsh, the late Sarah Harding and Nadine Coyle - won with Sound of the Underground and they went on to become one of the biggest-selling groups in the UK, selling four million albums. .css-16e4f55{margin:16px 0;}.css-1czxmma{background-color:rgba(252,239,255,1);margin:16px 0;}.css-1tapza8{padding:20px 15px;}.css-1bk4jdt{padding:20px.
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