by Oliver George

Created on: April 06, 2007   Last Updated: May 04, 2007

I believe that they can.

I'm going to use Girls Aloud as my example because I believe that they are the UK's most popular manufactured band of the moment.

As has been said, it is true that many manufactured pop bands have a very short life span. Many have a few hits and maybe release a successful album but don't go much further than this.

However, this is more a reflection on the current music scene and of media interest than of just manufactured bands. Many non-manufactured bands in the UK have struggled past their first album. Two of the most successful debut albums of recent times - released by The Darkness and Franz Ferdinand - were followed up albums which struggled to get close to the sales of the first (The Darkness' second album sold 1/5 as many as their first, Franz Ferdinand's sold a quarter as many as their first). Whilst their sales were still impressive, they were no where near as high as they were capable of and in The Darkness' case it led to the end of the band.

Girls Aloud, to date, have released 15 singles in the UK. Every one of them has charted in the top 10, three (including their latest single) have gone to number one and another six have been in the top three. All four of their albums have gone platinum (sold in excess of 300,000 copies) and although their last release was a greatest hits, this was thought to be a contractual obligation rather than a signal of intent.

Putting this in line with similar artists: Spice Girls only released ten singles before they split up; Sugababes have released two singles that have peaked at 30 or below; of Destiny's Child's 15 UK singles, only two have reached number one and two have peaked well outside the top 10.

To say that Girls Aloud are hardly troubling other bands for the top spots seems bizarre.

The biggest problem facing these bands is the some of the public's perception of them. They see them as manufactured and they see this as a bad thing and tend to ignore the positives - the members of the band are all highly skilled singers and the people who write the songs are talented people. Girls Aloud have had the majority of their songs written for them by Xenomania (including all of their original singles) so there is a sense of continuity linked to the music and the band. The girls have also been credited with writing credits - but only on b-sides and album tracks.

People seem to forget that nearly everything they enjoy has been manufactured - from their car to their phone to their computer monitors. All of these things are fun, useful and important. They have all been created through development over many years and there is no reason why music shouldn't be the same. It has been commercialised and run as a business for a long time now and the people at the top know how it works.

Girls Aloud are the product of all their hard work.

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