Sound of the Underground (album) written with the aim of launching their own girl group. The song was originally recorded in 2001 by London girl group Orchid, who disbanded before gaining a firm record deal. It was chosen by Girls Aloud's manager Louis Walsh as their debut single. "Sound of the Underground" was 2002's Christmas number one single and spent a further three weeks at number one. "Sound of the Underground" and another Xenomania production, Sugababes' "Round Round", have been called "two huge groundbreaking hits", credited with reshaping British pop music for the 2000s. Following the single's success, Girls Aloud proceeded to begin recording their
Girls Aloud was increased to £30 million the following year, following Cheryl Cole's appearance on "The X Factor". All five members were included in a 2010 list of Britain's richest stars under 30. Reviews of Girls Aloud's debut album noted the high quality of the album compared to output from other reality show contestants. In 2004, David Hooper of BBC Music exclaimed that "Girls Aloud are currently British pop royalty [...] in the ultra-fickle world of TV-generated pop, Girls Aloud have real staying power." Andrew Lynch of entertainment.ie said, "Girls Aloud really shouldn't have made it as far as a second album.