Stay Another Day who would be "rivals" and compete for the Christmas number one single in 2002. Girls Aloud competed against One True Voice, managed by music producer Pete Waterman. Girls Aloud recorded a cover version of "Stay Another Day" as their debut single, with Cheryl Cole providing lead vocals. After Girls Aloud recorded "Sound of the Underground", "Stay Another Day" was instead released as its B-side. The release was originally meant to be a double A-side, and it is often mistakenly labelled as such. "Stay Another Day" was performed on "This Morning", "Top of the Pops" and "Top of the Pops Saturday"
Girls Aloud songs inspired by 1980s electropop, while also exploring retro styles. "The Promise" is a 1960s Spector-influenced number, while "Rolling Back the Rivers in Time" was compared to Burt Bacharach. Girls Aloud were one of the few pop acts to achieve continued success and longevity throughout the mid-2000s while R&B and rock music became more popular. In a review for the group's 2008 Tangled Up Tour, David Pollock of "The Independent" noted that "Girls Aloud remain confidently the only pop show in town." "The Times" stated, "Not since Abba and Michael Jackson has pure pop been so unanimously praised." Girls Aloud's