Sacred Trust / After You're Gone competed for the number one position in the Christmas week issue of the UK Singles Chart, and Girls Aloud came out on top with their song "Sound of the Underground". Girls Aloud later released their own version of "Sacred Trust" on the rarities disc of their 2006 greatest hits album "The Sound of Girls Aloud". "Sacred Trust / After You're Gone" debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart on December 22, 2002, the same day that their rivals Girls Aloud reached number one with "Sound of the Underground". The single sold 147,000 copies compared to first week sales
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