Girls Aloud by Louis Walsh until 2005 when Hilary Shaw replaced him. The new group competed with the boys' winning group, One True Voice to have 2002's Christmas number one single. Girls Aloud won the battle with their single "Sound of the Underground", produced by Brian Higgins and Xenomania. The song spent four consecutive weeks at number one and was certified platinum in March 2003. The song received critical acclaim; Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian" stated that "it proved a first: it was a reality pop record that didn't make you want to do physical harm to everyone involved in its manufacture".
Girls Aloud was released in April 2009. It peaked at number-eleven on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the first single of Girls Aloud to miss the top ten. Girls Aloud embarked on the Out of Control Tour, which ran from April to June 2009. Their label, Fascination Records released a singles boxset collection to coincide with the tour. In February 2009, Girls Aloud signed a new record deal with Fascination that would see the group release another three studio albums. However in July 2009, Girls Aloud announced that they were taking a year-long hiatus to pursue solo projects, but would reunite for