Sarah Harding participating in weekly Saturday night live performances (alternating weekly between the girls and boys). Each week the contestant polling the fewest phone votes was eliminated, until the final line-ups of the groups emerged. Harding joined Nadine Coyle, Cheryl Tweedy, Nicola Roberts, and Kimberley Walsh to comprise the new girl group Girls Aloud, formed through the show by a public vote on 30 November 2002. The group's debut single "Sound of the Underground" peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the 2002 Christmas number one. Girls Aloud hold the record for the shortest time between formation and reaching
The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits high-octane pop all the way"; however, she felt that the ballads were not really necessary, as "Girls Aloud sound far more exciting when they're simply having fun". In 2007, "The Guardian" included the greatest hits collection in their list of "1000 albums to hear before you die". Dorian Lynskey wrote, "Years from now, when someone wants to know how bold and brilliant mainstream British pop could get in the noughties, play them this." "The Sound of Girls Aloud" became Girls Aloud's first album to debut at number one in the United Kingdom, and stayed on the UK Albums Chart for