Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
G.R.L.
American girl group From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
G.R.L. (an initialism for Girls Rock Life)[1] is a British-Canadian-American girl group consisting of members Lauren Bennett, Natasha Slayton, Paula van Oppen, and Emmalyn Estrada.
The original line-up consisted of Bennett, Slayton, van Oppen, Estrada, and the late Simone Battle. G.R.L. made their debut appearance on the Smurfs 2 soundtrack with "Vacation". The following year, the group appeared on Pitbull's international hit single "Wild Wild Love". The song peaked in the top 30 in the United States, the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and was certified Platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). G.R.L.'s smash hit "Ugly Heart" peaked in the top 10 in the United States, the top 5 in both Australia and New Zealand, the top 20 in the United Kingdom, and was certified 4x Platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Remove ads
History
Summarize
Perspective
2011–2012: Background and formation of the group
In March 2011, choreographer Robin Antin began holding auditions to find new girls to replace the departed members of The Pussycat Dolls.[2] The new line-up made their debut on February 5, 2012, during the Super Bowl, as part of GoDaddy's annual TV commercials, appearing with Danica Patrick. "The look of the commercial is not necessarily the new look of the group this time around," said Antin, adding, "It's breathtakingly beautiful. It's a fun, real-campy kind of sexy. It's all of that, but again, what we're doing for this next life of the Pussycat Dolls, the girls are all young. It's a fresh, young energy."[3] An official picture taken from the ad showed five members: Lauren Bennett, Paula van Oppen, Vanessa Curry, Chrystina Sayers, and Erica Kiehl Jenkins.[4][5]
On April 13, 2012, it was announced that Chrystina Sayers was no longer a part of the new line-up.[6] In July 2012, the line-up was announced consisting of Bennett and Van Oppen, with new members Natalie Mejia, Amanda Branche, and Natasha Slayton, thus confirming Jenkins and Curry's withdrawal from the group.[7] In August 2012, publicity photos showed the "new" line-up including Simone Battle (from Season one of The X Factor USA) replacing Branche.[8] In November 2012, it was revealed, through the hiring of Emmalyn Estrada, that Mejia was no longer part of the group, thus creating the official lineup of G.R.L.[9] Mejia announced that she was expecting her first child with her husband, and due to her situation she made a choice to not continue with the group.[10]
2013–2014: Mainstream success
"There's different flavors in here. There are other girl groups that share the lead, but we also share the lead as well as being very individual. We all have our own thing going on. We took out the "i"..it's basically short for girl, [but] we give it a new meaning. A girl isn't just a young female, it's a strong minded and a strong willed individual. It really represents the bond that we have because we're all strong individuals and we come together and unite as one girl."
— G.R.L, on transcending the typical girl group.[11]
In February 2013, Antin officially announced that the girls would be making their debut as a brand-new group with a new name, instead of replacing the departed members of The Pussycat Dolls.[12] The group - now referred to as G.R.L. - was officially unveiled at Chateau Marmont in April.[12] On June 16, G.R.L. released their debut single, "Vacation", which was included on the soundtrack for the animated movie The Smurfs 2 as a B-side to Britney Spears' "Ooh La La".[13] The song made its official debut on a national chart on the South Korea Gaon International Chart at number ninety-seven.[14] On September 10, 2013, in Brooklyn, New York, G.R.L. began a monthlong promotional tour partnered with Claire's and Westfield Malls meeting fans, visiting radio stations, and performing at select locations.[15] Months later, G.R.L. burst onto the scene in collaboration with rapper Pitbull on the lead single, "Wild Wild Love" off his album Globalization.[16] The single peaked at number thirty on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, selling 767,000 copies in the U.S. as of March 2015.[16] The song charted in the top ten in Australia, Belgium, Indonesia, Norway, and United Kingdom among many other countries. Wild Wild Love was certified Platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[17]
Not long after their formation, G.R.L announced they had begun recording their debut studio album, with songwriters and record producers Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Cirkut, Darkchild, and Lukas Hilbert.[18] However, the album was paused in favor of a self-titled EP instead. The lead single off the EP, "Ugly Heart", debuted in the ARIA Singles Chart at forty-one, before peaking in the top ten at number 2, becoming the group's most successful single to date, being certified 4× platinum by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[19][20] The song peaked at number ten on The Australian 2014 Year End charts, certifying platinum.[21] The track reached a peak position of number 3 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart.[22]
Battle's Passing
On September 5, 2014, Battle was found dead in her West Hollywood home.[23][24] Los Angeles County Coroner's Lieutenant Fred Corral ruled the death a suicide, following an autopsy.[25] The next day, the group released a statement via Twitter, saying, "Words cannot express the depth of our loss. Simone's incredible talent was only surpassed by the size of her heart."[26] In a following tweet, they said "We will carry her memory with us in everything we do."[27]
2015: Lighthouse, G.R.L. Gives an Hour, and hiatus
G.R.L. released their first single since Battle's death, "Lighthouse".[28] Along with the single, the group announced a new campaign with Give an Hour called G.R.L. Gives an Hour, which was dedicated to raise awareness about mental health issues in America.[29] G.R.L. Gives an Hour later became an associate campaign of Michelle Obama's Change Direction.[30] "Lighthouse" peaked at number thirty on the ARIA Singles Chart in Australia, number eighteen on the New Zealand singles chart, number 55 on the UK Singles Chart, number 35 on the sales-only based version of the chart and at number 24 on the Scottish Singles Chart.[31][32][33][34]
On March 10, 2015, during their performance on Australian breakfast television program Sunrise while in Hawaii, G.R.L. announced that they would be the opening act for Meghan Trainor on the Australian leg of her That Bass Tour.[35]
In what is now considered merely a hiatus, on June 2, 2015, G.R.L. issued a joint statement from RCA Records, Kemosabe Records, Larry Rudolph, and Antin, stating "Nearly 9 months following the tragic death of band member Simone Battle, girl group G.R.L. announces today that they are disbanding. We wish them continued success in each of their next creative endeavors."[36][37][38]
2016–2020: Reformation
On June 15, 2016 - almost exactly one year following G.R.L.'s statement - Daily Mirror broke the news that G.R.L. was reuniting. Subsequent press confirmed that all group members would not be returning. [39]
On August 5, 2016, it was announced that Jazzy Mejia was added as the third member of the group alongside Bennett and Slayton.[40] Weeks later, the trio released their first promotional single together, "Kiss Myself".[41]
Fall of 2016 saw the trio touring throughout Europe and Oceania. The schedule included headlining the Australian music festival Nickelodeon Slimefest.[42]
On December 9, 2016, the trio released their second single "Are We Good", with a music video released on January 26, 2017.
Throughout the next several years, the trio continued to tour, make public appearances, and release content on social media. This included a winter 2019 tour alongside S Club Allstars, Big Brovaz and 5ive. [43]
In 2020, it was announced that Mejia would no longer continue with the group.
2020–present: Emmalyn's return
In September 2020, Slayton posted an Instagram video of herself, Bennett, and former members Emmalyn Estrada and Paula van Oppen dancing to a song alongside Antin. Fans began to speculate that a proper G.R.L. reunion was in the works. The following month, Slayton, Estrada, and van Oppen began posting TikTok videos with each other, adding fuel to the reunion rumors.
On December 10, 2020, a few clips and pictures from what seemed to look like the set from the group's next music video were posted by Bennett, Estrada and Slayton. The fans immediately noticed the absence of van Oppen. Later that day, the group's manager, Matt Ziedman, announced that van Oppen had decided not to rejoin the group.[44] van Oppen also explained why she decided not to reform with the rest of the group on an Instagram post.[45]
In January 14, 2021, G.R.L. posted photos and videos on social media from what was rumored to be the group's next music video. In the clips, Bennett, Estrada and Slayton were dancing and singing along to a medley of the group's singles. Later in the same month, the group did an Instagram live alongside Antin and Ziedman confirming their return and future new music. They also explained why Mejia was not invited to said return by saying that Estrada, van Oppen and management were only interested in reforming the group's original line-up.[46]
Remove ads
Discography
- G.R.L. (2014)
Tours
Supporting
- 2015 - That Bass Tour - support for Meghan Trainor
- 2019 - Poptastic Tour - co-headline with 5ive, S Club Allstars, and Big Brovaz
Notes
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads