Life was so much simpler when girl bands were still a thing. And I don't mean the odd Little Mix tune here, and Fifth Harmony spat there (as delightful as they both are). I mean the type of presence we experienced back when music was young, free and frivolous and we were allowed to follow suit. Back when female-only groups singing the songs that came to define our teeny bopper musical comprehension was the norm not the exception. Back in the 90s and 00s when girl bands were the shit.
Can you tell we're feeling a bit nostalgic? Not that you can blame us. With all this talk of a Spice Girls comeback(it is happening, but not in the form of a tour, apparently) following the brief but glorious return of All Saints, it's no wonder were longing for the glory days when girl bands weren't such a novelty.
The drama was always fun. More often than not the line ups of these mechanically manufactured forces of chart topping brilliance would change somewhere along the road. And if any group with more than three managed to nail the matching, not matching off-duty costume vibe then that was a note worthy achievement. RIP belly piercings, visible mid-drifts with varying degrees of intention, and being able to get away with wearing what you'd probably have worn down the pub on an actual stage or red carpet.
We've channeled all of that musical nostalgia in one handy point of reference. From forgotten Disney stars to the British one hit wonders who will forever hold a place in our needy, sentimental hearts, here are all the girl bands of the 90s and 00s who we not so secretly wish were still a thing.
The Debrief 90s Girl Bands
1 of 18TLC
The outfit game was so, SO strong with these three. If you don't know all the words to No Scrubs, where you been? TLC were also the biggest selling girl group in the world until the Spice Girls came along...
2 of 18tATu
Oh, what a moment for one hit wonder duo tATu. I'm pretty sure the music video to All The Things She Said is still firmly etched in your mind. It was back when 'sexy school girl' was the look.
3 of 18Misteeq
If the words 'so, so, so, scandelous' don't send chills down your spine then you need to revisit the *Eye Candy *album. Fun fact: Tina from S Club 7 was originally in the group until she landed a spot in the band.
4 of 18Girls Aloud
I have few regrets in life, but one of them has to be not giving Pop Stars: The Rivals the attention it clearly deserved because the creation of Girls Aloud was entertaining as hell. Word on the street is that lead signer Nadine is still angling for a reunion though so, watch this space.
5 of 18Sugababes
Ten points if you can name, in order, all of the members of Sugababes and which grouping they appeared in. OGs Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan were the shit, though. And don't pretend that 'Angels With Dirty Faces' wasn't somewhere on your MySpace page.
6 of 18Atomic Kitten
Is anyone else surprised when they realise that Kerry Katona was only around for about three years? She'd left somewhere between* Whole Again* and Eternal Flame. We all enjoyed their little stint on ITV2 The Big Reunion, though. You know, before Kerry left again.
7 of 18Cleopatra
If you can't quite put your finger on why you often follow 'Cleopatra' with the words 'comin' at ya', it's down to these girls. Cleo, Yonah, and Zainam Higgins were the coolest sisters around and no, we never really understood the swimming goggles either. But Nelly never had to explain the plaster on his face so, you know...
9 of 18Spice Girls
No one knows where to start with the Spice Girls these days. And while some sort of reunion has been confirmed, a tour date is yet to be given the go ahead. Might have something to do with Victoria only agreeing to come back if she doesn't have to sing...
10 of 18En Vogue
If you're not all that familiar with the group, you'll be familiar with the song *Don't Let Go. *There are few songs that quite hit the 90s R&B nail on the head so well. You're gonna want to revisit it.
11 of 183LW
Okay we're about to take it way, way back with obscure cultural references here. But anyone who watched Nickelodeon's *Taina might remember the episode where 3LW appeared as super cool girl group Blue Mascara. They performed 3LW's best selling song No More (Baby I'ma Do Right) *and it changed my life. Obviously, if you neither remember this nor know the song, this means nothing too you. But they had another song called *Playas Gon Play *which was kind of involved in that Taylor Swift lyric lawsuit drama.
12 of 18The Cheetah Girls
Disney kids rejoice, because this was the coolest (yes, coolest) music to come out of that damn channel before High School Musical became a thing. The Cheetah Girls existed beyond their Disney TV films too, you know?
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13 of 18Blaque
Remember N'Sync? Of course you do. But do you remember that gem of a song they featured on with Blaque on? It's called *Bring It All To Me *and the music video is a lot. It has nothing on *808 *though.
14 of 18Las Ketchup
There's no shame in having attempted to type and translate the lyrics to The Ketchup Song via Google. We all did it in a desperate bid to know what we were singing while wiggling our knees and whaling our hands around to that stressful routine.
15 of 18The 411
There are two songs to recall here: Dumb (diggi-diggi-di dumb) and *On My Knees. *Their presence may have been fleeting, but they were present. For a bit.
16 of 18Dream
Dream were pretty much everything you expect from a strategically put together girl group, but even more intense. At least that's my vague memory of them and that overwhelmingly 'pop' single He Loves U Not.
17 of 18Eden's Crush
We were not first introduced to Nicole Scherzinger via The Pussycat Dolls. No, no. She first entered our lives via Eden's Crush who were formed on the American version of *Popstars. *I honestly couldn't tell you what happened to the others, but Nicole seems quite happy on the X Factor and eating Muller yogurt.
18 of 18B*Witched
Boys in trees and a hella lot o' denim. Life was so much simpler back then and we still long for those vibes.
Follow Jazmin on Instagram @JazKopotsha
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.