# 8

Girls Aloud - The Promise
(written by Cooper, Higgins, Resch, Jones & Williams; 2008; UK #1; October 2008)

Anything you can do, Girls Aloud can do it better. That was the message to several bands who decided to try their hand at the retro vibe that has swept the UK music scene since Amy Winehouse released 'Back to Black'. 'The Promise' almost saw the girls each embody a different star from the era. Sarah Harding was of course playing Twiggy and anyone whose seen the video will agree, whilst Kimberley Walsh would be the Dusty Springfield due to her husky tones. The rest, well Cheryl Cole played Sophia Loren (the looks), Nicola Roberts became Lulu (the ginger) and Nadine Coyle was Ronnie Spector (the voice). An insanely catchy hook, a sweeping middle eight and a key change were all in a day's work for the song that saw Girls Aloud claim there first non charity number one since their debut. It has been apparent for a few albums now, but is there anything Xenomania cannot do?!

Best Lyric: "Giving up just looking into windows, yeah"