Girl Power Unleashed: The Top 10 Girlbands of the 90s
The 90s were arguably the decade of the girl groups. Shallow pop sounds, girl power and playing to the media made them so successful and ensured sold-out concerts and gold and platinum albums.
Everyone still remembers the children's rooms full of posters of bands like the Spice Girls, Atomic Kitten or All Saints. Many girl bands of the 90s disappeared as quickly as they had emerged. Some members have started their own solo projects, which have been more or less successful. However, what all girl groups have in common is that they have shaped our youth in some way – with classic 90s earworms, outfits or lifestyles. We asked ourselves who the most successful girl bands of the 1990s were.
1. Spice Girls
For many people, the Spice Girls are the best girl band ever and simply belong to the 90s. Without a doubt, the five-member girl group around Scary, Sporty, Baby, Posh and Ginger Spice was damn successful. Although only three albums were released in total, they sold around 53 million copies worldwide. Singles like “Wannabe”, “2 Become 1” and “Spice Up Your Life!” also stormed the charts around the world, reaching multiple gold and platinum status and making the five girls from England absolute world stars within a few years.
Incidentally, the ladies did not choose their stage names themselves, but were given them by “Top of the Pops Magazine” and then approved by management. All members later started their own projects, with “Posh Spice” (Victoria Beckham) probably being the most successful. However, the other band members, such as Melanie C, also enjoyed success after their time with the Spice Girls.
2. TLC
The girl group TLC had their most successful time in the 90s. Incidentally, the name TLC is derived from the three first names of the founding members Tionne, Lisa and Crystal, with the latter being replaced shortly after the group was formed in 1991. Among the most popular hits in German-speaking countries are undoubtedly “Waterfalls” and “No Scrubs”. The band was not spared negative headlines. Disputes with management, arson by singer Lisa Lopes and bankruptcy did not help TLC's reputation in the media.
In 2017, the girl band, which now consists of only two members after the death of Lisa Lopes in a car accident, released their last album “TLC”.
3. Destiny’s Child
When thinking of Beyoncé, it is easy to forget that she also has a girl band past. This was not even unsuccessful. It is not for nothing that Destiny's Child is one of the most popular girl groups of the 90s. The three ladies released four albums, of which “Survivor” was the best seller, released shortly after the turn of the millennium. Singles like “Say My Name” also sold like hot cakes.
In 2005, after a total of 15 years together, the band finally disbanded. Nevertheless, this was not the end of Beyoncé's success story. After all, she is one of the most successful musicians of our time, regardless of her time in the girl band.
Like Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland was also able to gain a foothold in the music industry without her bandmates and continues to release successful music to this day.
4. Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa is one of the most popular girl groups of the 90s. The three-member band has existed since the mid-80s, making them one of the most long-lived acts. Musically, they are more at home in hip-hop and R&B.
Until their breakup in 2002, they released several tracks on five studio albums. Without a doubt, “Let's Talk About Sex” is Salt-N-Pepa's most popular and successful song. It is about the taboo nature of the topic of sex in the media, although the rise of sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS should have been a warning. In any case, the track attracted a lot of attention. In the US, “Let's Talk About Sex” went gold and reached number one in the charts in all German-speaking countries.
5. Atomic Kitten
In the 90s, Great Britain seemed to be something of a mecca for girl groups. It is no secret that the island is a good home for talented musicians. The band Atomic Kitten, which also had many successes in the 1990s, comes from Liverpool. The three singers Liz McClarnon, Kerry Katona and Heidi Range came together in 1998 under the auspices of Andy McCluskey, the singer of the British pop band OMD. After only a year, Heidi Range left Atomic Kitten again, and Natasha Hamilton joined the band. Three studio albums were recorded until the band's breakup in 2004. In addition to “Right Now”, “Feels So Good” was the most popular – both albums reached double platinum in the UK.
However, the three ladies' singles and tours were even more successful. “Whole Again” and “The Tide Is High” were played on the radio over and over again at the time, so they are familiar to almost everyone. In 2013, Atomic Kitten went on tour together again.
6. Sugababes
Without Atomic Kitten, the Sugababes would probably never have achieved world fame. After all, Heidi Range, who previously co-founded the band, was the decisive factor in the Sugababes' final breakthrough. After their formation in London in 1998, they released an album in 2000 that did quite well in the charts, but the following record, “Angels with Dirty Faces”, was many times more successful. Thus, the Sugababes had their best time after the turn of the millennium and rose to become the most popular girl band in the world.
The English girls were just fourteen years old when they started making music their profession in 1998. The experiment was a success: the following three albums, “Three”, “Taller in More Ways” and “Change”, also achieved platinum status in the UK. After that, things went quiet for the Sugababes, which was also due to changes in the band line-up. Two more albums were released, but they were unable to match the previous success. In 2011, the project finally came to an end.
7. All Saints
Formed in London in 1993, the British band All Saints would soon become one of the most famous girl groups of the 90s. The name of the band is simply derived from “All Saints Road” – the address of the recording studio where All Saints made their first recordings. The four ladies' first studio album was to become the most successful record. It was also simply called “All Saints”, sold over three million copies and helped the girl group to achieve great fame outside England. “Never Ever” is the song that made All Saints famous and stayed in the British charts for about half a year.
In 2001, All Saints was history for the time being, but five years later they got back together for a comeback and another album. What followed was another breakup – and another reunion. Since then, All Saints has been performing at Backstreet Boys and Take That concerts.
8. En Vogue
En Vogue is one of the most popular 90s girl bands, which celebrated particular success in the United States. Of the five studio albums by the band, which still makes music together today, only “EV3” from 1997 is actually known in German-speaking countries. “Don't Let Go” is also the most successful single in this country, reaching number 6 in the German charts.
This did not harm En Vogue's commercial success – quite the opposite. More than 18 million records were sold, making En Vogue one of the most successful acts of the 90s. According to Billboard Magazine, En Vogue is the second most successful band of the 90s. During this time, they have collected 7 MTV Video Music Awards – a record that no other girl band has been able to surpass. It's no wonder that the girl group still hasn't had enough of success, even though things have become much quieter around the three women from Oakland. Nevertheless, another album was released in 2018, titled “Electric Cafe”.
9. Allure
Allure is not necessarily one of the girl groups that attracted attention due to their particular commercial success. Nevertheless, the four R&B singers Linnie Belcher, Alia Davis, Lalisha McLean and Akissa Mendez worked with some well-known music stars such as Nas and Mary J. Blige during their time together.
Allure owe their success above all to Mariah Carey. After all, the band is considered the first signing of the Cave Records label, founded by Mariah Carey in 1996. During that time, the band had two successful singles. In addition to “Head Over Heels”, “All Cried Out” also reached the top of the American charts and, like the first studio album, went gold. After Cave Records closed down, Allure was unable to find a label for a long time, so the band's brief history came to an end in the early 2000s.
10. B*Witched
If you are looking for the most popular girl band of the 90s, the name B*Witched must also be mentioned. In Germany, the four women are rather less well known, but in the UK, the girl group really took off towards the end of the 1990s. The Irish group combined traditional music with modern pop music – a formula that at least worked in the UK. In their short time of existence, B*Witched were able to achieve some success.
The first four singles “C'est la Vie”, “Rollercoaster”, “To You I Belong” and “Blame It on the Weatherman” all reached the top of the charts. In 2002, after two albums, it was all over again, before the comeback came in 2013. The first EP, financed by crowdfunding, is called “Champagne or Guinness” and was released in 2014.