Hot Topic: The Secret Behind Girl Group Success

Published: Tuesday 17th Jan 2012 by David

From The Supremes to The Spice Girls, girls groups have always been an integral part of Pop culture.

Unfortunately, recent years have seen a decline in the number of all female troupes on the charts, following the disbanding of Destiny’s Child, Girls Aloud and Danity Kane, to name just three.

So, ever eager to hear your take on the issue, we want to know:

What do you think it would take to form and maintain a successful girl group in 2012?

And, why do you think so many girl groups fail to stand the test of time?

Weigh in below!

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  1. Julien January 17, 2012

    They don’t last because girls can’t get along and egos always play a part. And women can’t share the spotlight for too long.

  2. Morgan January 17, 2012

    It would take damn good vocals and pure talent. Im so sick of these nontalented h*** out here in the bussiness who cant sing for s***.

  3. Ged January 17, 2012

    For girl groups to succeed, each of the member needs to be different and unique, and you need to feel that they’re really close friends, that’s when the magic happens. And very good vocals without a doubt!

  4. Izzie January 17, 2012

    I think that one of the reason might be that they start very young and as you grow older, well…your tastes change, what you want changes, and basicall you grow apart. And after years together it’s only normal that you might want to explore a solo career.

  5. MissImpartial January 17, 2012

    If one gets more attention than the other from the media then the cracks start.

  6. Kerry Johnson January 17, 2012

    Rihanna is the Goddess of music

    #KISS ME 🙂

  7. TerenceBarber January 17, 2012

    Danity Kane don’t even deserve to be mentioned as being anywhere close to a successful girl group, they only ever had two top 10’s in the us during the couple years they were together. The only girl groups who stand out for me are Destiny’s Child, TLC & En Vogue……though I do wish RichGirl had done better :/

  8. number1k9 January 17, 2012

    Girls are catty by nature. Ego is what destroys them. Thye see their personal success as being better than the groups collective success.

    Also you have to throw in how 75% of girl groups are like the PCDs, Destiny’s Child and The Supremes…where theNicole Scherzinger, Beyonce and Diana Ross’s have over 80% of ALL lead vocals…..

    ….sadly compared to the Danity Kane’s where vocals are relatively completely shared on majority of the songs recorded.

    Sad bc girl groups are so much more interesting than boy bands… but really neither last. Awww, I still have high hopes of BLAQUE returning to the music scene, loved them from the late 90s! C’mon BLAQUE, make Left Eye proud!

  9. ThelifeinHD January 17, 2012

    Girl Groups can never find a happy medium. They need to be to many things. They have to be talented, get along, be s***, fight for spotlight and genre bending. Destiny’s Child, one of the most successful groups was plagued with Beyonce’s gigantic shadow both good and bad. TLC fought over spotlight. Sugababes/Danity Kane all ego driven fights. I love girl groups, but we as music listeners have to understand that girl groups will always be temporary.

  10. AmbeRussell January 17, 2012

    females just tend to not get along. not to mention, when u have different outsides in ur ears saying that “why she getting that” but that happens in any group. ppl wanna get a solo like career while in a group n do their own thing. they feel they out grown the group thing n feel they can find more success by them selves. i mea nlook at nicole, she signed the deal only if they gave her a solo deal n she was basiclly a solo act besides the fact some of the girls sung here n there. she still wanted more. n then u mixed that with ..umm “mother nature”, which all might fall in the same time frame bc when u put a bunch of chicks together , after a while it all comes at once, (scary right). i mean danity kane, we basiclly saw how they disbanded. diddy wanted dawn for himself, showed all the “bad” aubrey was doing, then said bc they werent “getting along, they couldnt be a group” then fired aubrey bc she spoke her mind, fired d woods bc.. well idk then shannon didnt come back, n he just kept dawn. but if u with bad boy, u only get 2 albums anyways (faith, 112, diddy n mase only artist to release 3+ albums from bad boy rec) but thats besides the point.
    amberussell on youtube
    http://www.youtube.com/user/AmbeRussell?feature=mhee

  11. Kerry Johnson January 17, 2012

    Rihanna slays everyone 🙂

  12. monicandbrandy January 17, 2012

    BICKERING BICKERING BICKERING BICKERING.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  13. AmbeRussell January 17, 2012

    danity kane was more than just egos. it was how they were put together n had bore management. music wasnt released properlly. i mean their 2nd single came out MONTHS after their 1st song n cd release BOTH TIMES AROUND. n yes there was egos, but when u had 1 girl getting all the attention from the big boss, dawn n diddy, u r gonna question “y the f*** am i here?” i mean diddy wanted dawn for a solo act n to be with dirty money. if the group never got fired/split, wha were they gona do, wait til dawn was done n release album 3 in 2012? that would be 4 yrs after their 2nd album n 6 yrs after their 1st. that is tooo much time to just sit around n release a new album n not work while another member was out working hard. i think with danity kane, being that they were formed by audtions, some had the wrong intentions n were still in a competiative mentality with 1 another regardless, until they fully molded together. they werent friends, they were coworkers who had to work in a group together. maybe if they had to choice mebers, it might have been a different story.
    amberussell on youtube
    http://www.youtube.com/user/AmbeRussell?feature=mhee

  14. Kerry Johnson January 17, 2012

    Rihanna is killing the game right now
    And Kerry Johnson is here to help you deal with it 🙂

  15. NATALIE January 17, 2012

    I’m listening to Destiny Fulfilled now. Definitely the best girl group evver.

  16. Minajesty January 17, 2012

    why are people mentioning rihanna? obsessed much? i like the chick but she cant sing for toffee. anyway, there is no recipe for a perfect girlband, other than they have to appear to get along.

  17. Kerry Johnson January 17, 2012

    I’m horny

  18. NATALIE January 17, 2012

    What made DC such a good girl group. Is their chemistry their bond, their music were all amazing.

  19. Danny b January 17, 2012

    For the record, Destinys Child ultimately didn’t end because of friction or drama, like most girl groups. They ended because every good thing comes to an end and they felt it was time to move to the next chapter in each of their lives. And they all still remain extremely close ! The only difference between now and then is that they don’t perform or make music together but they are still very much Destinys Child. …and even after the drama of tge original two members were axed out, they still remained a group and went on to be more successful. That’s why Destinys Child is a class’s act and one of the most successful, respected, and unique girl groups of all time.

  20. Kerry Johnson January 17, 2012

    I think SWV and TLC were the best
    third DC

    but Rihanna tops all 🙂

  21. Yellow Gorillah January 17, 2012

    I see how they did not include the best girl group ever TLC!!!!!!

  22. kweenbey4 January 17, 2012

    😀

  23. JJFAN1814 January 17, 2012

    TLC > Destiny’s Child

  24. savonn January 17, 2012

    TLC >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  25. Morgan January 17, 2012

    The best girl groups of all time would be dc and tlc

  26. S*** (U MAD?) January 17, 2012

    SELFISH Vocal groups (DC3, PCD, & Supremes) >>>>> SHARED Groups (Cherish, TLC, Danity Cain etc)

    Wouldnt you Agree?? 🙂

  27. Gigi January 17, 2012

    Girl Groups rarely last because they are more often than not formed by outside sources, are rearranged by record companies, or for the benefit of one person (Danity Kane, PCD, Girl’s Aloud, Spice Girls in the first group; The Supremes in the second group; and Destiny’s Child and 3LW in the last group). Nine times out of ten, a label head or producer or even the manager, will single out on member of the group for a variety of reasons, which ends up creating friction and envy between everyone. It has nothing to do with being a woman, and everything to do with just plain, cold business. You can see that it doesn’t even escape bands where one member gets all of the attention (Axl Rose, Gwen Stefani, Hailey Williams, etc)–only mature band members can accept when group dynamics change because of fame or attention, and sadly, most folks aren’t that mature when it comes to the limelight.

  28. Criss January 17, 2012

    @ GIGI….I agree.

    Girl groups dont work also for the same reasons relationships fail. For the 1st incidents, its all fun and love, and then things just change, people change. And adding to what GIGI said, when a girl group blows up for their 1st album, like 3LW, DK and DC3, record labels and management will want to do whatever is necessary for the group to be even bigger, which in most cases boils down to pushing a leading woman at front. If you ask many of these girl groups why they broke up, a big reason will be because of management and executive decisions. Thats normally the root cause. Cause in their eyes, if one girl hops out, another girl can pick up the slate. Pretty soon, the girls in the group themselves start believing them, and because they understand the music business more, they have more disagreements as to how certain things should be handled.

  29. wuwu January 17, 2012

    how you gonna talk about girl groups and not mention TLC? SMH

  30. Pucci January 17, 2012

    Destiny’s Child split amicably & on good terms. They had their success as a group & wanted to venture off & continue to have success on their own. Secondly, had Lefteye not died, I think TLC wouldn’ve ventured off & did their own solo projects but would’ve remained a group alas everything.

  31. Aaron January 17, 2012

    TLC will always be that girl group, they were the s***. Keep in mind when TLC were out Destiny’s Child could not compete with them matter fact they opened for TLC and when TLC left Destiny’s Child blew up

  32. commanderofthedancefloor January 17, 2012

    alot of girl groups end because the members want to pursue solo careers! and usually the ones singled out from the begining end up the most successful of the lot! spice girls which is the best girl group of ALL time made several global hit and even did a movie but the members each wanted to pursue solo careers because they wanted recognition independently! geri halliwell was probably the most successful she first sang the biggest gay anthem in the world Its raining men! but the individual success cannot match what the group had accomplished and that can actually be said about most girl groups!!! oops i keep going on so

    lastly i know only one girl group that still has a chance and that is PCD other than that i have yet to see a girl group do anything big!

  33. Layla January 17, 2012

    En’Vogue is the best girl group.They all can sing.Destiny Child only had Beyonce.

  34. honeydip January 18, 2012

    FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER @HONEY_DIP11 I FOLLOW BACK!

  35. Getonmylevel January 18, 2012

    Girl Groups are very interesting, most groups to have a identity of it’s own followed with a identity within the group. Each member should have its own style that forms the whole image of the group. Danity Kane had a formula Aubrey was the s*** one, Aundrea was the cute one, Dwoods was the urban one, Shannon was the shy one, and Dawn was the soulful one. Same with DC (the blonde one, the red one, and the black one) but it’s only when one of the members thinks their bigger then the group that the group falls apart sometimes by accident and other times on propose . If you think about each girl group there was one member that altered the groups formula which caused the group to split or change, Now I’m not saying causing fights or etc but really going against the grain from the group doing more solo moves or changing their looks to make their own identity for themselves. Which then starts the bickering and hold anger cause a rift in the formula. Now with Xscape Kandi had alot to do with that break up they all could sing but again changing the formula caused that break up. Girl groups need to really set a goal and understand the code of sisterhood respect each others roles in the group. e do need another girl group on the scene you know i don’t know what this group 2NE1 is saying but i think they have a great image and you can see the formula is flowing well within the group

  36. MISHKA January 18, 2012

    I need Beyonce, Kelly, Michelle and LeToya to bring DC4 back!

  37. danny b January 18, 2012

    For the record, Destinys Child ultimately didn’t end because of friction or drama, like most girl groups. They ended because every good thing comes to an end and they felt it was time to move to the next chapter in each of their lives. And they all still remain extremely close ! The only difference between now and then is that they don’t perform or make music together but they are still very much Destinys Child.

    …and even after the drama of tge original two members were axed out, they still remained a group and went on to be more successful. That’s why Destinys Child is a class’s act and one of the most successful, respected, and unique girl groups of all time.

  38. number1k9 January 18, 2012

    Yes sometimes management is eye-ing one or a few members more closely than the other members, BUTTTTTTTTTT still it comes down to the girls and their ego(s).

    If the girls had a pact to try as much as they could to not let management not single out members into being possibly future solo artists then, many groups would last longer than they do. But thing is that the girls never get close enough to a point where they’d wanna come to a pact like that. Instead the EGO of the girl or few who are singled out as potential solo acts by the management, label head, producers, etc. take it and run with it. Now that was Dawn in Danity Kane. It was Beyonce in DC (obv since her Dad was their manager).

    …And if Beyonce was a true friend and equal member of DC she would have said when she was offered to singe most of the verses, hey I think Kelly/La Tavia/LeToya/Michelle would sound just as great as me singing this verse/lead on this song, I think we should hear her vocals for this part and then see.

    BUT how many times do you seriosuly think that is said in girl groups, and especially in Destiny’s Child and PCD?

  39. ♛ pop royalty ♛ ( The BeyHive ) January 18, 2012

    1. GIRL GROUPS are so yesterday’s news. it was hot for a moment , now it is not.
    2. it turns out that in every girl group , there’s this one girl who will be having the spotlight on more than the others. whether it was purposely or not.
    3.girl groups is all about personalities. that’s the reason of why they will make it , and what will make it flop.
    4. most of girl groups were made to prepare the public for only one girl of that group.

    “but it is also talent-dependent” , so the girl who’s having the spotlight on and has the biggest talent will be the one. 😉

    that’s why all girl groups didn’t stay a group , cuz they weren’t one from the start. 😡

    “see pussycat dolls , destiny’s child” !

  40. fatu sankoh January 18, 2012

    dc will for ever be one of the greatest group ever they have it all bey kelly and m w

  41. kimberly January 18, 2012

    I never followed any female group until dc3 and you must admit these girls bought flovour, they bought the trends, they bought sexiness, dance routines, fun, crazy shows, good music. \there was never and never will be another female group like dc3, no matter how hard they try, dc3 has done it all. to those mentionign tlc, blah blah blah, tlc was finished when dc3 hit the scene.
    btw for the history of groups, they all always part ways because of solo projects, the most talented always become huge. let’s be honest, in the supremes, people were interested because of diana and dc3 people watched and watched and kept beyonce at the tip of their tongues. She outshinned them and it wasn’t her fault whever or not she was a lead singer she wouold stand out. that’s what stars do, shine.

  42. kimberly January 18, 2012

    BTW so happy they got their hollywood walk of fame star. that is just to seal it for the haters.

  43. Adam January 18, 2012

    I think the Pussycat Dolls have a legitimate shot at being successful this year with their new line-up! Casting Lauren Bennett as one of the new Dolls was really smart because A) she’s a true triple threat (she’s hot, can sing, can dance), and B) she’s really popular right now for being featured on Party Rock Anthem. Chrystina Sayers from Girlicious is also one of the new Dolls, and since her and Lauren both have experience being in girl groups (Lauren was in the Paradiso Girls), they should somewhat know what to expect. They’re officially debuting the new line-up of the PCD in a commercial airing during the Super Bowl, which should have about 110-115 million viewers, so clearly they’re taking this seriously. They’ve also hired Larry Rudolph, Britney Spears’ manager, to manage the new Dolls, and given how successful Britney’s comeback has been, he should be able to do the same for the Dolls. Just my opinion.

  44. 100% REAL January 18, 2012

    My eyes immediately went to Kelly in that top pic. Her skin is gorgeous! She stands out in that pic. But, on another note, alot of female groups don’t last because of the “gossiping”, “bitchiness”, “pettyness”, “back stabbing” and “inflated egos” that come along with it. If everyone would just keep themselves in check, then everything would be just fine.

  45. josh January 19, 2012

    Destiny’s Child & TLC are the two i loved so much!

  46. DemetriusBlacc January 20, 2012

    TLC: A Group
    Destiny’s Child: Beyonce

    Also, how many members have Destiny’s Child have had.
    TLC had they drama but the line up never changed!
    The Pussycat Dolls: Had that horrible singer Nicole when they could the other 4.
    3LW: just childish kids.

    Yeah TLC will always be my favorite!

  47. Paulo February 8, 2012

    And The pussycat Dolls are the best

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