Nadine Coyle

Arguably the most talented vocalist in Girls Aloud, Nadine Coyle followed in Cheryl Cole's footsteps to become the second member of the hugely successful group to launch a solo career. Born in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1985, Coyle began singing at an early age and, encouraged by her parents, recorded a demo tape that she sent to Boyzone manager Louis Walsh. In 2001, she auditioned for the Irish series of Popstars, where she landed a place in the boy/girl band Six. However, she was replaced when it was discovered that she was 16, two years younger than the minimum age limit for contestants.

Encouraged by Walsh to try out for Popstars: The Rivals, a show that aimed to manufacture both a successful boy band and girl group, she reached the live stages, where her performances of "Fields of Gold," "When I Fall in Love," and "Show Me Heaven" made her a favorite to land a place in the band. Surprisingly, she was only the third member to be selected in the final, but two weeks later, the newly formed Girls Aloud scored a number one hit with "Sound of the Underground," beating the show's other creation, One True Voice. The group became one of the biggest pop acts of the noughties, scoring 20 consecutive Top Ten hits and two number one albums and winning a Brit Award for Best British Single for "The Promise."

After the group members announced they were taking a hiatus in 2009, Coyle began working on her own solo material and recorded as yet unreleased tracks with Boyz II Men and Jay Sean. She made her first solo appearance a year later, when she performed "Love Me for a Reason" at a TV tribute show to Stephen Gately. Despite initial reports that Coyle had signed with Geffen Records, she announced an unexpected deal with grocery chain Tesco's new record label, which would see her debut album sold exclusively in their stores, a tactic that had worked earlier for Faithless and Simply Red. Insatiable, which features contributions from Lucie Silvas, Tiësto, and William Orbit, and includes the Guy Chambers-penned title track, was released at the end of 2010. Coyle also created her own label, Black Pen Records; owns a pub, Nadine's Irish Mist, in Los Angeles; and appeared in the video for Natasha Bedingfield's "I Wanna Have Your Babies." ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi