Hear'Say

Hear'Say
General information
Genre (s)	pop
founding	February 2001
resolution	2002
Founding members
	Danny Foster
	Myleene Class
	Suzanne Shaw
	Noel Sullivan
	Kym Marsh (2001 to February 2002)
Last occupation
	Danny Foster
	Myleene Class
	Suzanne Shaw
	Noel Sullivan
	Johnny Shentall (February 2002 to October 2002)

Hear'Say was a British pop group that emerged from the ITV reality show Popstars in February 2001 .

founding

Within six weeks in early 2001, thousands of hopeful singers applied to the auditions for ITV's pop stars. Entrants were joined by jurors Nigel Lythgoe, Paul Adam (director of A&R at Polydor Records who owned the rights to the emerging group) and Nicki Chapman, who had previously worked with the Spice Girls .

The jury reduced the number of entrants to 10 before visiting each of the top ten at home and telling them whether they would join the band or not.

The five singers selected - Danny Foster, Myleene Klass , Kym Marsh, Suzanne Shaw and Noel Sullivan - now formed Hear'Say. The other unselected five finalists formed the band Liberty , which was later renamed Liberty X due to legal problems.

Initial success

Hear'Say's first single, Pure and Simple , a cover by Girl Thing previously only released in Japan, immediately topped the UK singles chart March 24, 2001. It became the fastest-selling non-charity single to date was sold. (This record was later broken by Pop Idol winner Will Young ). The single sold a total of over 1 million times. The single was followed by a similarly successful album called Popstars . It included covers of Monday, Monday by The Mamas & the Papas and Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel , as well as new songs. The album also reached number 1 on the album charts - 3 weeks after the single - making Hear'Say the only British band to be number 1 on the charts with their debut single and album.

After another number one single - a remix of the album track The Way to Your Love - Hear'Say appeared on their own show Hear'Say It's Saturday on ITV. This was also followed by a mini-series Meet the Popstars , which tried to give the public the opportunity to get to know the band and their music outside of the Popstars show.

Failure and separation

The band toured in 2001, received poor reviews, and released a live DVD of one of their shows. During the tour, the band recorded their second album Everybody . In November 2001, just a few months after the debut album, Everybody was released. This was preceded by a single of the same name, which despite major advertising only reached number 4 in the single charts. The album fared even worse: it peaked at number 24 and only sold about 1/5 of its predecessor (it was later announced that if the album had been released just a week later, it would have reached number 1 immediately) .

Despite the dwindling success, plans were made for a stadium tour in 2002. At the time, Kym Marsh was making headlines frequently as she was dating former EastEnders star Jack Ryder . Ryder was five years younger than Marsh, and she also had children from a previous relationship. This sparked discussion in the media and speculation that Marsh was unhappy in the band arose.

In February 2002, Marsh announced that she was leaving the band. There were auditions to find a replacement for her, which were also broadcast on television. A former dancer for the band and former member of the short-lived band BOOM !, Johnny Shentall (husband of Steps singer Lisa Scott Lee) won the audition. There was negative headlines in the media as it was claimed that the result was fake. Claims were weakened when it became known that many people who had previously worked with the band attended the auditions and didn't even make it past the first round.

Hear'Say began to record their third album in a new constellation and canceled the planned stadium tour to give Shentall time to find their way around the group. In the summer of 2002 the band went on a radio roadshow tour where they were constantly booed and reviled by the audience - evidence of the strong public hostility. During the tour, the band's bus on the M1 motorway in Northamptonshire was attacked by an apparently armed man. The man who was later arrested claimed he was just playing a prank on the group.

In August 2002, Hear'Say's only single with Shentall called Lovin 'Is Easy was released. The song was very different from the previous ones and tried to rekindle interest in the band's music. The single reached number 6 on the charts, but the band was discouraged and took the time to think about their careers. Hear'Say officially split on October 1, 2002, citing negative public reaction as the main reason for the split.

Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)				Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK
2001	Pop stars	-	-	-	UK1 × 3 Triple platinum (28 weeks)UK	First published: March 26, 2001
	Everybody	-	-	-	UK24 gold (5 weeks)UK	First published: December 2001

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)				Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK
2001	Pure and simple pop stars	DE83 (1 week) DE	-	CH29 (9 weeks) CH	UK1 × 2 Double platinum (28 weeks)UK	First published: March 12, 2001
	The Way to Your Love Popstars	-	-	-	UK1 silver (21 weeks)UK	First published: June 25, 2001
	Everybody Everybody	-	-	-	UK4 (11 weeks) UK	First published: November 2001
2002	Lovin 'is easy	-	-	-	UK6 (8 weeks) UK	First published: August 2002

Video albums

• 2001: Live (UK:platinum)

Web links

• Hear'Say at laut.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: DE CH UK