2002–2009: Popstars: The Rivals and Girls Aloud

In 2002, Harding auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals.^[11] The programme, the second British series of the international Popstars franchise, would see the creation of two rival groups – a boy band and a girl group each consisting of five members, which would then compete against each other for the 2002 Christmas Number One spot on the UK Singles Chart. Several thousand applicants attended auditions across the UK in hope of being selected. Ten girls and ten boys were chosen as finalists by judges Pete Waterman, Louis Walsh and Geri Halliwell. These finalists then took to the stage participating in weekly Saturday night live performances (alternating weekly between the girls and boys). Each week the contestant polling the fewest phone votes was eliminated, until the final line-ups of the groups emerged. Harding joined Nadine Coyle, Cheryl Tweedy, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh to comprise the new girl group Girls Aloud, formed through the show by a public vote on 30 November 2002.^[1]

The group's debut single "Sound of the Underground" peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the 2002 Christmas number one.^[12] Girls Aloud hold the record for the shortest time between formation and reaching number one.^[13] The group released their debut album Sound of the Underground in May 2003,^[14] which entered the charts at number two and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) later the same year. Their singles "I'll Stand by You", "Walk This Way" and "The Promise" have charted at number one. Two of their albums have reached the top of the UK Albums Chart: their greatest hits album The Sound of Girls Aloud and 2008's Out of Control, both of which entered the chart at number one, with over one million copies of the former being sold.^[15] They also achieved seven certified albums and have been nominated for five Brit Awards, winning the 2009 Best Single for "The Promise".^[16]

The group's musical style was pop, but throughout their career, they experimented with electropop and dance-pop. Girls Aloud's collaborations with Brian Higgins and his songwriting and production team Xenomania earned the group critical acclaim,^[17] due to an innovative approach to mainstream pop music. The group became one of the few UK reality television acts to achieve continued success, amassing a fortune of £30 million by May 2010. Guinness World Records lists them as "Most Successful Reality TV Group" in the 2007 edition. They also hold the record for "Most Consecutive Top Ten Entries in the UK by a Female Group" in the 2008 edition and are credited again for "Most Successful Reality TV Group" in the 2011 edition. The group was also named the United Kingdom's biggest-selling girl group of the 21st century, with over 4.3 million singles sales and 4 million albums sold in the UK alone.^[18][19]

In 2006, Harding signed a £100,000 deal to model Ultimo lingerie, following the likes of Penny Lancaster, Rachel Hunter and Helena Christensen.^[20] Alongside her Girls Aloud bandmates, Harding made a cameo appearance in St. Trinian's in 2007. She took on her first major acting role in 2008, appearing in the low-budget thriller Bad Day. Harding wore a brunette wig for the role of Jade Jennings. The film also stars Donna Air and Claire Goose. She also collaborated with London synthpop band Filthy Dukes on a cover of "Real Wild Child", recorded for the film Wild Child.^[21] In July 2009, Girls Aloud announced they would take a year-long hiatus to pursue solo projects, but would reunite for a new studio album in 2010.^[22]

During Girls Aloud's hiatus, Harding decided to focus on her acting career. "Singing was always my main ambition, but acting was something else I wanted to achieve", Harding said.^[23] Harding appeared in the BBC television film Freefall, written and directed by Dominic Savage. The film aired on BBC Two on 14 July 2009. Harding portrayed Sam, the beautician girlfriend of Dominic Cooper's character.^[23][24] The drama is a satirical take on the financial crisis of 2007–2008.^[25] Company magazine said that "Sarah Harding showed she's got real acting potential in her convincing, but fleeting performance."^[26]

Later that year, Harding returned to the St. Trinian's franchise with a starring role in St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold. Despite her age, Harding portrayed teenage rebel Roxy, a new student at St. Trinian's School. The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews, holding a 10% 'rotten' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[27] Harding worked with Girls Aloud producers Xenomania to record three solo tracks for the film's soundtrack – "Too Bad", "Make It Easy" and a cover of David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging".^[28]

2009–2014: Reunion with Girls Aloud, disbandment and acting

In December 2009, Harding appeared on MTV's Sarah Harding in 24 Hours. Harding and her then-boyfriend, DJ Tom Crayne, also launched a new nightclub named Kanaloa. Harding's guest vocals appear alongside Kanobby on the Roger Sanchez and Far East Movement track "2Gether"; she also appears in snippets of the music video. Harding then filmed Run for Your Wife in which she played one of the wives of the lead character, John Smith.^[29] The film was released on 14 February 2013.

After three years of hiatus, Girls Aloud reunited in 2012 to celebrate their tenth anniversary together. The group released the single "Something New" in November, with proceeds being donated to Children in Need.^[30] Their second greatest hits anthology Ten was released on 26 November 2012, followed by the single "Beautiful Cause You Love Me".^[30] In 2013, the group embarked on Ten: The Hits Tour. Shortly after the tour, the group announced their split.^[31]

Harding first revealed that she was working on her debut album in March 2010.^[32] She named Lady Gaga as her biggest influence.^[33] Despite this, an album never materialised. Harding restated her plans to release a solo album in 2013 and said that she had been "writing and experimenting with different sounds in the studio."^[34][35][36] In an interview in 2014. She said, "I'm doing all sorts of stuff at the moment [...] A lot of it is music, music, music.".^[37] In July 2015 her first solo release, "Threads", was announced; it was released on 7 August.^[38][39]

She made a guest appearance on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Joni Preston, the wife of Robert Preston (Tristan Gemmill). The character made a few appearances in July and August 2015 as her marriage to Robert disintegrated when he began an affair with ex-wife Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford).^[40]

2014–2021: Final projects before death

Harding competed on the BBC's Saturday night gymnastics show Tumble in 2014 where she came third.^[41] She also participated in season 10 of BBC's Celebrity MasterChef in 2015.^[42] She took part on the third series of The Jump on Channel 4 in early 2016, withdrawing on 26 February (Week 5) after tearing a ligament in her knee during a training session.^[43] In Autumn 2016, Harding appeared alongside Andy Moss in a UK tour of Ghost: The Musical. However, she was replaced mid tour by Carolyn Maitland after pulling out due to the subsequent pain from her injury after The Jump.^[44] In August 2017, Harding won the twentieth series of Celebrity Big Brother.^[45]

On 18 March 2021, Harding released a memoir, Hear Me Out, documenting her life and career as well as her cancer diagnosis.^[46]

On 24 March 2021, Harding released her final single, "Wear It Like a Crown", which she had recorded ten years earlier. However, she had found it and decided to release it with the profits going towards her chosen charity. The same day, the song went straight to number 1 on the iTunes chart.^[47] Although the single failed to chart on the UK Official Singles Top 100, it debuted and peaked at number 33 on the UK Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 on 2 April 2021.^[48]

Extended plays

Singles

Other appearances