Whole Lotta History
Encyclopedia
"Whole Lotta History" is a song by British all-female pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 group Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...

, taken from their third studio album Chemistry (2005). The song was written by Miranda Cooper
Miranda Cooper
Miranda Eleanor De Fonbrune Cooper has been on the UK charts longer than any other female songwriter in the country. In 2007 Harper's Bazaar wrote of her: ‘If it's a hit you want, you'd better talk to Cooper...

, Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins (producer)
Brian Thomas Higgins is a British music producer who has written and produced albums and tracks for several highly successful pop music singers and groups, most notably Girls Aloud, through his Xenomania production group...

 and his production team Xenomania
Xenomania
Xenomania is a British songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed after Higgins met Miranda Cooper, Xenomania has written and produced for renowned artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, and Sugababes...

, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Described as "a lush ballad", "Whole Lotta History" was slightly remixed and released as a single in March 2006. It continued Girls Aloud's string of hits by becoming their twelfth consecutive single to chart within the top ten on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

.

The music video was filmed in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and features Girls Aloud reminiscing about a former love. "Whole Lotta History" was promoted through numerous live appearances and has since been performed on three of the group's concert tours. Receiving comparisons to 1990s girl groups Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...

 and All Saints
All Saints (band)
All Saints were a British/Canadian girl group. Founded in 1993 as All Saints 1.9.7.5, the group consisted of founding members Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis, and sisters Nicole Appleton and Natalie Appleton...

, "Whole Lotta History" received generally favorable reviews from music critics.

Background and composition

"Whole Lotta History" is a pop ballad written in the key of A minor
A minor
A minor is a minor scale based on A, consisting of the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The harmonic minor scale raises the G to G...

. The chord progression is rather intricate but includes A, C, D, E, and G and various variations on these chords. Despite sounding more traditional than most Girls Aloud songs, "Whole Lotta History" is made up of seven different parts rather than following a verse-chorus formula. The song begins with a two-part introduction
Introduction (music)
In music, the introduction is a passage or section which opens a movement or a separate piece. In popular music this is often abbreviated as intro...

, a verse, and a pre-chorus before reaching its chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...

. The song then continues with a different verse and a middle-eight. Following a repetition of the chorus, the song ends with a "wistful" conclusion
Conclusion (music)
In music, the conclusion is the ending of a composition and may take the form of a coda or outro.Pieces using sonata form typically use the recapitulation to conclude a piece, providing closure through the repetition of thematic material from the exposition in the tonic key...

 sung by Sarah Harding
Sarah Harding
Sarah Nicole Harding is an English singer-songwriter, actress and model best known for being a member of the pop group Girls Aloud, formed through ITV's reality television programme Popstars: The Rivals...

.

Release

"Whole Lotta History" was slightly remixed for the single release. The single version, known as the Original Ash Howes Mix, differs slightly from the album version found on Chemistry; it has different percussion, a more pronounced guitar, and faint strings during the chorus. "Whole Lotta History" was Girls Aloud's first original ballad to be released as a single since 2003's "Life Got Cold". Shortly before the release of the single, Girls Aloud spent a week in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 to promote "Biology
Biology (song)
"Biology" is a song performed by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their third studio album Chemistry . The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Composed of distinct sections, it avoids the...

" there.

Released on 13 March 2006, the single was made available on two CD single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...

 formats and as a digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

. The first disc includes a previously unreleased track entitled "Crazy Fool", which was co-written by Girls Aloud and sung solely by Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Ann Cole is an English pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress and model. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group, Girls...

. The song and its "pulsating electro backbeat" were praised by Peter Robinson
Peter Robinson (journalist)
Peter Robinson is a British music journalist. He is the creator of the pop music-based blog Popjustice. Robinson first came to the attention of music fans with his self-published biography/fanzine of The KLF, Justified and Ancient History...

 of Popjustice
Popjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 and is the work of UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others....

. The second disc included the Whole Lotta Lamezma Mix of "Whole Lotta History", as well as Girls Aloud's live cover of Wheatus
Wheatus
Wheatus are an American rock group from Northport, New York. They are known for their 2000 single "Teenage Dirtbag" which was featured in the movie Loser, as well as in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill.-1995-2002: Formation and Wheatus:...

' "Teenage Dirtbag
Teenage Dirtbag
"Teenage Dirtbag" is the title of a song recorded by American alternative rock group Wheatus. It was released in July 2000 as the lead single from their eponymous debut album. It was included on the soundtrack of the movie Loser. The single was massively successful in Australia, spending four weeks...

". A studio version was later released on Radio 1 Established 1967
Radio 1 Established 1967
The compilation album Radio 1 Established 1967 is a collection of covers especially recorded for Radio 1 by a number of artists. The album celebrates the 40th anniversary of BBC Radio 1. There are 40 songs recorded by 40 different artists . Each artist was given a year, and were allowed to cover a...

. An acoustic version of "Whole Lotta History" was also available as a legal digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

.

Critical reception

"Whole Lotta History" received generally favorable reviews from most music critics. Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...

 stated that while Girls Aloud "do so much better when they shift into uptempo gear," the song is "one of the Girls' better efforts [at ballads]- not quite as saccharine as I'll Stand By You and a good deal more engaging than the turgid See The Day."

The song received comparisons to ballads by 1990s girl groups Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...

 and All Saints
All Saints (band)
All Saints were a British/Canadian girl group. Founded in 1993 as All Saints 1.9.7.5, the group consisted of founding members Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis, and sisters Nicole Appleton and Natalie Appleton...

. BBC Music
Bbc.co.uk
BBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...

 called it "a lush ballad reminiscent of the Spice Girls." A reporter for The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...

 compared the song to "a sub-Spice Girls Christmas No 1," while an Allmusic reviewer compared it to "2 Become 1
2 Become 1
"2 Become 1" is a song by the British pop group Spice Girls. Written by the group members, Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard during the group's first professional songwriting session, it was produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album Spice, released in November 1996...

" specifically. John Murphy of musicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...

 described the song as " the best lovelorn ballad since All Saints
All Saints (band)
All Saints were a British/Canadian girl group. Founded in 1993 as All Saints 1.9.7.5, the group consisted of founding members Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis, and sisters Nicole Appleton and Natalie Appleton...

' Never Ever
Never Ever
"Never Ever" is a song by All Saints, released as the second single from their debut album, All Saints. It became a very successful worldwide hit and was the first of five #1 singles in the UK for the group. . The single was released in the United States on July 7, 1998, with a new music video. It...

."

Chart performance

Although the physical single was not released, "Whole Lotta History" was eligible to enter the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 on 12 March 2006, due to new chart rules allowing singles to enter the charts on the Sunday before its release based on download sales only. "Whole Lotta History" debuted at number eighty, before peaking at number six the following week. This made the song Girls Aloud's twelfth consecutive top ten single, although it only spent a mere five weeks in the top 75. "Whole Lotta History" also charted at number twenty-three on the UK Download Chart. The single was the 188th best seller of 2006, with sales over 37,000. In Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, the song debuted at number eighteen on the Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...

 and spent a total of six weeks in the top fifty.

Music video

The music video for "Whole Lotta History" was directed by Margaret Malandruccolo. Filmed in Paris, France, the video was Girls Aloud's first to be shot outside of the United Kingdom.

The video depicts each member of the band in a different setting reminiscing about a former love, as the lyrics suggest. Kimberley Walsh
Kimberley Walsh
Kimberley Jane Walsh is an English singer-songwriter, dancer, model, television presenter and actress. She is best known for being a member of girl group Girls Aloud, formed through ITV's reality television programme Popstars: The Rivals...

 receives flowers inside of a café and apparently looks at her past boyfriend. Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Ann Cole is an English pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress and model. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group, Girls...

 is in an unruly hotel room, looking out of a window onto a street. Nadine Coyle
Nadine Coyle
Nadine Coyle is an Irish singer, songwriter, actress, and model who rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of the band Six before becoming a member of successful girl-group Girls Aloud. The group amassed a joint fortune of £25 million by May 2009...

 looks through a photo album at a desk in a study, while Nicola Roberts
Nicola Roberts
Nicola Maria Roberts is a British recording artist and entrepreneur. In 2002 Roberts auditioned for the reality televisions series and competition Popstars The Rivals which saw her finish in the final line-up of a girl group named Girls Aloud...

 looks at herself in a mirror. Sarah Harding
Sarah Harding
Sarah Nicole Harding is an English singer-songwriter, actress and model best known for being a member of the pop group Girls Aloud, formed through ITV's reality television programme Popstars: The Rivals...

 walks alone along a river as couples pass by. The group shot consists of all members sitting together in a lounge (in the room Nadine's section takes place) laughing and discussing past relationships.

The music video is can be found on the DVD release of 2006's Chemistry Tour
Chemistry Tour
The Chemistry Tour is Girls Aloud's second concert tour, in support of the group's third studio album Chemistry. Girls Aloud performed ten dates in various arenas across the United Kingdom, making it their shortest tour. The tour began in Nottingham on 22 May 2006 and concluded in London on 3 June...

, as well as 2007's Style
Style (DVD)
Style is the fifth DVD featuring Girls Aloud, was released on November 12, 2007. It features commentary from Girls Aloud on all of their favourite and least favourite outfits from their careers, as well as fashion tips...

DVD.

Live performances

Girls Aloud performed "Whole Lotta History" live for the first time on CD:UK
CD:UK
CD:UK was a British music television programme. Originally run in conjunction with SMTV Live, the programme was first aired on ITV on 29 August 1998 to rival the BBC's Live & Kicking and was the replacement for The Chart Show, which had been airing on the network for nine and a half years.In...

on 18 February 2006. They also appeared on morning talk shows Davina
Davina (talk show)
Davina is a British talk show hosted by Davina McCall.It first aired on BBC One on 15 February 2006, however, the show ended on 12 April 2006 at the end of its first series due to low ratings...

, GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...

, and Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...

, as well as the Saturday morning children's show
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...

 Ministry of Mayhem
Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown
The Ministry of Mayhem was a CITV show which broadcast on the ITV Network from January 2004. As of January 2006, the onscreen name was Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown. It was the last regular studio-based Saturday morning show on ITV....

. Additionally, they performed on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...

and its spin-off show Top of the Pops Reloaded
Top Of The Pops Reloaded
Top of the Pops: Reloaded is a weekly children's music show broadcast as part of the Saturday morning CBBC schedule on BBC Two. It was based on the show, Top Of The Pops, following on from its predecessor Top of the Pops Saturday....

. During the group's promotional trip to Australia, Girls Aloud performed the song on whatUwant
WhatUwant
whatUwant is an Australian music video request television show that aired daily on Channel [V].whatUwant first aired in April 2002, and broadcasted over 1500 episodes until Foxtel has revealed that the show will close with a final goodbye on 7 November 2008.Directed by Bernie Zelvis, past hosts of...

.

Since its release, Girls Aloud have included the song on three of their concert tours. It was initially featured on 2006's Chemistry Tour
Chemistry Tour
The Chemistry Tour is Girls Aloud's second concert tour, in support of the group's third studio album Chemistry. Girls Aloud performed ten dates in various arenas across the United Kingdom, making it their shortest tour. The tour began in Nottingham on 22 May 2006 and concluded in London on 3 June...

. The following year, during The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits Tour
The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits Tour
The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits Tour is Girls Aloud's third concert tour, in support of the group's first greatest hits album The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits...

, they performed the song from "a pink cushion-covered swing." It was part of a ballad section on 2008's Tangled Up Tour
Tangled Up Tour
The Tangled Up Tour was the fourth concert tour third arena tour, by British pop group Girls Aloud, in support of the group's fourth studio album Tangled Up. The tour was initially announced to reach arenas across the United Kingdom in November 2007. The shows commenced in Belfast on 3 May 2008 and...

, sung by Girls Aloud as they walk down a catwalk which reached the middle of the venue.

Track listings and formats

UK CD1 (Polydor / 9877402)
  1. "Whole Lotta History" (Original Ash Howes Mix) — 3:47
  2. "Crazy Fool" (Girls Aloud, Cooper, Higgins, Jon Shave) — 3:34

UK CD2 (Polydor / 9877403)
  1. "Whole Lotta History" (Original Ash Howes Mix) — 3:47
  2. "Whole Lotta History" (Whole Lotta Lamezma Mix) — 5:09
  3. "Teenage Dirtbag
    Teenage Dirtbag
    "Teenage Dirtbag" is the title of a song recorded by American alternative rock group Wheatus. It was released in July 2000 as the lead single from their eponymous debut album. It was included on the soundtrack of the movie Loser. The single was massively successful in Australia, spending four weeks...

    " (Live at Carling Academy) (Wheatus
    Wheatus
    Wheatus are an American rock group from Northport, New York. They are known for their 2000 single "Teenage Dirtbag" which was featured in the movie Loser, as well as in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill.-1995-2002: Formation and Wheatus:...

    )
    — 4:14
  4. "Whole Lotta History" (video) — 3:47
  5. "Whole Lotta History" (karaoke video) — 3:47
  6. "Whole Lotta History" (game)

UK 7digital exclusive download
  1. "Whole Lotta History" (Acoustic Version) — 3:52


The Singles Boxset (CD12)
  1. "Whole Lotta History" (Original Ash Howes Mix) — 3:47
  2. "Crazy Fool" — 3:34
  3. "Whole Lotta History" (Whole Lotta Lamezma Mix) — 5:09
  4. "Teenage Dirtbag" (Live at Carling Academy) — 4:14
  5. "Whole Lotta History" (Acoustic Version) — 3:52
  6. "Whole Lotta History" (video) — 3:47
  7. "Whole Lotta History" (karaoke video) — 3:47
  8. "Whole Lotta History" (game)


Credits and personnel

  • Bass: Shawn Lee
  • Guitar: Nick Coler, Shawn Lee, Tim Powell
  • Keyboards: Brian Higgins
    Brian Higgins (producer)
    Brian Thomas Higgins is a British music producer who has written and produced albums and tracks for several highly successful pop music singers and groups, most notably Girls Aloud, through his Xenomania production group...

    , Tim Powell
  • Mastering: Dick Beetham for 360 Mastering
  • Mixing: Tim Powell, Jeremy Wheatley
  • Production: Brian Higgins, Xenomania
    Xenomania
    Xenomania is a British songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed after Higgins met Miranda Cooper, Xenomania has written and produced for renowned artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, and Sugababes...

  • Programming: Brian Higgins, Tim "Rolf" Larcombe, Tim Powell
  • Songwriting: Miranda Cooper
    Miranda Cooper
    Miranda Eleanor De Fonbrune Cooper has been on the UK charts longer than any other female songwriter in the country. In 2007 Harper's Bazaar wrote of her: ‘If it's a hit you want, you'd better talk to Cooper...

    , Brian Higgins, Lisa Cowling, Tim "Rolf" Larcombe, Giselle Sommerville
  • Vocals: Girls Aloud
    Girls Aloud
    Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...

  • Published by Warner/Chappell Music
    Warner/Chappell Music
    Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company, and a division of the Warner Music Group. The company traces its origins back to 1811 and the founding of Chappell & Company, a music publishing company and instrument shop on London’s Bond Street that, in 1929, began a rapid...

     and Xenomania Music

Charts

> > >
Chart (2006) Peak
position


Year-end charts

Chart (2004) Peak
position
United Kingdom (2006
2006 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....

)
188
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