#20. Andrews Sisters, 1937
Let’s start with the Andrews Sisters, they began their career in the lates 30s but they blew up after their 1941 hit "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and others great songs. Thanks to the success of their song they toured, during World War II, to entertain allied military forces. The three sisters kept on working together until the 50s when, Patty decided to pursue a solo career, therefore the trio broke up in 1952. Their legacy continued to shape younger female artists.
#19. Martha and the Vandellas, 1957
The all-female vocal group formed in 1957, formed by the original trio Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford, and Gloria Williams. Eventually, Martha Reeves was included and became the lead vocalist of the group after Williams' departure in 1962. The group signed to Motown's Gordy imprint and all the major hit songs came from this Record Company. The success was huge and their single "Heatwave" climbed to No. 4 on the pop chart and topping the R&B chart. Sadly, due to some inner struggles, the band called quite in 1974.
#18. The Shirelles, 1957
The four girls were highschool friends and decided to form a band, then named Poquellos, and performed an original song called I Met Him on a Sunday at a talent show. Their talent amazed people and thanks to this they got singed by a promising label. Shortly after, Florence Greenberg, who discovered the group in the first place, singed them for good to her record label, and the Shirelles became stars on the Scepter label. This girl band has been added into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and named one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by Rolling Stone in 2004.
#17. The Supremes, 1959
Probably one of the biggest bands ever, The Supremes, conquered the world in the 60s and left a mark becoming America's most successful vocal group with 12 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. All good things must come to an end, by the end of the 60s Diana Ross left the band, to pursue a solo career. The band already had gone went through many changes, many members have left and news arrived. But one could say that after Diana’s departure it was really hard to keep the band alive, she was the star of the group. In 1977 what was left of the band had officially dissolved. Stil remains as an iconic band.
#16. Pointer Sisters, 1971
Sister love strikes again, this time an American R&B singing group from Oakland, California who started in the early 70s. The band gained commercial success during the 80s when the line up was — June, Ruth, and Anita. They won two more Grammys for the top 10 hits Jump (For My Love) and "Automatic" during the decade and became the 32nd most successful Hot 100 Women Artist of all-time by Billboard magazine. Definitely a powerful sisterhood, and they’re still going strong!
#15. The Go-Go's, 1978
Who said females can’t be rockstars? In the lates 70s The Go-Go’s decided to prove it wrong. The new wave band formed in Los Angeles, has had a fairly consistent line-up built by Charlotte Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine, and Jane Wiedlin. Their debut album Beauty and the Beat became No. 1 Billboard 200 chart, not only that but The Go-Go’s became the first all-female band to write their own songs and play their own instruments. A big achievement that made history, and they still do!! They have broken up but eventually reunited to keep rocking.
#14. Bananarama, 1979
The childhood friend Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward decide to join forces and formed a band, they moved to Bristol in 1979 and met Siobhan Fahey who added to the group. Bananarama’s love for punk rock drew the attention of some members of Sex Pistols, who helped record their first demo. it must be quite the honor to received help from punk legend. The groups’ Internacional success came in the mid-80s with the cover of Venus becoming a No. 1 smash in the U.S. The band keeps making music but with the original duo.
#13. The Bangles, 1981
The hit song Walk Like an Egyptian was made by the American pop-rock female band The Bangles. The female group has formed in 1981 and during that decade they created U.S. Top 10 hits: "Manic Monday" (1986); "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986); "Hazy Shade of Winter" (1987); "In Your Room" (1989); and "Eternal Flame" (1989). The girls had their struggles and split for some time, but eventually found their way back. They still rocking the stages!
#12. Expose, 1984
The girl band formed in 1984 and consisted of lead vocalists Jeanette Jurado, Ann Curless, and Gioia Bruno. They reached mainstream success between 1984 and 1993 and also achieved being the first group to have four top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, among those hits were Point Of No Return and Seasons Change. After quite the success stikes, things cool off but in 2010 they came together to record some songs.
#11. En Vogue, 1989
The origin of this band is quite different than before. Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, two songwriters and producers, first considered the idea of a modern-day girl group due to the commercial success of past female bands that flourished in the 50-60s. After some auditions, the talented ladies were Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Their debut album "Born To Sing" that was released in 1990, En Vogue has sold more than 20 million records worldwide to date and considered one of the best female vocal groups of all time. What a title.
#10. TLC, 1991
Ian Burke and Crystal Jones, came up with the idea to create an R&B girl group, therefore, he created TLC formed in 1991, with the original line-up of Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. their initials are the band name, genius! Having multiple hits had earned them sold over 85 million records worldwide, and the band became the best-selling American girl group.
#9. Spice Girls, 1996
The biggest British pop success since The Beatles, according to the statistics, started in 1996 and took over the world. Their debut song Wannabe was the first in a series of six consecutive No.1 pop hits in the U.K. and also made it No. 1 in the US. The Spice Girls have sold 85 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling girl group of all time. At the end of 2000, they went on hiatus to pursue solo careers. The last time they performed together was in the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, reuniting solely for the even.
#8. Destiny's Child, 1997
Destiny's Child once began as Girl's Tyme, with only Beyonce and Kelly Rowland. In 1997, adding LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett to the group and signing a record deal with Columbia Records, a new era began. Destiny's Child has sold more than sixty million records worldwide to date. They had major hits like, Say My Name or Bills, Bills, Bills and Billboard magazine ranked them as one of the greatest musical trios of all time. Members came and go, and by 2006 they had split up. The girls follow a solo career, and very successfully.
#7. Sugababes, 1998
The British pop girl band, formed in the late 90s and consisted of Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena, and Siobhán Donaghy. It was put together by Ron Tom when all the girls were just teens. In 2000 the band released their first album One Touch through London Records. "Overload" peaked in the top 10 in the U.K, the girls never really achieved major commercial success and fans got angry at them because of the band changes. They performed as a band in 2019 on The Graham Norton Show.
#6. Girls Aloud, 2002
The British-Irish pop band started thanks to the talent show "Popstars: The Rivals" in 2002, and the gup had 5 members: Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts, and Kimberley Walsh. It might not ring a bell in the sates but the success was primarily in the U.K, Girls Aloud has had 20 consecutive top 10 pop hits in the U.K and they won the 2009 Brit Award for Best Single with "The Promise". Cheryl was the one with a very successful solo career and became a judge in the X factor. After a three-year hiatus, Girls Aloud regrouped in 2012 to release the single "Something New”, to later split for good.
#5. Pussycat Dolls, 2003
The Pussycat Dolls have been founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 because he had the idea of a girl band and, also, a dance group, with a burlesque troupe style. The band gained major international success after their debut single Don't Cha. The had other greats hits, like "When I Grow Up" or "I Hate This Part" and the group has sold 55 million records worldwide making them one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. In 2010 they took a break to pursue a solo career but came back in 2017.
#4. Wonder Girls, 2007
The girl group was formed by JYP Entertainment in 2007 and the girls were the stars of a TV show called "MTV Wonder Girls". The debut single was Irony and withe Nobody the Wonder Girls hit the Billboard Hot 100 in America in 2009. After some personal differences and goals, the band took three years hiatus and in 2017, after unsuccessful contract renewal negotiation with some of its members they split.
#3. 2NE1, 2009
YG Entertainment decided to gather some talents in 2009 and created 2NE1 a k-pop girl band. Their promotional single Lollipop, alongside boy band Big Bang, was a hit. However, they gained fame after releasing 2NE1 (2009) and 2NE1 (2011). The band took on hiatus while the girls pursued outside projects. But, a year later, they officially split with a farewell single "Goodbye".
#2. Little Mix, 2011
In 2011, and thanks to the British tv show, X-Factor a band surfaced called Little Mix. They released a cover of Damien Rice's "Cannonball" as their winner's single and reached No. 1 hit. “Wings” was their first original song. Little Mix became the first girl group since the Pussycat Dolls to reach the US top five with their debut album, not only that they also broke a Spice Girls record earning the highest debut US chart position for a British girl group's first release. To this day they have 5 albums and still making more music.
#1. Fifth Harmony, 2012
Following X-Factor successful bands, in 2012 the group finished in third place on the show but they became a very successful band, each single was bigger than the last. Work From Home has over two billion views on YouTube. The group released two top-five-charting, gold-certified albums. At the end of 2016, the group announced that Camilla Cabello had left to pursue a solo career. So now they are no longer five but four members, that didn’t stop them to keep making music.
