Atomic Kitten

Atomic Kitten are an English pop girl group formed in Liverpool in 1998 whose current members are Liz McClarnon, Natasha Hamilton, and Kerry Katona. The band was formed by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) frontman Andy McCluskey, who served as a principal songwriter during their early years. Sugababes singer Heidi Range was included in the original line-up but was replaced by Hamilton. The group's debut album Right Now was released in October 2000 and peaked at number 39 in the UK. After four top ten singles, Katona quit the group and was replaced by former Precious singer Jenny Frost. "Whole Again", their next single, became their most successful single when it topped the UK singles chart and became the 13th best-selling single of the 2000s. The group re-released their debut album, with some tracks re-recorded with Frost's vocals. The album hit number one in the UK with the album going double platinum after selling over 600,000 copies in the UK.

Between 2002 and 2004, the group released a further two studio albums, Feels So Good (which also went double platinum in the UK) and Ladies Night, and a greatest hits album before announcing a break following their 2004 tour. To date the group have had three UK number-one singles: "Whole Again", the fourth-best-selling song of all time by a girl group; "Eternal Flame", a song originally recorded by The Bangles; and "The Tide Is High (Get the Feeling)", a song originally recorded by The Paragons and by Blondie. The group split up in 2004 after selling over 10 million records worldwide.

Eternal Flame (song)

"Eternal Flame" is a ballad and love song by American band the Bangles from their 1988 album Everything. It became a hit single, when released in 1989, peaking at number one in the charts in nine countries, including Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was written by popular songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs. With this song and "Walk Like an Egyptian", the Bangles became only the third girl group to score multiple number-ones in the United States, after the Supremes (twelve) and the Shirelles (two).

History

Unlike the rest of the more uptempo songs on their album Everything, "Eternal Flame" is a ballad. Co-writer Billy Steinberg describes it as "the Beatles meet the Byrds".

The song was inspired by two eternal flames: one at the gravesite of Elvis Presley that the Bangles saw when the band visited Graceland, and one at a local synagogue in Palm Springs which Steinberg attended as a child. Steinberg recalled to Songfacts: "Susanna was talking about the Bangles having visited Graceland, and she said there was some type of shrine to Elvis that included some kind of eternal flame. As soon as those words were mentioned, I immediately thought of the synagogue in the town of Palm Springs, California where I grew up. I remember during our Sunday school class they would walk us through the sanctuary. There was one little red light and they told us it was called the eternal flame."

Atomic Kitten (album)

Atomic Kitten is the American debut album by Atomic Kitten. The girl group had previously been successful in Europe, Oceania and Asia and already released Right Now and Feels So Good, which both went to number one on the UK Albums Chart, however there had not been any release in the United States. It was therefore decided to make an album consisting of tracks from both previous albums.

Unlike Europe, Oceania and Asia, the success of Atomic Kitten in the United States was unsuccessful. The American music market is difficult for British and European acts and therefore the girl group teamed up with Disney for The Lizzie McGuire Movie starring Hilary Duff. However the album failed to chart on the Billboard 200.

This resulted in Atomic Kitten focusing their attention on Europe, Oceania and Asia where they already were an established act. It was also released in New Zealand, where both Right Now and Feels So Good were successful and peaked at number 7.

The album contained all radio friendly versions of the group's singles.

Always Be My Baby

"Always Be My Baby" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, taken from her fifth studio album, Daydream (1995). It was released by Columbia Records on March 9, 1996 as the third U.S. single and fourth overall. The song was written by Carey, Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal, who also produced the song. A mid-tempo song, its lyrics describe the feeling of attachment and unity Carey feels towards her estranged lover, even though they are no longer together. She says he will always be a part of her and will "always be her baby" even after they move on.

Music critics praised "Always Be My Baby". The song became Carey's 11th chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100, tying her with Madonna and Whitney Houston for most number one singles for a female artist. It spent two weeks atop the chart and became Carey's eighth chart-topper on the Canadian Singles Chart. In other regions, the song performed moderately, peaking at number three in the United Kingdom, number five in New Zealand, number 17 in Australia and in the top 20 in most music markets where it charted.