The Crowned Kittens of Pop

The United Kingdom has been coming up with royal heads for quite a while now. Though many times the royal family has graced the headline, another kind of British blueblood has gotten to the hearts of the people. Pop royalty has been pouring out of the land of the Limeys from the late 20^th century till present day. The positions of pop have been passed on from Brit to Brit, with Boyzone to Westlife, and Spice Girls to All Saints. The title of Pop Princesses has been passed again recently, and the crowns now go to the group Atomic Kitten.

The group sprang into the scene in late 1999, topping charts and shocking critics with their debut single "Right Now" (which by the way stayed on the top 40 charts for seven weeks). The original Kittens were composed of Kerry Katona, Liz McClarnon, and Natasha Hamilton, a bunch of friends who loved doing what they did. But why Atomic Kitten? At a phone interview I had with Tash, she explained: "We saw a clothes designer with the label Automatic Kitten. We found it cool, but a bit dull so we decided to call ourselves Atomic Kitten. It sounded much better."

With such a great start, they just had to keep on going. The three friends released a few more singles which all made their way to the top ten, and they charmed a live audience of 675 million people at the MTV Asia awards. One of their biggest breaks came when they got the main support slot on the Steps tour. They became established as one of the most successful pop groups to ever hit the scene. By 2001 however, things went a bit wacko.

Just before launching "Whole Again", Kerry announced that she was pregnant. The Kittens decided that she deserved a rest and a problem-free pregnancy, so Kerry stepped down from the group. Before they let the fans find out though, they looked around to find a new Kitten to round out the set. In comes Jenny Frost, their good friend from another group. "When Kerry left, Jenny was the perfect replacement." Tash commented. She was a natural choice. Her addition made them whole.

I was curious as to how the ladies felt about themselves. To this question Tash replied, "We haven’t really got any one image. We’re just three girls having the time of our lives." The time of their lives? Didn’t they occasionally get into fights though? That must be a downer for them. But according to them, whenever they had little tiffs, they just don’t really argue. They don’t hold grudges. When one of them has something to say, she says it then they just work things out. How very unlike Oasis they are. Stress was never a problem for them, as Tash shared that, "Being on stage is the best part of the job. Singing and seeing the fans enjoying themselves and having a great time is the greatest."

They appear to not have let their heads become too tight for their crowns like a few other groups. Atomic Kitten happens to be a very fan-oriented group, as it’s the fans who supported them throughout everything. When the transition came from the original Atomic Kitten to the new one, the fans were always there. At the MTV Music Awards this year in Singapore, a group of the Kitten lovers started singing their songs as they walked the red carpet. In fact, when inquired as to what their long-term plans were, they stated that, "If people still want to support us and want us to be around, then we will continue to be here singing and loving it." It’s the fans who keep them running, and it is the fans they love the most.

Currently, they are out with a new album, "Feels So Good", and they have come up with new ways to entertain and to serve their loyal subjects. We can expect a new selection of hits, including a few songs written by the girls themselves. They love to serve, and they do it well, so my hat goes off to you Atomic Kitten. Enjoy your thrones and scepters. You deserve them.