S Club 8

S Club Juniors was formed in 2001 through a reality television show and originally consisted of ten members. Original member Connor Daley left the group soon after, as he received an offer from a performing arts school. The youngest member Marcell Peters left to pursue other projects, but made appearances on some CBBC shows such as Blue Peter in the early 2000s. .[1] The auditions were aired on CBBC. S Club Juniors' appearances were considered a success by 19 Entertainment, the management company that had created S Club 7 and auditioned S Club Juniors. Consequently, it was decided they should perform as a support act at all of the venues on the tour. The juniors made their first television appearance on Children in Need on 16 November 2001. By the end of the tour, S Club Juniors had created a following and, with the encouragement of 19, Polydor Records signed the group. Their first single was called "One Step Closer". It was promoted by the TV series S Club Junior: The Story and released in the UK on 22 April 2002 in a chart battle with the Sugababes who released their comeback single the same day. Although the Juniors remained number one in the midweek charts, the single dipped over the weekend and managed to sell 73,000 copies, compared to the Sugababes' 85,000. The Juniors stayed at number two for a second week selling a further 60,000 copies, compared to Holly Valance's 143,000. In excess of 250,000 copies were sold in the UK in total and they stayed in the UK top 75 for 11 weeks.

The group began working on their studio album in June 2002. A video for the second single, "Automatic High", was filmed in Spain, while S Club 7 began their fourth TV series. Released on 22 July 2002, the single reached number two in the UK charts selling 52,000 copies, and spent eight weeks inside the UK top 75 and sold in excess of 110,000 copies in the UK. The third single, "New Direction", was released on 10 October reached number two in the UK charts selling 55,000 copies in the first week. It became their third consecutive top ten hit, selling 130,000 copies in six weeks. The Juniors released their debut album Together on 21 October reaching number five in its first week of sale and selling 40,000 copies. Their fourth single, "Puppy Love/Sleigh Ride", was released on 9 December 2002. The single debuted at number six in the UK charts, and sold 85,000 copies in the UK, spending eight weeks inside the UK Top 40. The song was also used in the 2003 film Love Actually.

The group joined S Club on their S Club United tour in April 2003 where the announcement came of a name change to S Club 8 and a fifth single, "Fool No More". The single was released on 30 June and reached number four in the UK chart, selling 26,000 copies in its first week and overall 75,000 copies in the UK. A second single, "Sundown", was released in the UK on 29 September 2003 reaching number four in the UK and became their sixth and final top ten hit and selling 37,000 copies in its first week and 80,000 altogether. The album, Sundown, was released on 13 October 2003 and reached number 13 in the UK charts, falling to number 40 in the second week. Despite selling a total of 60,000 copies in the UK and 315,859 worldwide, the record company perceived the album as a failure.[2] In a review for BBC Music, Jack Smith stated that some of Sundown's tracks, "come across as brattier, livelier, younger relatives of... S Club('s)", and that "the album only really flags when the '8 attempt to do more grown-up songs".[3] The third single, "Don't Tell Me You're Sorry", was released on 29 December 2003 in the UK where it reached number 11, becoming the band's first single to chart outside the top ten.

Unlike the S Club 7 shows which focused upon the group's fictional exploits, I Dream saw S Club 8 as members of a larger ensemble cast. I Dream revolved around the summer school Avalon Heights, run by Professor Toone (played by Christopher Lloyd of Back to the Future fame), where the characters tried to improve on their talents in the performing arts. The show featured many songs and dances: normally two songs per episode. . On 15 November 2004, the show's theme tune "Dreaming" was released as a single, sung by members Frankie and Calvin. The single charted at number 19, falling to 36 the following week, then out of the UK top 40. On 29 November 2004 an album titled Welcome to Avalon Heights was released, containing songs from the show performed by S Club 8 members and the rest of the cast. The album debuted at number 133, having sold around 700 copies. The following week, it left the chart entirely.[4]

The group disbanded in late 2004. In 2020 band mate Jay Asforis hosted a series of Instagram live conversations with his former fellow band mates, in his conversation with Daisy Evans she recalled her memories of the bands split explaining that after I Dream was filmed, the band (along with their parents) where told by 19 Entertainment the programme would be aired however following this the band would be shelved for a while and their tutoring would be stopped advising them to go back to school. Stacey McClean also mentioned her memories of the split explaining she was told the “lease was up” on the house she shared with fellow band mates Hannah Richings, Aaron Renfree and Calvin Goldspink and following her move back home was told she would hear about “future projects” however nothing was mentioned and the group never reformed.

After S Club 7 announced their reunion tour in 2023, rumours quickly spread that S Club Juniors would accompany them on their Good Times Tour, however these rumours were debunked by members Stacey and Aaron during an Instagram live Q&A. Members expressed an interest in partaking in a reunion, Frankie Bridge stating "it would be fun wouldn't it".