"Biology" is a song performed by English-Irish all-female pop group

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...

, taken from their third studio album '' Chemistry'' (2005). The

progressive pop Progressive pop is pop music that attempts to break with the genre's standard formula, or an offshoot of the progressive rock genre that was commonly heard on AM radio in the 1970s and 1980s. It was originally termed for the early progressive ...

song was written by

Miranda Cooper Miranda Eleanor De Fonbrune Cooper (born 1975) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and television presenter. Miranda Cooper has worked in the music industry since 1996 when she gained her first recording contract. She wor ...

Brian Higgins Brian Michael Higgins (born October 6, 1959) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for , serving since 2005. The district, numbered as the 27th district from 2005 to 2013 but as the 26th since 2013, includes Buffalo and N ...

and Higgins' production team

Xenomania Xenomania is an English songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed by Higgins with his Creative Director Miranda Cooper and Business Director Sarah Stennett of First Access Entertainment, Xenoman ...

, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Composed of distinct sections, it avoids the verse-chorus form present in most contemporary pop music. "Biology" was released as a single in November 2005, ahead of the album's release. Following the disappointment of " Long Hot Summer", "Biology" returned Girls Aloud to the top five of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and became their tenth top ten hit. The music video, consisting only of group shots, witnesses Girls Aloud seamlessly moving through various sequences while performing disjointed choreography. "Biology" was promoted through a number of live appearances and has since been performed on all of Girls Aloud's subsequent concert tours. The song, which includes a variety of styles, received widespread acclaim from contemporary music critics. Considered one of Girls Aloud's signature songs, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' referred to "Biology" as "the best pop single of the last decade".

Background and composition

"Biology" is composed of a number of distinctly different sections. The song begins with a 12/8 stanza which samples the main guitar and piano riff of

the Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...

1965 song "Club a Go-Go". The tempo then changes to 4/4 and the first verse occurs, followed by two noticeably individual transitional bridges. Around two minutes into the song, the song reaches its climactic chorus before returning to the stanza heard in the

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

. The song repeats the chorus and the introduction is also used as an outro. The song avoids the typical

AABA form The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. A ...

and verse-chorus form present in most contemporary pop music. Brian Higgins and Xenomania created "Biology" in reaction to Girls Aloud's previous single " Long Hot Summer", which Higgins called "a disaster record". Higgins continued, "I think that iologyis a wonderful record – so uplifting. It meant so much to us and it really set ''Chemistry'' up well." The lyric referring to "wicked games", which is mentioned in the Animals-inspired riff, was inspired by Girls Aloud almost releasing a cover of

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song " Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", " Baby ...

's "

Wicked Game "Wicked Game" is a song by American rock musician Chris Isaak, released from his third album, '' Heart Shaped World'' (1989). Despite being released as a single in July 1989, it did not become a hit until it was featured in the 1990 David Lync ...

" as a single. The song's title inspired the album's title, ''Chemistry''. Both the single and album title refer to the

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

fields of

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

and chemistry.

Release

For the new single and album, Girls Aloud employed stylist Victoria Adcock. Promotion for the single received a setback when

Sarah Harding Sarah Nicole Harding (; 17 November 1981 – 5 September 2021) was an English singer, model and actress. Her professional career began in 2002 when she successfully auditioned for the ITV reality series '' Popstars: The Rivals'', during which ...

was diagnosed with

kidney infection Pyelonephritis is inflammation of the kidney, typically due to a bacterial infection. Symptoms most often include fever and flank tenderness. Other symptoms may include nausea, burning with urination, and frequent urination. Complications may ...

. Girls Aloud also announced dates for 2006's

Chemistry Tour Chemistry: The Tour was the second concert tour by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud. It supported their third studio album, ''Chemistry (Girls Aloud album), Chemistry''. Following the success of 2005's What Will the Neighbours Say...? T ...

. The single was released on 14 November 2005. It was available on two CD single formats and as a digital download. The first disc included the Tony Lamezma Club Mix of Girls Aloud's 2004 single " The Show". The second CD format included a previously unreleased track entitled "Nobody but You", as well as the Tony Lamezma Remix of "Biology". The artwork was inspired by UK

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band

X-Ray Spex X-Ray Spex were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 in London. During their first incarnation (1976–1979), X-Ray Spex released five singles and one album. Their 1977 single " Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and 1978 debut album '' Germfree Adol ...

's album cover '' Germfree Adolescents''. Both covers show each member in a different pose, trapped inside a large vial. A live recording of "Biology" from

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was featured on the iTunes version of '' The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits'', and later on 2008's '' Girls A Live'' and Girls Aloud's singles boxset. Both the album version and Tony Lamezma Remix of "Biology" appear on '' Popjustice: 100% Solid Pop Music''. "Biology" was released as a CD single in Australia on 20 February 2006.

Critical reception

"Biology" received universal acclaim from music critics. The song was particularly notable for its informal structure. ''

Popjustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', '' Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cr ...

'' referred to the song as "pop music which redefines the supposed boundaries of pop music."

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio ...

said "the girls rip through a variety of styles, paces and Neneh Cherry-esque raps ..all within the same song."

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ventu ...

praised the song for "blending the kind of saucy cabaret you'd expect to find in a gin-soaked saloon bar with a glorious chorus of fizzing, gliding synths and deceptively breakneck beats." The song was described as "about as far from tired formula as you can possibly get. It sounds like three separate melodies condensed into one, from the

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...

-apeing riff at the start, through to the glorious pop sheen of the verses, and having the sheer balls to wait two minutes before even introducing a chorus." '' musicOMH'' noted that the song "breaks all the rules of manufactured pop" and stated that "Biology is yet more proof that Xenomania write the best pop songs around and that Girls Aloud are pretty much the perfect group to sing them ..it's the single of the year." '' Stylus Magazine'' also praised the song. Peter Cashmore, writing for ''

'', described "Biology" as "the best pop single of the last decade". Peter Robinson of music website ''Popjustice'' said the song was "a great example of a song which pleased people with no passion for pop but also managed to hit the spot with those who totally loved the stuff ..At once avant garde and relentlessly, demented mainstream, 'Biology' quickly became one of Girls Aloud's signature tunes." In September 2006, "Biology" won the award for the

Popjustice £20 Music Prize The Popjustice £20 Music Prize, also known as the Popjustice Twenty Quid Prize, is an annual prize awarded by music website Popjustice to recognise the best British pop single of the previous year. The prize was conceived by Popjustice founder ...

, an annual prize awarded by a panel of judges organised by Popjustice to the singer(s) of the best British pop single of the past year. Girls Aloud had previously won the award in 2003 and 2005 for "

No Good Advice "No Good Advice" is a song by British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud, taken from their debut album, '' Sound of the Underground'' (2003). The song was written by Aqua's Lene Nystrøm Rasted, Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team ...

" and " Wake Me Up" respectively. The song was listed at number 245 on American review site ''

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''s "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s" list, despite Girls Aloud never receiving any sort of Stateside push. ''Billboard'' named the song #32 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Chart performance

Following the disappointing chart position of " Long Hot Summer", "Biology" saw Girls Aloud return to the top five on the

. The single entered the chart at number four. The song fell just one position to round at the top five the following week. It spent a third week in the top ten, slipping to number nine. The song spent a total of ten weeks in the UK's top 75. The song also peaked at number two on the official

UK Singles Downloads Chart The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday. The main chart con ...

, held off by Madonna's "

Hung Up "Hung Up" is a song by American singer Madonna from her tenth studio album ''Confessions on a Dance Floor'' (2005). Initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was released as the album's lead single on October ...

". Similarly to the song's performance in the UK, "Biology" returned Girls Aloud to the top ten in Ireland, entering the Irish Singles Chart at number seven. It slipped just two places to number nine in its second week. The single spent three more weeks in Ireland's top twenty before falling. It spent a total of ten weeks in Ireland's top fifty. "Biology" peaked at number twenty-six in Australia, spending six weeks on the ARIA Singles Chart.

Music video

The music video for "Biology" was directed by production team Harvey & Carolyn for Alchemy Films, with art direction from Maria Chryssikos. The video, which consists only of group shots, witnesses Girls Aloud seamlessly moving through various sequences in scenes of disjointed choreography. Like the song itself, the video showcases a variety of styles. The music video begins with a curtain being drawn back to reveal the band members posed in black jazz dresses, stood against a black background decorated with expensive-looking candelabra and chandeliers.

Nadine Coyle Nadine Elizabeth Louise Coyle (born 15 June 1985) is an Irish singer, actress and model. In 2002, Coyle was selected as a member of the girl group Girls Aloud, with whom she has been successful in achieving a string of 20 consecutive UK top te ...

, perched upon a black grand piano, sings the jazzy intro. As the song's introduction ends, the scene then morphs into a room with white wallpaper embellished with black butterflies. Girls Aloud's outfits turn into frilly pink and purple dresses as digitised butterflies begin to float by. The scene transitions into a room with pink wallpaper and black floral patterns, while the group's outfits change into the red and black outfits seen on the single's artwork. The scene reverts to the opening sequence as Girls Aloud perform choreography involving chairs. As the song reaches its climax, the group are seen seamlessly moving between the various scenes and the different outfits. The video ends with a curtain closing. Peter Robinson noted that the single's video captured Girls Aloud's "distinct visual style and some endearingly shambolic synchronised dance moves." The video can be found on the DVD release of 2006's

(released as The Greatest Hits Live from Wembley), as well as 2007's ''

Style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

''.

Live performances

Girls Aloud performed "Biology" for the first time on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...

'' on 16 October 2005, wearing the black dresses from their music video. They appeared on '' CD:UK'' on 12 November. Following the show,

collapsed and was diagnosed with a kidney infection. They returned to the show just ten days later, performing in the black-and-red outfits seen on the single's artwork against the pink set from the music video. Girls Aloud also appeared on ''

Children in Need 2005 ''Children in Need 2005'' was a campaign held in the United Kingdom to raise money for the charity Children in Need. It culminated in a live broadcast on BBC One on the evening of Friday 18 November and was hosted by Terry Wogan, Fearne Cotton, ...

'', '' GMTV'', ''

Ministry of Mayhem ''Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown'' (previously titled ''Ministry of Mayhem'' and ''MoM'') was a British children's entertainment programme, which was broadcast on ITV (later CITV) from 10 January 2004 to 1 July 2006. Overview ''Ministry ...

'', and ''

Top of the Pops Reloaded ''Top of the Pops Reloaded'' (''TOTP 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'', and was originally known as ''Top of the Pops ...

''. They performed the song during the last ever

Smash Hits Poll Winners Party The Smash Hits Poll Winners Party was a British awards ceremony which ran from 1979 (as the Smash Hits Readers' Poll) to 2005. Each award winner was voted by readers of the '' Smash Hits'' magazine. It ended with the closure of the magazine in F ...

. Girls Aloud performed "Biology" on a number of Australian shows during their week-long promotional trip, including ''

9am with David & Kim ''9am with David & Kim'' is an Australian morning show which premiered on Monday 30 January 2006 on Network Ten. It aired live from 9am - 11am weekdays, and was hosted by musician and former '' Getaway'' reporter David Reyne and former ''Nation ...

'', ''

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'', and ''

whatUwant ''whatUwant'' was an Australian music video request television show that aired daily on Channel ''whatUwant'' first aired in April 2002 and broadcast over 1500 episodes. On 13 October 2008, Foxtel revealed that the show would close on 7 Nove ...

''. "Biology" has been performed by the group at a number of summer festivals and open-air concerts, such as

T4 on the Beach T4 on the Beach was an annual British one-day music event which was held on the beach at Weston-super-Mare and televised on Channel 4. The event began in 2003 as Pop Beach in Great Yarmouth, changing to the current title and venue in 2005. The d ...

in 2007 and V Festival in 2006 and 2008. The song was also performed during promotion of Girls Aloud's 2006 greatest hits album '' The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits''. They appeared on ''

The Album Chart Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', '' Children in Need 2006'', '' Davina'', ''The Green Room'', and the ''Vodafone Live Music Awards''. "Biology" has been performed at all of Girls Aloud's concert tours since its release. It served as the opening number of 2006's

, following an introduction in which a mad scientist creates five women. Girls Aloud then rise from underneath the stage and perform "Biology". It served as the

encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pre ...

for the following year's The Greatest Hits Tour. "Biology" was performed as part of a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

section on 2008's

Tangled Up Tour The Tangled Up Tour was the fourth concert tour by English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud. It supported their fourth studio album '' Tangled Up''. Tour dates were announced in November 2007. Girls Aloud performed twenty-four shows at arenas acros ...

, accompanied by a swing-inspired dance break. The song was also featured in the first section of 2009's

Out of Control Tour The Out of Control Tour was the fifth concert tour by British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud. It supported their fifth studio album '' Out of Control''. Initially, just ten dates in bigger arenas were announced in November 2008. Due to demand, mo ...

Track listings and formats

UK CD1 (Polydor, 9875296) # "Biology" – 3:34 # " The Show" (Tony Lamezma Club Mix) – 5:46 UK CD2 and Australian CD single (Polydor, 9875297; 9876700) # "Biology" – 3:34 # "Nobody but You" (Cooper, Higgins, Cowling, Jon Shave, Paul Woods) – 4:10 # "Biology" (Tony Lamezma Remix) – 5:15 # "Biology" (video) – 3:34 # "Biology" (karaoke video) – 3:34 # "Biology" (game) ''The Singles Boxset'' (CD10) # "Biology" – 3:35 # "The Show" (Tony Lamezma Club Mix) – 5:46 # "Nobody but You" – 4:10 # "Biology" (Tony Lamezma Remix) – 5:15 # "Biology" (Benitez Beats) # "Biology" (Live from Wembley) # "Biology" (video) – 3:35 # "Biology" (karaoke video) – 3:35 # "Biology" (game)

Credits and personnel

* Guitar: Nick Coler, Shawn Lee * Keyboards:

, Tim Powell * Mastering: Dick Beetham for 360 Mastering * Mixing: Tim Powell * Production: Brian Higgins,

* Programming: Brian Higgins, Tim Powell * Songwriting:

, Brian Higgins, Lisa Cowling, Giselle Sommerville * Vocals:

* Published by

Warner/Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

and Xenomania Music

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Girls Aloud's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biology (Song) 2005 singles Girls Aloud songs Song recordings produced by Xenomania Songs written by Brian Higgins (producer) Songs written by Miranda Cooper 2005 songs Songs written by Lisa Cowling Progressive pop songs