Wonderland (band)
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Wonderland were an Irish girlband, formed by
Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s. He later bec ...
and
Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...
band-member
Kian Egan Kian John Francis Egan (born 29 April 1980) is an Irish Pop music, pop singer, songwriter and musician, best known as a member of pop group Westlife. Westlife has released twelve albums, embarked on thirteen world tours, and won numerous awards ...
. The band were put together after auditions were held for five females in July 2008. Its five members were
Jodi Albert (born 22 July 1983) is an English actress and singer, best known for playing Debbie Dean in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', as a member of Simon Cowell's British girl group Girl Thing, and as a member of Irish girl group Wonderland. E ...
, Sharon Condon, Corrina Durran, Leigh Learmont, and Kasey Smith. Wonderland's debut single " Not a Love Song" was released on 25 February 2011 in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and on 6 March 2011 in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Their eponymous debut album was released on 6 June 2011, the same day as their second single, "Starlight". Wonderland released their third single, "Nothing Moves Me Anymore", in August 2011. The following month, it was announced the band had been dropped by their record label. The group later decided to split up.


Formation

In July 2008, it was announced that Louis Walsh and Westlife singer Kian Egan were to hold open auditions for a new girl group that they would co-manage. Auditions for five females between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five were held in Dublin that month. On 26 July 2008, seven hundred girls auditioned for the girl group in front of Walsh, Egan and A&R scout, Sheila Burgess. Walsh said "We're looking for talent. Undiscovered talent, young with a good attitude and who will look good. We don't want good -- we want great." Over three thousand hopefuls auditioned. In December 2008, it was revealed that the band had been put together, but had not been named. Sharon Condon, Corrina Durran, Leigh Learmont, Kasey Smith, and
Jodi Albert (born 22 July 1983) is an English actress and singer, best known for playing Debbie Dean in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', as a member of Simon Cowell's British girl group Girl Thing, and as a member of Irish girl group Wonderland. E ...
were picked to form the new band. Albert told ''
Hello Magazine ''Hello!'' is a royalist weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news and human-interest stories, first published in the United Kingdom on May 21, 1988. It is the United Kingdom local edition of ''¡Hola!'', the Spanish weekly magazine. Ed ...
'' in February 2011 that around three thousand girls turned up to the auditions. She said that over three months, there were eight rounds where the numbers got smaller and eventually the girls were whittled down to the five who formed the band. Albert added that the girls had "gravitated towards each other" and become friends during the process. The girls decided to name the band Wonderland and Learmont revealed that it took the band a year and a half to come up with the name. Condon told Maria Duffy of ''Hello Magazine'' that the band thought of names such as "Daisy Chains and Wildflowers but nothing seemed right." Egan eventually came up with the name Wonderland after he noticed a poster for the 2010 adaptation of ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'' on the side of a bus. Condon explained, "It just clicked with him straight away and when he put it to us and to the record company, we just all knew it was right. Now I couldn't imagine any other name."


History

In October 2008, it was reported that Wonderland had signed a six figure record deal with
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
. The band made their first live television appearance on '' The Late Late Show'' in December 2008. In May 2010, it was announced that Wonderland were to support Westlife on their Where We Are Tour. The band were also invited to play at the 2010 Isle of Wight Festival. Walsh announced that he would launch Wonderland with a reality television programme, entitled ''Louis Walsh & Kian Egan's Next Big Thing'' (previously ''The Management'') in October 2010. The programme followed the band for two years as they prepared to release their debut single and album. It began airing on
ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a ...
on 30 October 2010 in the UK and was later broadcast on TV3 in Ireland. Wonderland were given a mention on the popular gossip blog written by
Perez Hilton Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting tabloid p ...
, after fans sent him a link to one of their performances. Wonderland's debut single was confirmed to be "Not a Love Song" and it was released in Ireland on 25 February 2011 and in the UK on 6 March. Albert described the song as "fun and cheeky". She added that it has a "rocky edge", but with a bit of country in it too. During an interview with
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
, Durran said they had received a positive reception to the song when they sang it on the Westlife tour. On 4 March 2011, Wonderland released an EP entitled '' Introduction to Wonderland''. The EP contains "Not a Love Song", one music video and three live acoustic tracks. The band recorded their self-titled debut album in 2010. In a November 2010 interview, Durran said that nine tracks had been recorded, with a few more to finish. Wonderland worked with Andy Hill, Shep Solomon and
Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very ...
on the tracks. "In Your Arms" written with
Mark Owen Mark Owen (born 27 January 1972) is an English singer and songwriter best known for being a member of pop group and band Take That; as of 2019, the group have sold 14 million albums and 11.4 million singles in the UK. In Owen's solo career, he ...
and a cover of
Lady Antebellum Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...
's " Need You Now" were confirmed for the album. In February and March 2011, Wonderland toured with both
Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show''. Their most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Steph ...
and Westlife around the UK and Ireland. The band also performed at several schools around the country. Durran said that the experience was "one of the best things we've ever done" and that the band had had a "brilliant reaction and have been bombarded with positive comments on facebook from the students." Wonderland toured with
Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television presenter. He was runner-up on the sixth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2009 and was subsequently signed to RCA Records and Sony Music in the United Kingdom, ...
during April and May 2011 and will support American rapper
50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...
on his UK tour later in the year. ''Wonderland'' was released on 6 June 2011, the same day as the band's second single "Starlight". "Nothing Moves Me Anymore" was released as the third single from the album. In September 2011, Melanie Finn of the ''
Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Ev ...
'' reported Wonderland had been dropped by Mercury Records. Of the news, Walsh told Finn "They had some great songs, they could all sing and they worked really hard. They tried to do something different and it's just a shame it didn't work out. But people haven't heard the last of them." Egan also confirmed the news and added "It's been an amazing journey for us all. Incredible memories were made." Caitriona Giblin of the ''
Irish Daily Star The ''Irish Daily Star'' (formerly known simply as ''The Star'') is a tabloid newspaper published in Ireland by Reach plc, which owns the British '' Daily Star''. The ''Irish Daily Star'' became known for its comprehensive in-depth coverage ...
'' reported Wonderland's future remained uncertain as no one had confirmed any plans for them to continue. On 19 September, Condon told the ''Evening Herald'' that she planned to launch a solo career, despite Walsh and Egan's attempts to keep Wonderland together. The singer opined the group cannot continue as they do not have the dancers or the production to succeed. She also explained Albert's pregnancy would have made things more difficult for the band, saying "If you look at Una Healy now from The Saturdays, she's fine because they are an established band, but we weren't. At the end of the day, I don't really know the reason we were dropped, maybe our music just wasn't good enough, but I think there was more to it than that." Condon thought Wonderland were not what people were looking for as they tried to be something different with their sound and style. She revealed to the paper that there are talks about redesigning the band. On 28 September 2011, it was confirmed Wonderland had split up. The band posted a message on their Facebook page saying:


Discography


Studio albums


Extended plays


Singles


Filmography

* 2010: ''Louis Walsh and Kian Egan's Next Big Thing''


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wonderland (Band) Country pop groups Musical groups established in 2008 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical quintets Irish girl groups