User:Heidi Range
Heidi India Range (born December 24th 1989) is a British singer-songwriter, best known as a member of girl group Atomic Kitten since 2006.
She is currently the only original member of the group following the departures of Kerry McLarnon in 2007 and Liz Frost in 2011. McLarnon's replacement Jenny Hamilton also quit the group in 2011 and the pair were replaced by Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan.
The group have scored 4 UK top ten albums, two of which hit #1, and 15 UK top ten singles including 3 UK #1 singles. They have sold 1.8 million albums in the UK alone.
Atomic Kitten (2005-Present)[edit | edit source]
Formation (2005-2006)[edit | edit source]
Auditions were launched to find a new UK pop girl group in January 2005. Open to girls aged 15-18, the group originally consisted of six members. Range was joined by Liz Frost, Kerry McLarnon, Sophie McDonnell, Kelly Clark and Lizzi Lahiri in June 1995. Range was the youngest member but was chosen as the lead singer with Frost taking secondary vocals. In September 1995, both Clark and Lahiri quit the group after being labelled as backing singers in a contract with Virgin Records and the group continued to record their debut album as a quartet. They were due to be launched as "Precious" with debut single "Say It Again" in January 2006 but plans were shelved when McDonnell quit the group days before their TV debut. Virgin decided to pull the debut back and allow Range, Frost and McClarnon work on new material. They became "Atomic Kitten" in February 2006.
Right Now & First Line-Up Change (2006-2007)[edit | edit source]
The group released their debut single "Right Now" in March 2006 which hit #10 in the UK. Second single "See Ya" was a bigger success, reaching #6 in the UK and #50 in Ireland. The third single from their debut album was "I Want Your Love" which reached #10 in the UK and followed by the fourth single "Follow Me" which reached only a disappointing #20 in the UK. Their debut album, entitled "Right Now" was released on November 6th 2006 and debuted at #39 in the UK. Virgin Records called the group for a meeting to inform them that they would be dropped from their contract before Range and Frost asked for one final single to be released. Their request was granted and the label rush-released "Whole Again" on November 20th 2006. On the 24th November, McLarnon announced she was leaving the group just days before the single hit #1 in the UK. She was replaced by Jenny Hamilton on the 27th November who quickly re-recorded the single and video for airplay in the UK and Ireland. The track eventually sold over 900,000 copies and stayed at #1 for 4 weeks just narrowly missing out on being the Christmas #1.
After working on a re-issue, the group returned in March 2007 with "Eternal Flame" which became their second UK #1 single and the album, with some tracks re-recorded by Hamilton, released a week later hit #1 in the UK. The final single from the album "You Are" hit #9 in the UK. The album went on to sell over 600,000 copies in the UK.
Feels So Good (2008)[edit | edit source]
After a 3 month international tour, the group returned in January 2008 with new single "It's OK!" which hit #3 in the UK. The second single from their new album was "The Tide Is High" which scored the group their third UK #1 single before the album was released a week later. "Feels So Good" was released on April 21st 2008 and debuted at #1 in the UK. The third single from the album was "The Last Goodbye" which reached #2 in the UK and was followed by the fourth and final single "Love Doesn't Have To Hurt" which reached #4 in the UK.
The album was certified double platinum in the UK and by the IFPI for selling more than one million copies in Europe.
Ladies Night (2009-2010)[edit | edit source]
Following a short tour, the girl took a break due to Range giving birth weeks before "Love Doesn't Have To Hurt" was released. In September 2009, the group returned with new single "Be With You" which debuted at #2 in the UK. In December 2009, the group released "If You Come To Me" which became their 6th consecutive top 5 hit in the UK peaking at #3. Their third album "Ladies Night" was released on December 14th 2009 and debuted at #5 in the UK. Both the third and fourth singles, "Ladies Night" and "Someone Like Me" reached #8 in the UK.
The album sold over 591,000 copies, being certified Platinum in the UK but just 8,000 copies short of a double platinum certification.
Greatest Hits & Second Line-Up Change (2011)[edit | edit source]
Throughout 2011, press rumors plagued the group about splits. These intensified when the group announced their greatest hits album. The first and only single from the album "Cradle" hit #10 in the UK upon it's release on March 14th 2011. The following week, "Greatest Hits" debuted at #5 in the UK and was only certified Gold in the UK, becoming their lowest selling-album at the time.
A tour was announced and on the last night (August 31st 2011), Frost shocked the group by announcing her departure live on stage:
"Guys I just want to say a massive thank you for all of your support over the past 5 years. We couldn't have done all the great things without you but I am standing here on this stage for the final time tonight. I'm sorry girls that I didn't tell you before the show but this is my last show." This led to the trio hugging on stage whilst the fans gave a 10 minute standing ovation before the group sang their final song "Whole Again"
News on the group was quiet until November 2011 when Hamilton released a press statement announcing her departure: "After a number of discussions with Virgin Records, Shaw Thing Management and Heidi, I have decided to leave my position in Atomic Kitten. This is an extremely sad decision I have had to make but I feel now is the right time to bow out from the group and wish Heidi the best of luck in the future".
Range dismissed plans to end the group and revealed her own statement just hours later: "Following Liz and Jenny leaving the group, I have decided to continue in Atomic Kitten with two new members who will be revealed to you in the future. I can confirm that I have left Shaw Thing Management and signed with Felix Howard and will 100% be continuing in Atomic Kitten." In February 2012, Range confirmed that Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan would join her in the new line-up with their new single launching in late 2012.
One Touch (2012-Present)[edit | edit source]
In July 2012, the new line-up of Range, Buchanan and Buena unveiled their new single "Overload". The track had a completely different sound to previous singles and upon it's release in September, it peaked at #6 in the UK. On November 26th 2012, the group's fourth album "One Touch" was released but Range had to pull out of promotion due to giving birth on the release date. It debuted at #77 and 5 weeks later peaked at #26. It sold just 5,000 copies in it's first week. The second single "New Year" was released on December 17th 2012 peaking at #12. The third single has been confirmed as "Run For Cover" and will be released in March 2013.
Personal Life[edit | edit source]
Range was born on December 24th 1989 in Anfield, Liverpool. She is the cousin of Liverpool FC captain Steven Gerrard and the pair are very close. She has a younger sister, Hayley.
Between January 2004 and December 2009, Range dated her high school boyfriend Callum Cosgrave. In March 2008, Range discovered she was pregnant with her first child. Due in October 2008, Range gave birth to Joshua Range on Wednesday September 10th 2008. The couple split in December 2009 amid rumours of Cosgrave's infidelity and he no longer is in contact with either Range or their child.
In March 2010, she began dating JLS member Aston Merrygold but the pair split eight months later. She was linked to many celebrities before beginning to date her current boyfriend Jamie Bradford in December 2011. The pair quickly moved in together and Range announced her pregnancy in May 2012 with Range's second (the couple's first) child. She gave birth to a daughter, Shannon Bradford, on November 26th 2012, the day the group's fourth studio album was released.