Newspix
Thousands of screaming fans, mass hysteria, shopping centre walkways blocked by hordes of people as security struggled to cope. Nobody had imagined anything like this when Bardot went on the road – least of all the band themselves!
It’s 25 years since the reality TV girl group shot to fame on Seven’s top-rating Popstars show, spawning a string of hits and almost as many rumours of backstage backstabbing.
BACKSTAGE BUST-UPS
Why did Chantelle Barry quit so soon after being chosen? What was behind Katie Underwood’s shock decision to depart 12 months in? Why did Bardot break up at the height of their success? Was Sophie Monk’s blonde ambition to blame?
“Looking back, it all seems surreal,” laughs Katie, 49, who long ago left the music industry’s mayhem to become a sound healer and meditation teacher.
“Those shopping centre experiences were the most outrageously pop-starry things we were involved with,” she remembers. “At the time, it was almost akin to Beatlemania. The level of hysteria and excitement was on a par although obviously, we weren’t the Beatles.
“More than 18,000 people turned out to see us at Westfield Marion in Adelaide. Every single walkway in every direction was totally packed. People inside the stores couldn’t get out… insane.”
INSTANT STARDOM
“It was unprecedented, not only for us but also for the shopping centres and security. Everyone was overwhelmed by the response. But for me, it was more weird than exciting, especially at first.”
When Popstars premiered on Seven in early 2000, producers weren’t sure how it would rate. The format was already successful in NZ, but that was no guarantee it would wow Aussie audiences.
Unknown singers Sophie, Katie, Chantelle, Belinda Chapple, Sally Polihronas and latecomer Tiffani Wood were thrilled to become household names almost overnight.
But the honeymoon didn’t last long. Shortly after the group’s formation, controversy struck when Chantelle exited with no explanation. Then years later, she revealed she was forced to leave after taking Sophie’s $100 money allowance, and forgetting to give it back.
Tiffani was brought in as her replacement and the series debuted in February 2000, following Bardot through rehearsals, recording sessions, music video shoots, PR events and their first live concert at Sydney’s State Theatre.
“We were given fame on a platter and that was weird,” reflects mother-of-two Katie, who reckons she suffered from “imposter syndrome” for months.
“Getting to know all the other girls was odd too, but then again that’s the same for anyone starting a new job,” she says. “The only difference for us was that we were going through it on camera!”
So no feuds behind the scenes? “No rivalries,” says Katie, who opted to part with Bardot after being offered a role in a huge arena version of Hair. Sadly the production fell through, leaving her crushed.
But she wasn’t the only one. Katie’s departure sowed seeds of discord in the band – half backed her decision to go, half felt it was a betrayal. And those internal politics contributed to Bardot’s implosion in 2002, just after the release of their second number-one album.
“I remember going to see them the year after I left, and they told me they were breaking up. I said, ‘What are you talking about? You girls are finally doing music that’s really great. Even I like it!’”
Conspiracy theories claimed the band’s then-manager was only interested in a solo career for Sophie, who released her own album – Calendar Girl – 11 months later.
The Bardot girls remain “loosely” in touch via phone calls and social media. During Covid in 2020, Katie rejoined Tiffani and Belinda remotely to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut single, Poison, by singing the song online.
The following year Katie and Belinda – working under the name Ka’Bel – started to release some new music.
“It probably won’t continue on now,” says Katie. “But it was really lovely to be back in the studio with Belinda again, to give Bardot fans a continuing story of some sort.”
