The one thing I love about music is that everyone has their own story to tell – the musician, the lyrics, the way the fans decipher them and also the way a song can also create a memory or a meaning to someone. That is what this new article is all about. Each fortnight, we will take a look at a different song and I will take you as a trip down memory lane as to what it means to me. Welcome to Music Memories.

Track: Whole Again
Artist: Atomic Kitten
Original Release Date: 2000

I think this is a track that when I hear it, brings back both fun and cringey feelings all at once. When I was a kid, I used to love entering talent shows – not to win, but because I loved performing it was just so fun. I used to love singing and dancing to routines that I had made up or learnt from the videos. In my first year of high school there was a talent show and the one thing I wanted to do was enter.

I ended up persuading two of the girls that I was good friends with, to enter the talent show. I don’t know why but we decided between us to perform the Atomic Kitten version of Whole Again. From a very early rehearsal we decided we would sing it without music and try and do some fancy vocals.

I can’t remember a lot about it but I do remember thinking that it sounded ok and we even had a sort of dance with it, I think it was very much side to side stepping. Anyway, we entered the competition and did our performance, I think it went ok but after that show we all got people taking the mickey out of us when we were walking to classes. They would either take the mickey out of our singing or just sing the chorus at us.

As a 12/13 year old, I still think we did ok ( I mean we must of done, we came in third place) and I think we were very brave in hindsight to be very new to the school and sing in front of all years, not many people can do that.

Facts About Whole Again

• It is the group’s biggest selling single to date
• It was the final single to feature founding member Kerry Katona
• The four writers were nominated for the Ivor Novello Award for excellence in songwriting
• The single debuted at number one in the United Kingdom with first-week sales of 69,286 copies
• As of November 2016, it remains the biggest-selling song of the 21st century in the UK by a girl band.
• The music video for “Whole Again” was filmed on a very small budget due to the commercial failure of previous single “Follow Me”.