Solo artists who have also had success in a band
Justin Timberlake started out in *NSYNC
From Justin Timberlake to JADE, Mel C to Robbie Williams, Beyoncé to Camila Cabello, all of these artists have one thing in common... they all started out in well-known bands, such as *NSYNC, Little Mix, Spice Girls, Take That, Destiny's Child and Fifth Harmony.
Here we take a look at these and other artists who have been successful both as a solo artist and as a part of a band, are there any you didn't expect?
All of these artists have also had success as part of a band:
Cheryl Tweedy and Girls Aloud
Way back in 2002, Girls Aloud were created after taking part in Pop Stars: The Rivals. Cheryl Tweedy, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts, Kimberley Walsh and the late Sarah Harding, were all selected to be in the group, and they had huge hits such as 'Sound of The Underground', 'The Promise' and 'Long Hot Summer'.
The band continued to release music and tour until 2009 when they announced they would have a year-long hiatus. In 2009 Cheryl also released her first solo music, in the form of 'Fight for This Love', and her album '3 Words'. Since going solo, Cheryl has released four Top 10 albums and several songs between 2009 and 2019.
The band reunited back in 2012-2013, as well in 2024, in celebration of their late bandmate Sarah Harding, who died from breast cancer. In May and June 2024 the band were on tour, performing across the UK.
Mel C and Spice Girls
Mel C was part of one of the biggest girl groups around in the 1990s, the Spice Girls. However, after the band started their hiatus she went on to become super successful as a solo artist too, releasing eight albums and having hits including 'Never Be The Same Again' and 'I Turn To You'.
Other members of the group also released solo music, with limited success. Mel B released two albums, and six singles, including 'Word Up' and 'I Want You Back' with Missy Elliott, and Geri Horner (née Halliwell) released three albums, including her hits 'It's Raining Me' and 'Bag It Up'.
Emma Bunton released four albums, the most recent being in 2019, and had a Number 1 hit with 'What Took You So Long?' in 2001. While Victoria Beckham released just one album, and three Top 10 songs.
Robbie Williams and Take That
Back in the 90s, Take That were one of the biggest boy bands around. With the line-up of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Robbie Williams, they delighted fans with hits such as 'Pray', 'Relight My Fire' and 'Babe'.
Despite the success, Robbie Williams left in 1995, launching his solo career in 1996. Although other members have also had success as solo artists, Robbie's solo career has been the longest, with him releasing 12 studio albums and having hits such as 'Angels', 'Millennium' and 'Candy'.
Justin Timberlake and *NSYNC
Way before Justin Timberlake was an award-winning solo artist, with songs such as 'Cry Me a River', 'Rock Your Body' and 'SexyBack', he was part of *NSYNC, along with Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, and JC Chasez. The band saw huge success in the 90s before beginning a hiatus in 2002.
The band later reunited in 2023, releasing a song that featured on the soundtrack for Trolls: Band Together.
Little Mix
Little Mix formed back in 2011 as a group of four, made up of Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall. Over the following years the group had huge success with songs like 'Shout Out To My Ex', 'Power' and 'Wings', however in in December 2020 Jesy announced she would be leaving the band.
The others continued as a trio until May 2022, when they started their hiatus, and pursued solo careers. Now all four members of the band have released solo music, with varying degrees of success.
Most recently, JADE released her first solo song 'Angel of My Dreams', with Perrie releasing 'Forget About Us' earlier this year, and Leigh-Anne releasing 'Don't Say Love' last year, making her the first of the current Little Mix line-up to release solo music.
Joe Jonas, the Jonas Brothers and DNCE
Along with his success as part of the Jonas Brothers with two of his brothers, Kevin and Nick Jonas, Joe has also had a successful solo career and as part of DNCE.
Joe has released one solo album back in 2011, with another due out in October 2024, called 'Music for People Who Believe in Love'. Along with his band's success, the singer has also released an album with DNCE, enjoying success with 'Cake by the Ocean'.
One Direction and Harry Styles
After being created on The X Factor back in 2010, but unfortunately not winning, One Direction, consisting of Harry Styles, Niall Horan, the late Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and former member Zayn Malik released five albums, and several Number 1 singles including 'What Makes You Beautiful', and 'Drag Me Down'.
Since their indefinite hiatus started in 2016, each member of the band has released music, with the most success going to Harry Styles. Harry released his first solo album in self-titled in May 2017, which spawned the Number 1 hit 'Sign of the Times'. This debut album was followed by 'Fine Line' and 'Harry's House', which gave him three Top 10 songs, including the Number 1 'As It Was'.
Beyoncé and Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child band mates, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, and Beyoncé had huge hits such as 'Bills, Bills, Bills', 'Say My Name' and 'Survivor' in late 90s/early 2000s. However after the band went their separate ways they all pursued their own solo careers, with Beyoncé having the biggest success with the likes of 'Crazy In Love', 'Halo' and more recently 'Break My Soul'.
Swedish House Mafia
The DJ supergroup Swedish House Mafia (Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso) are well-known for this massive UK hit 'Don't You Worry Child', but they've all had huge success individually as well, or as part of other groups. Steve Angello and Axwell were part of Supermode releasing their massive hit 'Tell Me Why' in 2006.
While as a solo DJ, Steve Angello also had success with 'Show Me Love' in 2008, while Axwell had a UK Top 10 hit with 'I Found U' in 2007.
Between 2014 and 2018, two of the group toured together as Axwell & Ingrosso, having UK Top 40 hits with 'Something New' and 'More Than You Know'. Meanwhile, as a solo artist, Sebastian Ingrosso had a Number 3 single with 'Reload' with Tommy Trash featuring John Martin back in 2013, and 'Calling (Lose My Mind)' with Alesso featuring Ryan Tedder was a UK Top 20 hit for the DJ.
Nicole Scherzinger and Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls consisting of Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Melody Thornton, and Kimberly Wyatt had huge success in the early 2000s with hits such as 'Don't Cha', 'Stickwitu', and 'Buttons', however in 2010, the group parted until their reunion in 2019.
Between 2010 and 2019 several members had success as solo artists, in particular Nicole Scherzinger who had several Top 10 hits in the UK, including 'Poison', 'Don't Hold Your Breath' and 'Right There' featuring 50 Cent.
Camila Cabello and Fifth Harmony
Fifth Harmony were formed on the US version of The X Factor after previously all auditioning as separate singers. The band went on to have three studio albums including hits such as 'Worth It' and 'Work From Home'.
In 2016, Camila Cabello decided to leave the group, and pursue a solo career having huge success. Since going solo she's had four studio albums, and many Top 10 hits including 'Crying in the Club', 'Bad Things', and 'Havana'.
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