G.R.L. | |
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G.R.L. on 29 September 2013. From left to right: Natasha Slayton, Paula van Oppen, Simone Battle, Emmalyn Estrada and Lauren Bennett.
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Background information | |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Genres | Pop |
Years active | 2012–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts | |
Members |
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Past members |
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G.R.L. is an American-British-Canadian girl group formed by Robin Antin. The group consists of members Lauren Bennett, Natasha Slayton and Jazzy Mejia. Past members included Simone Battle, Emmalyn Estrada, and Paula van Oppen.
The original line-up consisted of Slayton, Bennett, Estrada, Van Oppen, and Simone Battle. They made their debut appearance on the Smurfs 2 soundtrack with "Vacation". They would go on to appear on Pitbull's internationally successful track "Wild Wild Love" which peaked in the top-40 in the United States, top-10 in the United Kingdom, and was certified platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Their second single "Ugly Heart" gained international success shortly after the sudden passing of member Simone Battle. Leaving the group as a quartet, this inspired the group to release their next single "Lighthouse" in memory of Battle. The group disbanded shortly after its release, on June 2, 2015.
G.R.L. officially reformed on August 5, 2016, with the addition of new member Jazzy Mejia alongside original members Bennett and Slayton, making the group a trio.
In March 2011, Antin began holding auditions to find new girls to replace the departed members of The Pussycat Dolls. The new line-up made their debut on February 5, 2012, during the Super Bowl, as part of GoDaddy’s annual TV commercials, appearing with Danica Patrick. "The look of the commercial is not necessarily the new look of the group this time around," said Robin Antin, adding, "It's breathtakingly beautiful. It's a fun, real-campy kind of sexy. It's all of that, but again, what we're doing for this next life of the Pussycat Dolls, the girls are all young. It's a fresh, young energy." An official picture taken from the ad showed five members: Lauren Bennett, Paula van Oppen, Vanessa Curry, Chrystina Sayers, and Erica Kiehl Jenkins.