Hear’Say

Hear'Say
Hear'Say in 2001
Background information
Origin	London, England and Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Genres	Pop
Years active	2001–2002
Labels	MCA Music, Polydor Island Records
Associated acts	Liberty X, Steve Lee, Boom!
Past members	Danny Foster Myleene Klass Suzanne Shaw Noel Sullivan Kym Marsh Johnny Shentall

Hear'Say were a British pop group. It was created through the ITV reality TV show Popstars in February 2001, the first UK series of the international Popstars franchise. The group, who were signed to Polydor Records, originally consisted of Danny Foster, Myleene Klass, Kym Marsh, Suzanne Shaw, and Noel Sullivan. Sullivan is originally from Cardiff, Wales and Marsh is from Wigan, but the other members originate from London, England. Hear'Say achieved instant fame, breaking chart records with their debut single "Pure and Simple" and the album Popstars. However, their second album failed to match this success.

In January 2002, Marsh left Hear'Say due to conflicts with Klass and Sullivan. She was replaced by former Boom! member Johnny Shentall a month later. During a summer promotional tour, Hear'Say were constantly harassed by members of the public. "Lovin' Is Easy," the group's only single to be released with Shentall, failed to make a commercial impact. Hear'Say announced their split in October 2002, eighteen months after their formation, citing "abuse from the public" as the main reason for their demise. Since the dissolution of the band, the members have had individual success in acting, presenting, and singing.

Over the course of six weeks in late 2000, thousands of hopeful singers attended open television auditions for ITV's Popstars talent show. The contestants were judged by Nigel Lythgoe, Paul Adam (director of A&R at Polydor Records, who had rights to the finished group), and Nicki Chapman, who had worked with the Spice Girls. The judges reduced the contestants to a group of ten, before visiting each of them at their homes to reveal whether or not they had been selected for the group. The five chosen singers – Danny Foster, Myleene Klass, Kym Marsh, Suzanne Shaw, and Noel Sullivan – formed Hear'Say. The five unsuccessful finalists went on to form the group Liberty (later renamed Liberty X after a legal dispute). The programme documented Hear'Say recording and promoting their first single with the series ending on the night the single charted in the UK Singles Chart. Popstars became an instant success, taking in audiences of over 10 million viewers.