She’s made a name for herself on radio and TV with her vivacious personality, but did you know that Love Island Australia host Sophie Monk got her start on Popstars?
Before there was Australian Idol, our answer to singing competitions was Popstars. The once-hit series was a 19-year-old Sophie’s first foray into the music and reality TV industry,
Now, a TikTok user has unearthed the former Bachelorette‘s very first audition on the show in 1999. And boy, she hasn’t aged a day!
In the clip, a voiceover reveals that the reality star had driven nine hours overnight to make the casting call.
“Exhausted, she still gives it her best,” a voiceover announces as Sophie gives a rendition of My Heart Will Go On.
It’s the casual performance that kickstarted the now 42-year-old’s career, with Jackie O Henderson selecting the singer to progress to the next round.
@gameonmoles Australian reality TV peaked with Popstars ##sophiemonk ##realitytv ##loveislandau ##aussietvmemories ##tv ##nextinmusic
♬ original sound – Game On Moles
Popstars Kickstarted Sophie Monk’s Career
During the series, Sophie, alongside Belinda Chapple, Sally Polihronas, Katie Underwood and Tiffani Wood, was selected to launch the girl band Bardot. Chantelle Barry was also part of the group, however, she disappeared from the limelight in 2000.
They rose to fame after their song Poison hit number one and the band arguably became the biggest girl group in Australia.
However, just two years later in 2002, the powerhouse group disbanded. Still, they managed to release two successful albums and five singles during the band’s short-lived career.
Why Did Bardot Break Up?
It is widely assumed that Sophie’s solo career came at the cost of Bardot’s breakdown.
“Bardot confirm their mutual decision to end the group’s career,” the official statement read in April 2002.
“Belinda Chapple, Sophie Monk, Sally Polihronas and [Tiffani] Wood have cited the need for a well-earned break following what has been a phenomenal 2.5 year explosion on the Australian music scene.”
Sophie continued to gain success internationally, while her bandmates seemed to disappear into the background.
In 2020, Belinda chatted to the Back From Reality podcast to discuss the brutal way the singers discovered the band was #dunzo.
“We were so blindsided,” Belinda confessed. She then revealed she initially found out about the axing accidentally after spying Sophie’s solo album.
“I found evidence about Sophie’s solo career. I wasn’t meant to see it,” she explained. “They sent me up for a radio interview and I saw a stack of CDs.” That’s when she knew Bardot was being dumped in favor of her co-star going solo.
Since then, Sophie has forged herself a mountain of success.
Her rising popularity has seen her star as The Bachelorette in 2019, the three-time host of Love Island. She even appeared as a dragonfly on The Masked Singer Australia!
We are yuge Sophie Monk fans, so we can’t wait to see what she does next!
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