Robyn Loau - Girlfriend

Girlfriend

Robyn Loau first came into the spotlight as the lead singer of Australian all girl pop group Girlfriend, with fellow vocalists Jacqui Cowell, Siobhánn Heidenreich, Lorinda Noble and Melanie Alexander. From their debut single, Take It from Me, released in January 1992, the band's popularity skyrocketed, which peaked at number one on the ARIA Singles Charts.

The fantasy of teenage boys and idols of teenage girls, Girlfriend adorned the cover of teen magazines across the country. As their popularity continued to rise, publicity was high, as was public demand. Shopping centre appearances would see the girls mobbed by their fans. Success continued with their second single "Girl's Life" also becoming a top 20 hit. Girlfriend's debut album, Make It Come True, sold over 140,000 copies, and became Australia's highest selling debut CD—until Silverchair's Frogstomp.

A third single, "Without You", was also a top 20 hit and Girlfriend further impacted on the Australian fashion scene. Their trendy style and funky attire help launched their own fashion label available through Myer. Make it Come True had another two singles released from the album. Bad Attitude and Love's On My Mind secured the bands success, enough to see the girls head overseas to Europe, where they enjoyed moderate success. However it was Japan that embraced the group as their own. So much so that Girlfriend re-recorded the single "Take It from Me" in Japanese. They also recorded a number of Japanese-only tracks. The Make It Come True album was repackaged with these extra tracks and released in Japan with the new name of Girl's Life.

1993 saw the release of the up-tempo single "Heartbeat", the first single from the band's second album, It's Up To You. To coincide with the album and single release, the Heartbeat Tour travelled the country to promote the bands new material and look. Even though the album did not have the same impact as the first, it still spawned 2 top 50 tracks, "Heartbeat" and the ballad "Wishing on the Same Star".

Loau left the band in mid-1994 to pursue a solo career. The four other members, continued performing and renamed themselves GF4. However, the group disbanded in 1996 after two further singles.