Kimberley Walsh has revealed the surprising turn of events that unfolded when she was initially rejected from Girls Aloud.
The Bradford born star had been one of the auditionees for Pop Stars: The Rivals back in 2002 but narrowly missed out on a place in the all girl band.
Speaking out on GCSE results day, Kimberley, 37, said she was forced to quickly come up with a back-up plan after Louis Walsh delivered the blow that her pop dreams were over.
Appearing alongside her mother Diane Walsh on Fabulous’s new podcast, Things I Told My Daughter with Lisa Snowdon, the duo discussed how they dealt with the rejection.
Diane said: "You had the knockback didn’t you when you thought you weren’t going through. I was proud when you thought you were going through and then you got knocked out, and then she said, and I can picture this actually, she said well, ‘I’ll just have to get on with it.’ and went to work as a waitress."
Kimberley added: "I went back to work, I went back to college."
After the crushing disappointment, Kimberley dusted herself off and went back to register for her first year of university.
She explained: "I was in the competition but I got knocked out, and I decided, I said ‘I’ve just got to go back to normal’. And went back to my jobs and everything, just for one week."
But things weren't over just yet for Kimberley.
She explained: "Then Louis Walsh turned up and was like, there’s been a problem with one of the girls, you’re back in. And I was back in and I never came home. So it was very fast, it was very weird."
Kimberley went on to enjoy enormous success with bandmates Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding and Nicola Roberts.
At her first audition she managed to impress the judges with her rendition of a Whitney Houston classic despite never having any vocal training.
Admitting she doesn't have the 'most powerful voice in the world', Kimberley said she taught herself to make the best of what she had.
"I didn’t have any proper training, vocally, until I did Shrek at the age of 30. Which was a revelation for me because I didn’t realise how much it could help, so I wish I would have had that when I was younger," she revealed.
Girls Aloud fans had been hoping the five piece could be ready to fire up their tour bus again this year for another reunion.
But in an interview with Hello! Magazine , Kimberley said the group would not be following in the footsteps of the Spice Girls.
"There is no Girls Aloud reunion on the cards right now.
"The Spice Girls had a phenomenal career but it was very short, over four or five years.
"We literally lived and breathed each other so I think more time needs to have passed for anybody to get those feelings of getting us back together."
