A singer from Sheppey has been picked to be part of a new girl "super-group."

Nicole Carter, 21, from Minster beat hundreds of other contenders to join Girl Tonic.

The five-strong gang is hoping to steal the pop crown worn by Little Mix for the past nine years and is being tipped by some to be the new Spice Girls.

Nicole, who went to Fulston Manor School, Sittingbourne, said: "The time is right to bring back pop and it is time for a new band to step forward."

The girls are due to go into the recording studio next month.

Nicole said: "I went for the auditions in February. It's all been a bit of a whirlwind since then.

"We all get on really well but just days after forming we were hit by the coronavirus lockdown like everyone else.

"It meant our rehearsal plans went straight out the window. It's so annoying but we have to be realistic. We talk every day on video and could potentially be the first group to be formed in lockdown!"

Brummie-born Nicole, one of three children, is already being dubbed 'Fashion Tonic.' She moved to the Island with her parents when she was 16. Her engineer dad took a job in Croydon on the trams but decided to settle on Sheppey after hiring a chalet in Leysdown.

Nicole had been planning a career in fashion and was working in London when she spotted an advert for Girl Tonic on the Star Now website.

She said: "I love singing and dancing and have taken part in street and hip-hop dance competitions in front of 3,000 people so I thought I'd give it a go. We had two days of auditions in London before we were whittled down to the final five.

"I have always loved performing but it was always just a hobby. When I got to the sixth form I decided I needed a more academic background. We will have to see what happens but I would love this to be really huge."

The group has been put together by Leighton James, 44, who was in boy-girl band Word On The Street in the 1990s and performed alongside B*Witched, Westlife, Five, S Club 7, Steps and Atomic Kitten.

He said: "Girl Tonic are set to be the next big pop super group to set the charts alight. Nicole really wants to represent Kent in the group. Girl Tonic is just the pick-me-up fans of pop need right now."

The other members are Connie Herron, 22, from Glasgow; Eleanor Hudson, 24, from Essex; Bethany Entwistle, 22, from Tipperary, Southern Ireland, and Britani Humphries, 21, from Widnes near Liverpool.

The Producer

The girls are being produced by award-winning song writer Eliot Kennedy.

He has a stash of number one hits behind him and worked on Say You'll Be There with the Spice Girls, Everything Changes with Take That, When You're Gone by Bryan Adams, Picture Of You by Boyzone and S Club 7's Bring It Back. He has also worked with 5ive and Celine Dion.

The girls are due to record original songs at his studio in Sheffield in June plus a cover of Jermaine Stewart's hit We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off which was first released on 27 ‎May, 1986

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for @girltonicofficial have already been set up and there is a website here at www.girl-tonic.com.

The venture is being bankrolled by a former football club owner.

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