The winners of the series—
Danny Foster,
Myleene Klass,
Kym Marsh,
Suzanne Shaw and
Noel Sullivan—formed the group
Hear'Say. Hear'Say went on to sell three million records worldwide, and scored two UK number-one singles before disbanding eighteen months after their formation. Today, Klass is a television and radio presenter, while Marsh and Shaw are actors in television
soap operas. Marsh also appeared as a contestant in the 2022 series of
Strictly Come Dancing, while Shaw won the 2008 series of
Dancing On Ice. Sullivan is a
West End theatre performer, while Foster has made occasional appearances in
reality television shows, including
The Voice UK in 2013. The other five finalists in the first
Popstars series (who were not selected to join the group) formed their own pop group called
Liberty X (consisting of
Michelle Heaton,
Tony Lundon,
Kevin Simm,
Jessica Taylor and
Kelli Young). Liberty X went on to be commercially more successful than Hear'Say, achieving ten consecutive UK top 20 singles before their split in 2007.
Darius Danesh was another noted auditionee in the first series of
Popstars. Danesh was seen as an early favourite on the show, but was eliminated halfway through the series after performing an 'alternative' version of
Britney Spears's "
...Baby One More Time" to the judges. Danesh went on to compete in the first series of
Pop Idol, finishing third. He then had a successful solo career as a recording artist before becoming a West End theatre performer. Danesh died aged 41 in 2022 from respiratory arrest caused by inhalation of chloroethane he had used to treat chronic neck pain. Contestant
Warren Stacey was signed to
Def Jam Recordings in 2001 and reached number 26 on the UK Singles Chart with his debut hit "
My Girl, My Girl".
Louise Leach, another contestant eliminated during the bootcamp stage, later founded a children's dance school in
Hendon,
North London. ==Aftermath==