Bob Marley gave the songwriting credit for "No Woman No Cry" to his friend Vincent Ford, who ran a soup kitchen in Trenchtown, the area of Kingston where Marley grew up. Pure and Simple" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart after selling 550,000 copies in its first week, which, at the time, made it the fastest-selling debut single of all time in the United Kingdom. The song and band were also criticised by several contemporary musical acts at the time, including Stereophonics, David Gray, and Blur. Hear'Say announced their split in October 2002, twenty months after their formation, citing "abuse from the public" as the main reason for their demise. Pure and Simple" was the fastest-selling debut single at the time, as well as the fastest-selling non- charity single – a record beaten a year later by Pop Idol winner Will Young.

Pure and Simple" is the seventh biggest-selling debut single of the 21st century in the UK, [9] the second biggest seller by a mixed-gender group [14] and the UK's 96th best-selling song of all time. The song went straight to number one on the UK Singles Chart in March 2001, selling just under 550,000 copies.This was co-written by Alison Clarkson, who previously had solo success with songs such as " Doin' The Do" under the name of Betty Boo. Following the disappointing sales of the single, it was thought that they would be dropped by the label, though no official word came from Polydor. Tabloids began reporting that Kym Marsh, who had gained attention due to her relationship with former EastEnders actor Jack Ryder, had left the band following feuds with bandmate Myleene Klass.

Despite the second album's lack of success, it did achieve Gold status by the BPI but over a decade after its release [10] and plans were made for an arena tour but these were later cancelled.Kym's voice is by far the strongest and she stands out as the most talented member of this new band, which explains why she takes most of the lead lines. Popstars sold 306,631 copies in its first week, breaking yet another record for fastest-selling debut album.