Spice Girls may have made the “girl power” mantra famous, but Australia’s Girlfriend got there first, preaching its virtues on their 1992 single “Girl’s Life.” The five-piece shared another trait with the Brits, namely their effervescent brand of upbeat, positive pop. Whether singing about the merits of monogamy (“All or Nothing”) or true love (“Without You”), their high-gloss songs were a reminder of acts like New Kids on the Block and a fresh-faced alternative to the alienation and angst of the grunge revolution that was exploding around the globe in the early ’90s. The genesis of Girlfriend stretched back to a dance studio in the beachside suburb of Coogee, Sydney, where Melanie Alexander, Siobhann Heidenreich, and Jacqui Cowell met as toddlers. Years later, they decided to form a vocal group, enlisting Robyn Loau and Lorinda Noble before going on to experience significant chart success in Australia with singles such as “Take It From Me” and a cover of Laura Branigan’s “Bad Attitude.” When Loau split for a solo career, in 1994, the remaining members rebranded as GF4 and released a cover of The Grass Roots’ 1971 song “Sooner or Later” but disbanded before releasing a third album.