For the four members of Australian pop phenomenon Bardot, “things change - and change is always a good thing” has become a shared mantra.

“It's new, it's fresh, and it's about us, and not a TV show, this time around,” says Tiffany Wood. “We've changed, the band has changed, the music has changed… ”

Poised for the Australian release of their latest single 'ASAP' (to radio on July 09 and retail on July 23), Bardot returns to the spotlight one member leaner, but bulked-up on determination and ideas for their second assault on the charts.

“We've lost a member and we've grown from girls, to women in the past year and a half or so,” says Belinda Chapple. “A lot has happened to us and after a little while out of the public eye, we're ready to show how much we've evolved as a group.”

“We were five people thrown together by Popstars, and now we're four people who have made a conscious decision to stay together and to make this thing work because we really, really believe in it.”

Sally Polihronas adds: “We know what we want, we know where we're going and now we know how to get there. Before we didn't really know much about the industry, but now we're partners in this business and we have a better idea of how we're going to make it happen.”

Far from mourning the loss of fifth-member Katie Underwood - who departed the group amicably in May to pursue other projects - Belinda and band-mates Sally, Tiffany and Sophie have forged ahead as a committed quartet.

“This is the sort of group where you either have to give all or nothing,” says Belinda. “It's more than a job. It has to be a passion. You cannot do this part-time.”

Sophie adds: “There was never even a question of replacing Katie. There is a strong enough relationship and talent left in the group that we didn't feel the need. And you could never bring someone into this now. We've formed a bond and have got the sort of experience, in the past two years that you cannot simply replace. No one would understand what we've been through together.”

“Because we all know what we want from this group and from our songs, having one less person has just made everything easier.”

'ASAP', Bardot's first release as a four-piece, is written by Swedish duo Murlyn, which has penned hits for the likes of English chart-toppers Five, Samantha Mumba and US teen-sensation Britney Spears.

“Apart from the fact that it was quite fast and really modern, which we all really liked, I personally liked it a lot, because I could relate to what it was about,” says Belinda.

“I had the experience that we're singing about with the first love of my life. It's about a woman who is complaining about her partner's mother, who is always in their business and harassing the girlfriend. When it happened to me, I walked and never looked back. I wouldn't be sitting here today if I hadn't.”

The track - which will be added to the group's self-titled debut album for UK release - was recorded in London in mid-2001 and heralds a move into sophisticated up-beat pop; the natural successor to what had become the band's earlier trademark mid-tempo grooves.

“Its fun and light and what pop music should be now,” says Sally. “What we're doing at the moment is the natural evolution of what we did on he first album. We're going to do a lot more up-tempo stuff on this next album (tentatively scheduled for a November 2001 release).”

“When we went on tour with the material from the last album we wanted to remix everything we'd done and make it faster. Fun and happy, that's what pop is really about.”

Fast and fun seem to be synonymous with the mid-2001 incarnation of Bardot. All agree that after the pressures of life under the watchful eye of the public, thanks to their starring role on Popstars, they are keen to now experiment widely and inject some spontaneity into the record-making process.

“We want to have fun with this album, enjoy the songs and just perform,” says Sally. “We've made a pact that it will be fun. After 'ASAP' we're hoping to take it further and go even more 'up' and even possibly do some dance stuff.”

Bardot will hit the domestic publicity trail to support the Australian release of 'ASAP' throughout July and are scheduled for a return UK publicity tour in early August.

“Our intention is to take Bardot truly international,” says Sally. “We've committed to this and so we are going to make it work, no matter what it takes.”

Bardot - which was formed after an exhaustive Australia-wide talent search on the debut series of the hugely successful Popstars television series in early 2000 - has already won a place in the Australian record books as the first band to ever debut at #1 on the Australian charts with both their first single Poison, and first album.

The hit singles 'I Should've Never Let You Go' and 'These Days' followed, and to date the group's self-titled album has far exceeded double platinum sales in Australia. The group's broad-based appeal has translated into exceptional sales overseas as well. In New Zealand both the album and debut single 'Poison' reached #1 and went on to achieve platinum sales.

In Singapore the group made it to the very top of the charts with their platinum selling debut album and reached #1 on the singles chart with 'I Should've Never Let You Go'. The album scored top-10 positioning in Thailand and 'Poison' was a top-20 hit in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan.

The Australian version of the Popstars series - which spawned versions around the world including England and the US - is currently screening in the UK and will conclude in August, when the band returns to promote its debut album release.

“I'll be honest,” says Belinda, “The journey for us has come with some serious ups and downs, but we've decided to stay together because we're very passionate about singing and dancing. We know there's a lot more to come from Bardot. There's a lot more than people saw on Popstars.”

“We're planning to co-write material for our next album and we've got a lot of ideas who we want to work with and what it is going to sound like. We're in that great position now where we can look around at certain people we'd like to work with, which is great. 'ASAP' is the beginning of something new.”

While Popstars was their calling-card to pop-stardom, Belinda, Sophie, Tiffany and Sally all agree there is much left to see, hear and learn about the group as an entity and from the committed individuals who are all intent on making their mark felt in the group's ever-evolving look and sound.

“Let's be honest; we don't have it all,” says Sophie. “We have worked hard for what we've got so far, it hasn't been an easy ride for us … we even had to give the cars back! No one knows that. But the good has far outweighed the bad. What everyone has seen is just a little bit of what has happened. It is just the beginning.”

“This time around is not about proving anything. We've already proved so much. This time around we're just doing our thing and having fun.”

“We're going to work even harder now,” says Belinda. “Popstars and the first album was the first step. Now it's about the music, about the dancing, about the image, about four great women… it's a total package. We can't wait to get back out and be with our fans and all our supporters to thank them for joining and helping us on this amazing ride so far!”

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