We're seeing more and more artists strip away from the bands which made them famous as of late, with former The Wanted member Nathan Sykes and former JLS member Aston Merrygold hoping to ride a wave of success into solo careers, so we've decided to take a look back at five stars who have nailed the transition from being a part of a group into a successful solo musical outing.
1) Beyoncé
As one of the biggest and most successful females who started out as part of a musical trio, Beyoncé found her legs in Destiny's Child before carving out an incredible legacy and becoming one of the most successful solo female artists of the modern day. Confident within both her vocals and choreography, the standard at which Bey has performed has maintained and solidified her as one of the most exciting people in the industry. Now she has 16 Grammy Award wins under her belt to add to the four she gained whilst she was with DC, and it's unlikely she'll be putting her career on the shelf anytime soon. The future is bright for Bey.
2) Michael Jackson
MJ is the biggest musical icon the world has ever seen, with estimations claiming he's now sold over 400 million records worldwide and his 1982 LP 'Thriller' being the best-selling album of all time. Redefining the pop genre and music in general, he's managed to influence a plethora of performers throughout his time and even after his death. Michael was the first ever artist to take a Top 10 single on the Hot 100 chart in five different decades, and holds the mantle of King of Pop. His music videos and incredible choreography are still talked about and held as iconic to this very day, and his inspiration will continue to drip down to artists throughout time.
3) Justin Timberlake
As the youngest member of American boyband *NSYNC, Justin made one of the biggest impacts coming out of the group when they decided to go their separate ways. Each of his first two solo albums managed to take over 10 million sales a piece, and Justin has continued to go on and become a big name not only in the world of music, but in Hollywood too, starring in a number of movies including one from the Shrek franchise, The Social Network and Friends with Benefits, starring opposite Mila Kunis in the latter. Returning to the music business in 2013, he then grabbed the year's highest-selling album in America with 'The 20/20 Experience'.
4) Gwen Stefani
No Doubt were a huge 90s band, but Gwen's breakout solo moment in the early noughties saw her gain popularity across the globe as a superstar. Despite previously working within the genres of rock and reggae, Gwen moved into the pop realm with ease and managed to smash everybody's expectations with the release of singles including 'Rich Girl', 'Hollaback Girl' and 'What You Waiting For?' amongst others. Now all she needs is a comeback, and it wouldn't be at all shocking to see that very thing happen.
5) George Michael
George Michael's 'Faith' was an incredible success, garnering the artist 25 million record sales worldwide with the titular track becoming one of 1988's biggest-selling singles in America and being the first stepping stone to his selling 100 million records worldwide to-date. Enjoying many years of success as half of the duo Wham!, it was always going to be tough for George to ensure he could continue his success, but he did so and to this day is viewed as a pop culture icon.