As the busy filming schedule continued and the show got even more popular, a new side to The Saddle Club emerged. In the beginning of the original series, Keenan and Lara used to sing pop songs from groups like Powderfinger for fun. The producers were impressed and introduced a song called ‘Hello World’.
LARA 'We were listening to it in the car and the whole car was rocking because we just loved the song and started singing. It’s great, girls know all the words and know how to dance to it.' All The Saddle Club girls got together to record the track for the opening titles of the show and as the series took off, the record did too. Shock Records decided to release it as a single and ‘Hello World’ reached number 17 on the pop charts. The producers knew they were onto something and said they’d like to do a lot of new songs in the second series. KIA 'During the second series, on weekends we were recording the album for Shock Records, so that was something added on that we didn’t have in the first series. And there was a lot more publicity and shooting film clips and stuff, and so we knew then that we were headed for something a bit bigger.' On set, The Saddle Club performed their first big number to a handful of cast members at JB’s café, but in reality the audiences were much bigger. LARA 'I guess they realised that everyone loved ‘Hello World’ and decided to do more so we could release an album.' The first Saddle Club album, ‘Fun for Everyone’, was an enormous success. It achieved gold status (35,000 copies sold) within two months of release. The second album was ‘On Top of the World’ and featured the hits ‘Wonderland’ and ‘On Top of the World’, sung by all three Saddle Club members, Stevie, Lisa and Carole. The girls also recorded individual songs such as Carole’s ‘Ride Like the Wind’ and Stevie’s ‘Everything We Do’. One of the film clips made during the second series was for the song ‘Wonderland’, which was also released as a single. It was all about a mystical horse ride and the producers wanted the girls to do a dreamy sequence with flowers in their hair. They spent a lot of time getting the look just right and then the three sang along to the soundtrack while walking around in a beautiful park. ‘Wonderland’ also raced up the charts. Chart success is measured in the industry by gold records and the girls now have two for the albums ‘Fun for Everyone’ and ‘On Top of the World’. Both albums have sold more than 30,000 copies. The girls have also been nominated for two ARIA music industry awards and a third album was released in October 2003. LARA: 'I have been singing since I was little. I used to do concerts for my family — just so crazy, singing with the hairbrush to Beatles music.' Kia, too, has been trying out her vocal chords, and her songs ‘I’ve Got a Crush on You’ and her duet with Veronica, ‘We Got Style’, have been very successful. KIA 'I’ll do anything. It’s so much fun and I love what I am doing. It’s all good experience, the fact that you learn so much and meet new people; it’s just so much fun.' SOPHIE 'I will continue with my acting and my singing and hopefully it will all succeed. I would love to expand my career and do different projects so that I can work on all sides of my acting. I also want to keep on travelling and meeting new people.' All of the girls agree, though, that the best part of their singing careers is that it’s meant they could get together more often. In mid 2003, the two Canadians came back to Australia for a promotional tour in Sydney and Melbourne. It was a fantastic thing to do — they even performed live on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans. LARA 'It was amazing, and I met so many people. It’s great to see your fans in person and really relate to who is watching and singing along with The Saddle Club.' Kia’s first solo performance was at Warringah Mall in Sydney. KIA 'I had never even sung at a school assembly by myself, so I just kind of got up there. I had been with the girls when they were singing and been there just to support them, and this time David from Shock Records said, ‘Hey, do you want to get up there?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, yes please!’, and I got up and I just had a great time, and I could see that the kids were enjoying it, too.' Besides the singing, everyone wanted to do radio and television interviews with the girls, too. People suddenly wanted to know all about them and they got to meet many personalities of the radio and television industry such as Molly Meldrum, Richard Wilkins and Bert Newton. They also appeared on Hot Source, the Today show and the Big Arvo. The promotional tour wasn’t all hard work, though, and there was time to explore Sydney, go out for dinner and even go for a cruise on a two-million dollar motor cruiser on Sydney Harbour. Kia, who has her boat licence, even got to have a turn at the wheel. With so much attention, it would have been easy for the girls to forget who they really were. LARA 'I always know inside myself that I am Lara not Lisa, and maybe we share a few characteristics but I will never be someone else. No matter what happens, I will be myself and people should like me for myself not because I am on TV. I am just a regular girl and like having fun. I do everyday things like everyone else. I love it when fans come up to me, though, I enjoy the fame. Sometimes I lose track and I think I am so lucky, but I never forget, and I still get my friends over and do things. But I know I am really lucky to be doing this, it’s a great experience.'
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