Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts has said she struggled to cope with the band's decision to go on hiatus.
The five-piece, who also feature Nadine Coyle, Cheryl Cole, Sarah Harding and Kimberley Walsh, announced a temporary separation in 2009 and are thought to be reuniting this year to mark their tenth anniversary.
Roberts has told Contact Music that making a solo album helped her get back to music.
She said: "Before I started making the album, I felt so frustrated that I wasn't making music and I felt like I couldn't see music in my life for a long time. I didn't know how I was going to have music in my life until the band had another record.
"It really made me sad. I felt like I wanted to be a singer and I used to write little and then all of a sudden the band went on a break and management were trying to find different things for me to do, this TV work, that TV work, and it was just like, 'This is really sad, actually.' Really not sitting well with me at all."
She continued: "I was frustrated and angry inside every day. That's what the song 'Fish Out of Water' [from album Cinderella's Eyes] was about, what, am I supposed to just find another career because the band is on a break? That's how I felt."
Coyle has moved to the USA since the girls put the band on hold, whilst Harding has had low-key acting and presenting success, Walsh has joined the West End production of 'Shrek: The Musical' and Cole has achieved a significantly boosted profile through a judging gig on The X Factor and a successful solo career.
Harding stepped out on Friday night to see Walsh's on-stage success.
Girls Aloud on tour
Entertainment News