Up-and-coming girlband, Afrodisiac, are aiming for the top in 2007 - and a bid for X Factor glory this year.

Although the band first formed in January 2006, they have established a loyal following and almost made it on to X Factor last year despite having only been together for five months.

With an average age of 19, band members Charmaine Collins, Laura Downton and Sammi Hingston, left, are all members of singing ensemble En Masse, a 40-strong group of talented singers who perform twice yearly in front of over 900 people in Salisbury City Hall.

Laura explains: "We met through En Masse and initially we got together for a one-off gig for charity in January 2006 but we enjoyed it so much and had so much fun that we decided to form Afrodisiac and carry on. It can be a bit strange performing in smaller venues, with En Masse we performed in front of huge numbers of people, but as Afrodisiac we perform more intimate gigs so there is more of a direct connection with the audience which is a lot of fun."

Undaunted by the large numbers of girlbands in the UK, Laura believes Afrodisiac have something new to offer: "We really like singing upbeat soul and motown, which can be challenging. We do like some girl groups like the Sugababes and Girls Aloud but they don't really challenge their voices as much as they could. The artists we really admire are Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Beverley Knight and Christina Aguilera."

Fresh from recording demo tracks at HL Studios, Afrodisiac are determined to make it in the music industry.

Laura confirmed the group aimed to enter X Factor again and put last year's disappointment behind them. She added: "It's really hard to break into the industry and we've only been together for a year but we're definitely prepared for the long haul. We plan to gig as many places as we can and get out there. We're really motivated at the moment and 2007 is definitely going to be our year."

For more information see www.myspace.com/afroooo.