TORONTO -- The months of living in secret, just waiting for their protective bubble to burst are over for five young women who beat the odds to become Canada's first made-on-TV pop stars.

First there were 4,000, then 25, who were reduced to 10. From there, a final five were chosen, which dropped to four after a minor calamity and was bumped back up to five again -- this time for good.

Having been selected from among thousands, the women of Popstars have talent, style, personality and looks to spare. They've already gone through a gruelling process of preparation and weathered a secret scandal.

Now all they have to do is survive in the vicious, cutthroat, cannibalistic world of the music industry.

The final five are Julie Crochetiere, 20, from Beaconsfield, Que.; Maiko Watson, 19, from Winnipeg; Mirella Dell'Aquila, 19, from St-Leonard, Que.; Sahara MacDonald, 23, from Vancouver; and Andrea Henry, 21, from Hamilton.

As revealed on the program Sunday night, they will henceforth be known to the music-buying public as Sugar Jones, a name coined by the girls themselves.

They weren't the original selection.

Marla Berman, 21, a Toronto bartender who made it as one of five finalists on the hit television reality series, pleaded guilty last month to stealing a handbag from a fellow contestant and racking up $2,311 on her CIBC Visa card.

She was ejected from the group after the incident last October, to be replaced by Henry. In their first official interview, the current members of Sugar Jones said they bear her no ill will.

"There are no hard feelings at all," says the dark-eyed Dell'Aquila, the youngest member of Sugar Jones.

"We all came pretty much strangers to each other," adds MacDonald, the tall, feisty redhead of the group.

"We wish Marla the best and there's no doubt in any of our minds that she's talented. But we have a band that has ended up working out great for all of us. You know, everyone has their own life outside of this before they came in."

Michael Geddes, the show's creator, says the incident shook up the entire production.

"It was unfortunate," he says. "She got in trouble. And she flew in the face of the confidentiality of what we were doing. By having a number of people up to the apartment she gave away the identity of the band. She broke a very, very clear rule.

"It was real life, it certainly affected things and hence it's in the show. It has caused us a tremendous amount of grief and chewed up a lot of time. Nobody would have wanted that to happen."

The experience hasn't been entirely negative; Geddes says he and his production company Lone Eagle Entertainment will do it again next year, though what shape the next project will take hasn't been finalized.

"The fortunate thing is, the five that are in this band are great friends. They've become tight as a group can be because they've all endured a very unique process."

Sequestered for the last six months in a sunlit condo high above the Toronto waterfront, the members of Sugar Jones say they've gelled far more than they expected.

"It kind of feels a little bit like it's a dream," says soft-spoken Crochetiere.

"You're taken out of the world that you know and you're thrown into something that you don't really know but you feel like you've been waiting for."

There's a kind of nervous anticipation among the women as they relax on couches in their living room, though it's tempered with a keen desire to have their first single Days Like That revealed to the public. Then they'll feel like the real show has started.

Henry, the last addition to the group, says they're all a little surprised at how well they've been getting along.

"I'm with my girls -- I feel like I've known these girls for so long," she says. "It's actually spiritually refreshing. It has been the best few months of my life so far."

Musically, the five have already exceeded the expectations of the groups producing the show, Lone Eagle Entertainment, Universal Music and Global television. The girls have had far more creative input into the music than was originally planned.

"Everybody has different strengths, even musically," says Henry. "It brings so much into the band -- Maiko (Watson) writes music, so does Sahara (MacDonald) -- we're all good at different things. "

"We all wanted to sing," adds Watson, who has some studio experience as a singer in Winnipeg. "I never thought that I would be in a girl group. But I am so happy that I am now because it's such a good experience and it's so good to go through it all together because we're all feeling the same way."

How the music-buying public will feel is a different matter. The TV show itself has been a hit, the March 18 episode drawing 635,000 viewers in Ontario alone. But record sales for Canadian artists have dropped over the last two years by an estimated six per cent and the market will decide whether Sugar Jones lasts a year or a lifetime.

As far as the girls of Popstars are concerned, it's way too early to think about long-term goals.

"We're not really focusing on 'What ifs?' " says Henry.

"As long as the audience is still there for us and we're still making good music that's all that matters. If that means we're around for the next 10 years, great. If not, fine. The important thing is we get the chance."

SOME FACTS ABOUT POPSTARS:

Members: Julie Crochetiere, 20, Beaconsfield, Que.; Maiko Watson, 19, Winnipeg; Mirella Dell'Aquila, 19, St-Leonard, Que.; Sahara MacDonald, 23, Vancouver; Andrea Henry, 21, Hamilton.

First single: Days Like That

First album due: June 2001

Band name: Sugar Jones

Producers: Lone Eagle Entertainment, Universal Music and Global television.

Scandal: Original final five member Marla Berman pleaded guilty to stealing a handbag from a fellow contestant and racking up $2,311 on a credit card. She was also cited by the show's producer for breaking confidentiality by inviting strangers to the members' private condo.