Sugababes

Among the most successful and dynamic British vocal groups of the new millennium, Sugababes bombarded the U.K. charts in the 2000s and have been warmly welcomed in the 2020s since starting their second act. Their approach to R&B-rooted pop — incorporating both underground and commercial club sounds, and diverting into adult contemporary ballads and pop-punk anthems alike — resulted in 26 consecutive U.K. Top 40 hits, many of which they co-wrote, starting with their debut, “Overload” (2000). The streak was highlighted by six number ones including “Freak Like Me,” “Push the Button,” and “About You Know.” Hardly just a singles act, Sugababes also earned multi-platinum BPI certifications for the albums Angels with Dirty Faces (2002), Three (2003), and Taller in More Ways (2005). A series of lineup changes led to a complete turnover of membership by the dawn of the 2010s, but the original lineup of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhán Donaghy reunited and eventually regained the rights to use the Sugababes name. In addition to touring, they’ve since covered Sweet Female Attitude’s formative “Flowers” and released The Lost Tapes (2022), featuring previously leaked demo recordings. London natives Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy each had a solo contract when they met at a performance showcase and decided to collaborate. Buena later brought close friend Keisha Buchanan to the studio where she and Donaghy were recording after school, and at the urging of DJ/producer turned All Saints manager Ron Tom, Buchanan was added to the mix, thus forming Sugababes in 1998. The teenage singers secured a deal with London Records and made a big first impression in September 2000 with “Overload,” a number six U.K. pop hit they co-wrote with Felix Howard and the production team of Cameron McVey, Paul Simm, and Jony Lipsey. Once “Overload” ran its course, One Touch, created primarily with McVey, Simm, and Lipsey, was issued as Sugababes’ debut album. Although subsequent singles “New Year,” “Run for Cover,” and the Tom-produced “Soul Sound” all went Top 40, sales of the parent album fell short of London Records’ expectations. Dropped from their label in 2001, Sugababes also changed membership that year, with the departed Donaghy replaced by Heidi Range, an original member of Atomic Kitten. Once Sugababes signed with Island Records, they bounced back in April 2002 with the Richard X collaboration “Freak Like Me.” Based on X’s bootleg mashup of Adina Howard’s like-titled song and Tubeway Army’s “Are Friends Electric?,” it went to number one before the August arrival of Angels with Dirty Faces. Sugababes’ more streetwise second album delivered another chart-topper, “Round Round,” and the number seven double single “Stronger”/“Angels with Dirty Faces.” Those hits featured production from the likes of Bacon & Quarmby, Jony Lipsey, and Xenomania. Many other producers, such as Bloodshy & Avant and Lucas Secon, were involved with the remainder. Three, released in late 2003, fittingly topped out at number three on the U.K. album chart. It spawned another U.K. number one, “Hole in the Head,” a Xenomania collaboration that managed to scrape the Hot 100 in the U.S. and hit the top of the same country’s dance chart, despite not being given much of a promotional push there. Three became the group’s second consecutive U.K. multi-platinum LP with three additional Top Ten singles: “Too Lost in You” (written by Diane Warren), “In the Middle” (produced by Xenomania), and “Caught in a Moment” (another hit aided by Lipsey). Additionally, Sugababes won the 2003 Brit Award for Best Dance Act. Taller in More Ways, the fourth Sugababes full-length, followed roughly two years after Three and lengthened the group’s prominence by topping the U.K. album chart. Shortly after its release, Buena left the group to raise her daughter. Amelle Berrabah’s entry into the group prompted a revised edition of Taller in More Ways with Berrabah’s voice replacing that of Buena on a handful of songs. The album eventually attained multi-platinum status thanks to the number one hit “Push the Button” and the Top Fives “Ugly” and “Red Dress.” The first two singles of that sequence saw the group team with Dallas Austin. Overloaded: The Singles Collection was out by the end of 2006 to cap Sugababes’ first seven years. Between albums, Sugababes topped the U.K. chart a fifth time when they and Girls Aloud covered Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” as a charity single in support of Comic Relief. Fifth full-length Change arrived in October 2007. It brought Donaghy, Buchanan, and Berrabah back to the top of the charts, leading with “About You Now,” assisted by Cathy Dennis and Dr. Luke. Following singles “Change” and “Denial” both went Top 40. Sugababes quickly followed Change almost exactly a year after its release with Catfights and Spotlights. The group’s sixth album was highlighted by “Girls,” a number three hit, and “No Can Do,” yet another Top 40 showing. Despite closely tailing Change, Catfights and Spotlights was quite different. Produced mostly by Klas Åhlund and the Invisible Men with Si Hulbert, it offered less in the way of high-polish pop, and was rooted instead in retro-contemporary R&B. During the recording of Sugababes’ seventh album, Buchanan was dismissed from the group and replaced by Jade Ewen, who had previously represented Britain in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. Vocals Buchanan had laid down were removed in favor of Ewen’s, and Sweet 7 was issued in March 2010. Despite an upset fan base — Sugababes’ lineup no longer featured any of the original members —  the sleek and energetic singles “Get Sexy,” “About a Girl,” and “Wear My Kiss” all peaked within the Top Ten. The first of those A-sides, produced by Bruno Mars and his partners in the Smeezingtons, nearly became Sugababes’ seventh number one. The group then left Island and arranged a distribution deal through RCA but went dormant after the 2011 release of the single “Freedom.” Rumblings regarding a reunion of the original Sugababes lineup preceded an announcement in 2012 that Buena, Buchanan, and Donaghy had signed a recording deal with Polydor. Under the name Mutya Keisha Siobhan, the trio released the Dev Hynes collaboration “Flatline” in 2013. Sporadic live dates and talk of forthcoming material followed over the next several years. The women in 2019 won the rights to the use of the Sugababes name, and that October appeared on DJ Spoony’s Garage Classical project as the featured artists on an update of Sweet Female Attitude’s “Flowers.” Two years later, Sugababes presented a 20th anniversary edition of One Touch with bonus remixes and alternate versions. Having made an official return to the stage, Sugababes toured during much of 2022. They finished the year with The Lost Tapes, a collection of previously leaked demo recordings that also included “Flatline,” “Flowers,” and a cover of Sia’s “Breathe Me.” ~ Andy Kellman