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The trio are one of the most influential and most successful girl groups in the UK, with sixteen of their twenty-two releases achieving top 10 chart success in their native UK; the most recent being "[[Girls (Sugababes song)|Girls]]" which reached #4 in October 2008. The group have so far attained [[Music recording sales certification#List of international sales certification thresholds|platinum]] album sales from five of their albums in their native UK.<ref name="three">{{cite web | work=ilikemusic|title=Sugababes - POP - I Like Music| url=http://www.ilikemusic.com/pop/Sugababes-1668| accessdate = 2007-01-06}}</ref> They have also gained success around Europe and Asia with Number One singles in the United Kingdom, [[Republic of Ireland]], [[Poland]], [[Denmark]], [[Austria]], New Zealand, Japan, [[Slovenia]], [[Estonia]], [[Georgia]], [[Czech Republic]], [[the Philippines]], [[Croatia]], [[Hungary]] and the [[Republic of Macedonia]].
The trio are one of the most influential and most successful girl groups in the UK, with sixteen of their twenty-two releases achieving top 10 chart success in their native UK; the most recent being "[[Girls (Sugababes song)|Girls]]" which reached #4 in October 2008. The group have so far attained [[Music recording sales certification#List of international sales certification thresholds|platinum]] album sales from five of their albums in their native UK.<ref name="three">{{cite web | work=ilikemusic|title=Sugababes - POP - I Like Music| url=http://www.ilikemusic.com/pop/Sugababes-1668| accessdate = 2007-01-06}}</ref> They have also gained success around Europe and Asia with Number One singles in the United Kingdom, [[Republic of Ireland]], [[Poland]], [[Denmark]], [[Austria]], New Zealand, Japan, [[Slovenia]], [[Estonia]], [[Georgia]], [[Czech Republic]], [[the Philippines]], [[Croatia]], [[Hungary]] and the [[Republic of Macedonia]].



==History==
==History==

Revision as of 14:16, 9 October 2008

Sugababes

Sugababes are a BRIT Award-winning English pop group trio from London. The group consists of Keisha Buchanan, Heidi Range and Amelle Berrabah. They have been named the most successful all-female act of the 21st century in the UK.[1] They have also sold more than 5 million albums in the UK alone.[2]

The group formed in 1998. Releasing twenty two singles, six of those reaching #1 in the UK and six albums that have reached top 40 charts worldwide.[1] The Sugababes are one of the few British groups to have five of their albums reach the top three, two of which were number one. In 2003, they won a Brit Award for "Best Dance Act". Upon their release of "About You Now", the Sugababes became the only all female act to have topped the single, album and download chart simultaneously twice.

The trio are one of the most influential and most successful girl groups in the UK, with sixteen of their twenty-two releases achieving top 10 chart success in their native UK; the most recent being "Girls" which reached #4 in October 2008. The group have so far attained platinum album sales from five of their albums in their native UK.[3] They have also gained success around Europe and Asia with Number One singles in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Austria, New Zealand, Japan, Slovenia, Estonia, Georgia, Czech Republic, the Philippines, Croatia, Hungary and the Republic of Macedonia.

History

One Touch

The group was created, when Keisha Buchanan and Mutya Buena, who had been friends since they were eight, met Siobhán Donaghy at a 1998 party when they were thirteen, and were introduced by manager, Ron Tom.[4] Buena and Donaghy had been working separately with Tom, and while they were recording tracks for the album that would become "One Touch", it was suggested that the group might work better with a third member. Buchanan had been invited to come along to watch by Buena and was asked if she could sing; which of course, she could (she had appeared aged just six on Michael Barrymore's popular My Kind of Music show, where she gave an amazingly strong vocal performance of Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love Of All"). The name 'Sugababes' originates from Buchanan's school nickname, 'Sugar baby'. While recording the album the band was officially known as "The Sugababies" (an unreleased track from these sessions repeats over and over "Sugababies on the run, shake it shake it"). When all the band members were aged just fourteen, they were offered a record contract by London Records and tweaked their name to the more mature "Sugababes".[4] This is also possibly due to the fact that there was already a band called "Sugababies".

Their debut single "Overload" made the UK Top 10 and was nominated for a BRIT Award for Best Single, climbing to number 3 in Germany and number 2 in New Zealand. The group co-wrote most of the tracks on One Touch, with the help of All Saints producer Cameron McVey.[5]

Their debut album produced three more top 40 hits in the UK - "New Year", "Run for Cover" and "Soul Sound". During a Japanese promotional tour Siobhán Donaghy left the group stating initially that she wanted to pursue a fashion career,[4] eventually being diagnosed with clinical depression amid reports of in-fighting between the Sugababes members.[6]

Heidi Range, a founding member of Atomic Kitten, was announced as Donaghy's replacement in 2001.[7] Despite peaking at number 26 on the UK Album Charts, and faring even better in Germany, where it peaked at number 7, the sales of One Touch did not meet London Records' expectations,[8] and they dropped the group in 2001.

Angels with Dirty Faces

Having already started work on a second album with new member, Heidi Range, the trio looked for a new record label, eventually signing to Island Records. Their first single on the new label, "Freak Like Me", was produced by Richard X - recorded in Richard X's own flat, and one of the last tracks to be recorded for the album.[9] The song used the backing track from "Are Friends Electric?" by Gary Numan's Tubeway Army, with the group singing lyrics taken from Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me". The single debuted at number one in the UK.

Their second single with Range, "Round Round", produced by Kent-based production group, Xenomania, was the group's second UK number one single and reached number two in Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand. It was also their first top twenty hit in Australia, peaking at number thirteen going Gold (with sales over the 35,000 copies).

On the back of these hits, Sugababes' second album Angels with Dirty Faces debuted at number two on the UK album chart and was a success across Europe, eventually being certified triple platinum in the UK, and selling one million copies in Europe.[10] The third single from the album, a ballad entitled "Stronger" gained the girls their third straight top 10 hit in their native country. The track was released as a double-A side with "Angels with Dirty Faces" in the UK, the latter song chosen as the theme tune to The Powerpuff Girls Movie.

The fourth single "Shape", which samples the Sting track "Shape of My Heart", made number eleven in the UK and made the top 10 in the Netherlands and Ireland in early 2003. The single featured a live version of "Freak like Me" which they performed at the 2003 BRIT Awards,[11] having won the award for "Best British Dance Act". Their success also led to them recording a new track, entitled "Party in the Club", for the theme tune to ITV's teenage drama show Girls in Love, based on the book of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson.

Three

The group's third album Three was released in late 2003 and Nominated for a Brit Award for Best Album, as well as Best Group and Best Dance Act, continued success reaching number three on the UK Album Chart, preceded by the Xenomania produced "Hole in the Head". It was the groups's third UK number one single and their first number one in Denmark. It reached number two in Ireland, Netherlands and Norway, and also became the babes' first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at #96 and hit the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart at #1. It also performed well on the Hot Dance Airplay chart.

The second single, "Too Lost in You", which appeared on the soundtrack to the film Love Actually and was written by Diane Warren, went top ten in the UK, Germany, Netherlands and Norway, as well as going top ten on both sides of the Straits of Taiwan (Taiwan and China). The song was originally recorded in French by Patricia Kaas and entitled "Quand J'ai Peur De Tout" . The album's third single, "In the Middle", released in 2004 and nominated for a Brit Award for best single, went to number 8 in the UK. The fourth single to be released from "Three" was the ballad, "Caught in a Moment", and it reached number 8 in the UK.

In 2004, the trio joined acts such as Coldplay's Chris Martin, Dido and Robbie Williams on a 2004 version of the 1984 Band Aid's original "Do They Know It's Christmas?", which in December went to number 1 in the UK and sold over 200,000 copies in its first week.[12] All the money raised by this charity single went towards famine relief in the Darfur region of Sudan.

After a break from the music industry, whilst recording their fourth album, Mutya Buena announced she and her boyfriend Jay, were expecting a child.[13] Their daughter named Tahlia Maya Buena, was born in March 2005.[14]

The group later gave their first performance for over a year at the Edinburgh Live 8 concert.[15] In this time, the girls had been recording their fourth album, working with variety of songwriters and producers, including USA producer, Dallas Austin.

Taller in More Ways

On 2 October 2005, Dallas Austin produced "Push the Button". It debuted at number one in the UK, giving the group their fourth number one single and first Irish number one single. It went on to sell over 300,000 copies in the UK alone and was later nominated at the BRIT Awards for 'Best British Single'. It also went number one in Austria and New Zealand, and is also their biggest Australian hit to date, peaking at #3 and going platinum, selling around 100,000 copies. "Push the Button" became their most popular song in the United States yet, becoming another huge hit on the Hot Dance Airplay and Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts.

On 16 October 2005, Taller in More Ways became the group's first UK number one album. On that same date, the group celebrated being number one in the singles, album, airplay, and download charts at the same time.[16] 'In addition to Austin, Taller in More Ways saw the trio continue work with Guy Sigsworth and Xenomania, as well as Cameron McVey, who had not worked with the group since One Touch.[17]

Following an apparent illness,[18] that prevented Buena from promoting the follow up single "Ugly", it was announced on 21 December 2005 that Buena had left Sugababes. According to an announcement on their site, "[Buena]'s decision was based purely on personal reasons and she will continue to remain the best of friends with both [Buchanan] and [Range]". It was found that Buchanan wanted to stay friends with Buena but found it hard as she never sees her. The last remaining original member, Buchanan, said upon Buena's departure, "...we will all miss Mutya, but we also knew there was still a place for bringing in somebody new who could help us carry on taking the Sugababes brand of music forward".[6]

Amelle Berrabah joined the group in late December. Before joining the Sugababes, Berrabah featured in the band 'Boo2' with her sister, Samiya.[19]

The third single was a re-recorded version of "Red Dress", which was released in early 2006, and gave the group a third consecutive top 5 hit from the album entering the UK singles chart at number four. Berrabah re-recorded 3 tracks and co-wrote a brand new track with Buchanan and Range, all of these appeared on a re-release of Taller in More Ways, which reached 18 in the UK chart.

In early 2006, Taller in More Ways earned a Platinum Award from the IFPI in recognition of over 1 million copies sold in Europe.[20] The final single from Taller in More Ways was "Follow Me Home", released only in the UK in June, where it charted at 32. Follow Me Home was not included in the Greatest Hits Album, along with singles Angels with Dirty Faces, Soul Sound and New Year .

Overloaded: The Singles Collection

Sugababes returned to the recording studio to start work on their fifth album, in mid-2006, recording two tracks for their contractual greatest hits collection, entitled Overloaded: The Singles Collection. The lead single from the compilation, "Easy", was co-written by George Astario and Jason Pebworth from Californian band Orson, who share management with Sugababes.[21] "Easy" was released, prior to the hits compilation album, and peaked at number eight in the UK Single Charts. The singles compilation was released on 13 November 2006, peaking at number three on the album charts in the UK. The compilation contains tracks from One Touch to Taller in More Ways, excluding "New Year", "Soul Sound", "Angels with Dirty Faces", and "Follow Me Home", most of which were not released outside the UK. A separate DVD was also released, featuring 14 of their music videos and karaoke versions, as well as a special deluxe digital download version featuring live performances, a special digital download remix collection, entitled Overloaded: The Remix Collection, and a Napster Live Session, featuring acoustic versions of four of their hits and their cover of Primal Scream's hit, "Rocks". On 6 November 2006, Sugababes joined Feeder on stage for the encore of Feeder's WAR Child gig at 'The Roundhouse' in Camden, London. They performed a cover of R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" as well as "Freak Like Me".

In late 2006, it was announced that Sugababes would be releasing the 2007 Comic Relief single, as a duet with fellow UK girl group, Girls Aloud, a cover of the hit, "Walk This Way". Credited as 'Sugababes Vs Girls Aloud', the single was released on 12 March 2007 in the UK and became the band's fifth UK number one single and the first with Berrabah.

Mattel has teamed up with Sugababes to create a new themed Barbie doll collection, which hit stores in May 2007.

On 8 October 2007 the album "Overloaded: The Singles Collection" jumped back into the UK's Official Album Chart at #43, almost a year after it was first released.

Change

Following their Greatest Hits Tour, the Sugababes returned to the recording studio in summer 2007 to work on a new album, which would also be the first that features all vocals performed by Berrabah, Buchanan and Range together. Producers who worked on the album included William Orbit, Dr. Luke, JC Chasez, Dallas Austin, Novel and Xenomania.

With the release of their single "About You Now" produced by Dr. Luke, the Sugababes were the first girl band ever to top the UK Singles Chart on downloads alone. The song, selling over 400,000 copies also broke the record for the biggest jump to #1 and remained in that position for four weeks. On 14 October 2007, Change became the group's second UK number one album, debuting in that position and giving the band the top positions on the singles, album and download charts simultaneously.

The next single was entitled "Change", which was released on 17 December 2007.[22] On 2 December 2007 "Change" debuted at #26 on downloads alone and on 24 December 2007, "Change" climbed 13 places and peaked at #13 in the UK.

The third and final single from Change was " Denial". The single was released on 17 March, On 23 March, the single entered the official UK charts at #15.

"About You Now" was nominated for a 2008 BRIT Award for Best British Single.[23] From 13 March to 1 May, the Sugababes travelled the UK on the 30-date Change Tour.

During this period, Sugababes also appeared on the compilation Radio 1: Established 1967 with a Lucas Secon produced cover of The Stylistics' "Betcha by Golly Wow!" and were part of a choir of 22 female acts on Annie Lennox's song "Sing".

In autumn 2007 the song "3 Spoons of Suga" appeared on the soundtrack to the film St Trinian's

Catfights and Spotlights

Sugababes went back into the studio after their Change Tour to write and work on their 6th studio album; Catfights and Spotlights.[24][25][26] A release date has been set for 20 October 2008. Rumours have arisen that producer Timbaland has approached Sugababes to work on their sixth album.[27]

During the Isle of Wight Festival Keisha announced that they would begin writing straight away instead of waiting until September which was originally planned. On the 3 July at the Summer pops gig the babes announced that the first single would be released in the summer and is 'amazing'.

British artist Taio Cruz has confirmed that he is working with the babes on the new album.[28] His single "She's Like a Star" was re-released on iTunes as a remix, featuring the additional vocals from Sugababes and Busta Rhymes.

The Sugababes' new album has so far been described as having a "funkier" sound by Orson's lead singer Jason Pebworth, who has been working with the group in the studio.[29]

On the 11 August 2008, Popjustice revealed the lead single for the next album is to be titled "Girls" and is set to be released in the UK on 6 October 2008.[30]

"Girls" premiered on the Johnny Vaughan show on Capital Radio on 12 August and is released in the UK on 6 October, with the album being released on 20 October.[31]

Non-musical aspects

Sugababes: Uncovered

Sugababes recorded a one-off documentary for ITV2 entitled Sugababes: Uncovered, which ran on 19 December 2006. The documentary was filmed during the "Overloaded: The Singles Collection" era, and focused on the band's promotional activities, including behind the scenes footage of the girls preparing for a show and interviews with the girls themselves.

Deichmann Shoes

Sugababes have launched their own shoe collection in association with the German shoe retailer "Deichmann" available from February 2008 in 16 countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK.[32] The girls chose the range of items in the Star collection themselves with Amelle stating “We do not copy anyone" and “We hope that the styles, which we also like to wear in private, will also meet with the taste of our fans”.[33] The style is said to be "chic and trendy but also affordable" with prices ranging from £9.99 to £19.99. An advert was filmed in London and takes place on the Thames where the Sugababes attend a boat party and have a great time. The advert was first shown in Germany on 3 March 2008 and is also available to watch online.[34]

Notable television appearances

Sugababes have appeared on many music shows such as CD:UK, TOTP, MTV, Popworld, VIVA, awards shows such as the MOBO Awards, NME Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards, BRIT Awards and TV shows such as The Paul O'Grady Show, BBC 1, T4, The Charlotte Church Show, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and others. Live performances include Glastonbury festival, Prince's Trust,[35] Live 8 Edinburgh,[36] and performing in countries around the world including Portugal,[37] Germany,[38] Japan, Romania, Australia and South Africa among others. They performed to over 1 million people in 2005 alone.[26]

In 2006 they performed "Hole in the Head" at the Royal Variety Performance at the London Coliseum.

On 18 October 2007, the Sugababes performed at Swarovski Fashion Rocks 2007, for the Princes Trust concert. The girls sang a unique rendition of "Lady Marmalade" alongside Patti LaBelle for the finale of the concert, receiving a standing ovation from the audience in the Royal Albert Hall.[39]

On 27 January 2008, the Sugababes took part in Big Brother Celebrity Hijack and were the last celebrities to take part on the show.

On 24 May 2008, Heidi Range and her partner, Dave Berry took part on Allstar Mr and Mrs, which they won.

On 1 June 2008, the Sugababes performed for T4's Vodafone TBA in Edinburgh along with The Feeling and The Hoosiers. They performed their hits, Overload , Freak Like Me, Round Round, Hole In The Head, Red Dress , Denial, Change , About You Now and En Vogue's Don't Let Go (Love).

On 20 July 2008, the Sugababes performed as the Headlining act on the 4Music Stage at T4 on the Beach in Weston-super-Mare. The set performed included: Hole In The Head, Red Dress , En Vogue's Don't Let Go (Love), Push the Button and About You Now. [40].

On 16 August 2008, the group performed at Virgin Mobile V Festival where they performed Freak Like Me, Push the Button, About You Now, Red Dress, Round Round, Ugly and Hole In The Head.

British tabloids

In Britain, the members of the group do not get much media coverage as individuals, but the group's perceived 'moodiness',[41] alleged backstage catfights,[42] and press junket tantrums[42] have hit the headlines. They are well-known for being surrounded by continuous rumours of in-fighting within the group and constant split reports[43][44] - most notably the alleged bullying of Siobhán Donaghy who quit the group in 2001. Further rumours suggested that the two remaining members Keisha Buchanan and Mutya Buena had bullied replacement Heidi Range, although Range has repeatedly denied such allegations;[45][46] Buena later admitted that she "just didn't talk to her" when she first joined.[42] Buchanan claimed that there has been only one serious fallout between herself and Range during a 2004 gig in Dublin, regarding the Britney Spears music video, "Toxic".[42] The girls have also hit headlines, following their tour with Take That, attacking the lead singer Gary Barlow for his rudeness.[47]

In April 2007, Amelle Berrabah, was detained over allegations she assaulted an 18-year-old woman on the dance floor in the Bar Med club located in Bridge Street, Guildford, Surrey. The Daily Mirror and The Sun newspaper reported the singer spent the night in a cell, before being released without charge.

In March 2008 rumours once again surfaced about a fall-out between the three girls. The Sun claimed that at the after-show party, following a performance at the Royal Albert Hall on 20 March 2008, the girls "didn't speak a single word (to each other)." The Sun added that Heidi shunned the VIP lounge at the London nightclub 20, staying at the main bar and being absent from Keisha and Amelle, after a bust-up with Keisha.[48]

Discography

Main article: Sugababes discography

Tours

  • 2004 - Three Tour
  • 2006 - Taller In More Ways Tour
  • 2007 - Overloaded: The Singles Tour
  • 2008 - Change Tour

Awards and recognition

References

  1. ^ a b "BBC - Sugababes - more hits than any female act". Retrieved 2007-11-19. Cite error: The named reference "Sugababes more hits than any female act" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ gm.tv
  3. ^ "Sugababes - POP - I Like Music". ilikemusic. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  4. ^ a b c "Sugababes biography". Celebrity Link. Retrieved 2006-12-15.
  5. ^ "Album Credits - One Touch". Artist Direct.com. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  6. ^ a b "Sugababes history". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  7. ^ "Artists". Surge.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
  8. ^ "Sugababes bio". 7digital.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  9. ^ "The Hitmakers: Richard X". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  10. ^ "Platinum Europe Awards 2003". ifpi.org. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  11. ^ "The BRIT Awards 2003". BRIT Awards. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  12. ^ "Band Aid". bobgeldof.info. Retrieved 2006-12-15.
  13. ^ "MTV Uncut". MTV. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
  14. ^ "Top of the Pops". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
  15. ^ "Sugababe sadden by live 8 images". DigitialSpy.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  16. ^ "Sugababes tickets". World Ticket Shop.com. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
  17. ^ "Album Credits - Taller In More Ways". Artist Direct. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  18. ^ "Sugababe mum wants out". The Sun Online. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  19. ^ "60 second interview". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
  20. ^ "The UK music scene is booming". NME.com. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  21. ^ "Sugababes chat to I Like Music". I Like Music. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  22. ^ "HMV.com singles: Change (2007)". HMV.com. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  23. ^ The BRIT Awards: "About You Now"
  24. ^ "'We're the biggest ... '". The Guardian. 2008-03-17. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  25. ^ http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2932&Itemid=206. Popjustice.com. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  26. ^ a b "Myspace". Sugababes Official MySpace. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  27. ^ Sugababes Team With Timbaland | MTV UK
  28. ^ I'll make Britney Spears a hit again, vows British producer Taio Cruz - The Sunday Mail
  29. ^ Music - News - Sugababes working on "funky" album - Digital Spy
  30. ^ Popjustice - Here come the Sugababes: listen to the new single now...
  31. ^ http://www.sugababes.com/site/news/381/new-single-girls
  32. ^ "Sugababes cooperate with Deichman" (PDF).
  33. ^ "Sugababes TV Spot" (PDF).
  34. ^ "Deichman TV Spot".
  35. ^ "Sugababes performance". Prince of Wales - PT 30th Birthday Party. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  36. ^ "Sugababes- stronger- live 8 Edinburgh". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  37. ^ "Sugababes-Rock in Lisboa-02 Overload". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  38. ^ "Sugababes - Interview Live @ Viva Germany 30 January.1.2006". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  39. ^ "Swarovski Fashion Rocks". Sugababes Swarovski. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
  40. ^ http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/t4/microsites/O/onthebeach/artists08/sugababes.html
  41. ^ "Sugababes". AskMen.com. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  42. ^ a b c d "Mean Girls". Guardian Unlimited Arts. Retrieved 2007-01-06. Cite error: The named reference "forty two" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  43. ^ "SUGABABES BLAST SPLIT RUMOURS".
  44. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/dec/11/popandrock1
  45. ^ "Artists - Sugababes". BBC. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  46. ^ "Communication: William Day". Spec Magazine. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  47. ^ "Furious girlband attack 'rude' Take That singer". Now magazine. Retrieved 2007-01-07.
  48. ^ Sugababes | Suga n' spite | Relations not that sweet in the girl band camp | The Sun |Showbiz|Bizarre

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sugababes.
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