Sugababes

[Main Pop Girl]

Quote

 

Sugababes (also known as Mutya Keisha Siobhán in 2011–2019) are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011.

Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes released their debut album One Touch through London Records in November 2000, which achieved moderate success and produced the top-ten single "Overload". In 2001, Donaghy departed the group and was replaced by Heidi Range. With Range's introduction, the group experienced a higher level of commercial success and went on to release three multi-platinum albums: Angels with Dirty Faces (2002), Three (2003) and Taller in More Ways (2005). In December 2005, Buena left the group and was replaced by Amelle Berrabah. Following the release of their first greatest hits album, the new line-up released two further studio albums: Change (2007) and Catfights and Spotlights (2008).

In September 2009, after 11 years in Sugababes, Buchanan, the final original member, was replaced by Jade Ewen. Range, Berrabah and Ewen released the group's seventh studio album, Sweet 7 (2010), after which they signed to RCA Records, before taking an indefinite hiatus in 2011. That year, the original lineup reformed as Mutya Keisha Siobhan and released the single "Flatline". The trio regained the name Sugababes in 2019, and recorded a rendition of the song "Flowers" with DJ Spoony. In 2021, the Sugababes re-released their debut album One Touch in honor of the album's 20th anniversary, with plans for new music.

Sugababes have achieved six number-one singles: "Freak like Me", "Round Round", "Hole in the Head", "Push the Button", "Walk This Way" and "About You Now"; the Spice Girls are the only British girl group to have had more. They have also released five UK top ten albums, four of which were certified Platinum in the UK, and have been nominated for six Brit Awards, winning for Best British Dance Act in 2003. They have been a long-term fixture in the British tabloids due to their several line-up changes and alleged group infighting.

 

Sugababes have no new releases to talk about, but they're very active as a group right now and I wanted a thread to talk about them so I thought I'd make this  

First of all, can we talk about how incredible Ms Keisha's ad libs are here? Literally the best I've ever heard her sound. Soooooo powerful and chilling! I never thought she'd surpass Mutya as my fave vocalist in the group but she really did that  

 

On another note, as happy as I am with the MKS lineup I'm going to need people to put a little more respect on Ms Heidi Range's name  She was a huge part of the group's success, wrote on a bunch of their hits and was around for more albums than either Siobhan or Mutya. Siobhan stans need to stop bringing her up in every single Youtube comments section and let the poor girl live in peace  

[B.W.O]

I remember buying push the button single when I was a kid what a bop 

[nuclear]

queens

[Main Pop Girl]

1 hour ago, tajd said:

I remember buying push the button single when I was a kid what a bop 

One of my favourites! Mutya and her sexy ass taking us into the new dimension  

[sunshineslave]

I love them and MKS is definitely my favorite lineup. I love the texture of their voices especially together as their harmonies are heaven sent.

This is a great exemple of the power of them 3 singing together :

I'm so glad they got the Sugababes name back because I think the other name didn't do them justice. It's probably one of the reason their comeback didn't work out even tough Flatline is one of their best singles. I'm glad it's been rereleased as Sugababes. The material they recorded together since they came back was among their best. Too bad they never got the chance to release the rest of it before it leaked. I hope they'll release new material and include the best ones from those sessions as well because the contrary would be a waste.

That being said I think the 3 other members were great. In all honesty, I didn't like what they released together, which didn't sound at all like the Sugababes, but I think it was more the management/label's fault because they didn't let them have any creative output at that point. I hate how all 6 members have been treated during the whole time. It really shows how the industry treat women.

Heidi's essential to the Sugababes's Legacy and I love what she contributed. Her vocals are great and there's no need comparing. Her's and Amelle's contribution to the Sugababes' legacy shouldn't be disregarded. I think Jade never got a real chance to show what she could bring to the table creatively. Her vocals are not my type but her technicality is impressive.      

Edited July 21, 2022 by sunshineslave

[Main Pop Girl]

On 7/21/2022 at 11:32 PM, sunshineslave said:

I love them and MKS is definitely my favorite lineup. I love the texture of their voices especially together as their harmonies are heaven sent.

This is a great exemple of the power of them 3 singing together :

I'm so glad they got the Sugababes name back because I think the other name didn't do them justice. It's probably one of the reason their comeback didn't work out even tough Flatline is one of their best singles. I'm glad it's been rereleased as Sugababes. The material they recorded together since they came back was among their best. Too bad they never got the chance to release the rest of it before it leaked. I hope they'll release new material and include the best ones from those sessions as well because the contrary would be a waste.

That being said I think the 3 other members were great. In all honesty, I didn't like what they released together, which didn't sound at all like the Sugababes, but I think it was more the management/label's fault because they didn't let them have any creative output at that point. I hate how all 6 members have been treated during the whole time. It really shows how the industry treat women.

Heidi's essential to the Sugababes's Legacy and I love what she contributed. Her vocals are great and there's no need comparing. Her's and Amelle's contribution to the Sugababes' legacy shouldn't be disregarded. I think Jade never got a real chance to show what she could bring to the table creatively. Her vocals are not my type but her technicality is impressive.      

Don't get me wrong, MKS is definitely superior vocally! I like Siobhan too and I'm not even sure Heidi would want to return to the band if she was asked. I just feel bad that Heidi was there for six albums and gets treated like shit by the MKS stans, constantly told she can't sing and basically reduced to a dumb blonde just because Siobahn is back in the group

I definitely agree about the HAJ lineup. The only song I can listen from them is Wear My Kiss which is pretty fun, but the rest of the album is dreadful to me. Even the demos that leaked with Keisha on Jade's vocals are bad to me...The songs themselves are just really badly written lyrically and they sound like generic American R&B with no soul  Amelle and Jade are definitely talented but they were both dealt a bad hand and I didn't love any of the songs they released as much as I love the MKH songs  

[sunshineslave]

4 hours ago, Leaving said:

Don't get me wrong, MKS is definitely superior vocally! I like Siobhan too and I'm not even sure Heidi would want to return to the band if she was asked. I just feel bad that Heidi was there for six albums and gets treated like shit by the MKS stans, constantly told she can't sing and basically reduced to a dumb blonde just because Siobahn is back in the group

I definitely agree about the HAJ lineup. The only song I can listen from them is Wear My Kiss which is pretty fun, but the rest of the album is dreadful to me. Even the demos that leaked with Keisha on Jade's vocals are bad to me...The songs themselves are just really badly written lyrically and they sound like generic American R&B with no soul  Amelle and Jade are definitely talented but they were both dealt a bad hand and I didn't love any of the songs they released as much as I love the MKH songs  

Yeah I understand and I think those comments are stupid. There are also comments saying that Siobhan has no place being here and that Heidi should be there instead. There's always gonna be those comparisons from the moment that they've both replaced each other. 

Keisha has expressed that she would never work with Heidi again and MKS seem to get along very well as grownups. I think people should be content with what is offered especially since they are bringing the quality. 

I agree about Sweet 7, it didn't work with Keisha either. I even think I prefer About a Girl with Jade (havent heard her take on other songs and have skipped Jade version of Get Sexy as most songs cause they were cringeworthy). 

[Heartbreak Anthem]

On 7/22/2022 at 10:13 AM, Leaving said:

Don't get me wrong, MKS is definitely superior vocally! I like Siobhan too and I'm not even sure Heidi would want to return to the band if she was asked. I just feel bad that Heidi was there for six albums and gets treated like shit by the MKS stans, constantly told she can't sing and basically reduced to a dumb blonde just because Siobahn is back in the group

ITA! In my opinion, Heidi deserves as much credit for Sugababes' success as MKS do. She really did change and mold that group with her arrival.

[Main Pop Girl]

On 7/23/2022 at 5:20 AM, sunshineslave said:

Yeah I understand and I think those comments are stupid. There are also comments saying that Siobhan has no place being here and that Heidi should be there instead. There's always gonna be those comparisons from the moment that they've both replaced each other. 

Keisha has expressed that she would never work with Heidi again and MKS seem to get along very well as grownups. I think people should be content with what is offered especially since they are bringing the quality. 

I agree about Sweet 7, it didn't work with Keisha either. I even think I prefer About a Girl with Jade (havent heard her take on other songs and have skipped Jade version of Get Sexy as most songs cause they were cringeworthy). 

It's so annoying  Siobhan and Heidi are both huge parts of the group and both of them helped make the group a success in their own ways.

Did Keisha really say that about Heidi?  It's a shame she's willing to let bygones be bygones with Siobhan but not with Heidi. Imo, a line up with all four of the original members could probably work really great. Heidi could take all her original parts, and Siobhan could take all her original parts and maybe some of Amelle's parts on the newer songs like About You Now. I would just feel kinda bad for Amelle for being left out after she was with the group for three albums, but maybe she can do lighting or something  

I actually prefer the Jade versions to the Keisha versions as well! Her voice suits that American style pop better than Keisha's soulful vocals. Get Sexy is really the worst song they ever recorded as a group isn't it?  People say that Keisha leaving killed the group, but imo the group was dead the second they decided to release that as a lead single (even though I think it charted pretty well)

4 hours ago, Heartbreak Anthem said:

ITA! In my opinion, Heidi deserves as much credit for Sugababes' success as MKS do. She really did change and mold that group with her arrival.

Agreed! She's obviously not the best singer, but she brought a lot of personality with her weird ABBA Swedish pop vocals and a lot of stage presence with all her hip swinging and hair flipping  She was also by far the best dancer out of the original four which really improved their performances a lot. I can't imagine Siobhan pulling off those performances of Round Round or Push the Button in the way Heidi did.

[Heartbreak Anthem]

13 hours ago, Leaving said:

I actually prefer the Jade versions to the Keisha versions as well! Her voice suits that American style pop better than Keisha's soulful vocals. Get Sexy is really the worst song they ever recorded as a group isn't it?  People say that Keisha leaving killed the group, but imo the group was dead the second they decided to release that as a lead single (even though I think it charted pretty well)

I prefer Jade's vocals on Sweet 7 over what Keisha was providing. And no... "Freedom" was BAD. That cheap-ass production for RCA UK. Working with RocNation for Sweet 7 was a choice. Yes, it has some nice songs, but it was void of what made the Sugababes unique, and we cannot blame Jade for that. She just came in and re-recorded the vocals so Keisha's could be removed.

13 hours ago, Leaving said:

Agreed! She's obviously not the best singer, but she brought a lot of personality with her weird ABBA Swedish pop vocals and a lot of stage presence with all her hip swinging and hair flipping  She was also by far the best dancer out of the original four which really improved their performances a lot. I can't imagine Siobhan pulling off those performances of Round Round or Push the Button in the way Heidi did.

And, I'm going to be honest, I've not been loving Siobhán's voice on Heidi's parts.

[Main Pop Girl]

11 hours ago, Heartbreak Anthem said:

I prefer Jade's vocals on Sweet 7 over what Keisha was providing. And no... "Freedom" was BAD. That cheap-ass production for RCA UK. Working with RocNation for Sweet 7 was a choice. Yes, it has some nice songs, but it was void of what made the Sugababes unique, and we cannot blame Jade for that. She just came in and re-recorded the vocals so Keisha's could be removed.

And, I'm going to be honest, I've not been loving Siobhán's voice on Heidi's parts.

I hated Freedom as well and I can't believe it took seven people to write that mess  But at least they were trying something new with that, whereas Get Sexy was just Boom Boom Pow 5.0

[Heartbreak Anthem]

12 hours ago, Leaving said:

I hated Freedom as well and I can't believe it took seven people to write that mess  But at least they were trying something new with that, whereas Get Sexy was just Boom Boom Pow 5.0

Even worse... Bruno Mars wrote on that one. SMFH. "Thank You for the Heartbreak" was the missing single from that project.

[Main Pop Girl]

On 7/29/2022 at 12:18 AM, Heartbreak Anthem said:

Even worse... Bruno Mars wrote on that one. SMFH. "Thank You for the Heartbreak" was the missing single from that project.

True  Although props to Bruno for writing Wear My Kiss produced by the legendary Fernando Garibay  

[sunshineslave]

On 7/27/2022 at 3:38 AM, Leaving said:

It's so annoying  Siobhan and Heidi are both huge parts of the group and both of them helped make the group a success in their own ways.

Did Keisha really say that about Heidi?  It's a shame she's willing to let bygones be bygones with Siobhan but not with Heidi. Imo, a line up with all four of the original members could probably work really great. Heidi could take all her original parts, and Siobhan could take all her original parts and maybe some of Amelle's parts on the newer songs like About You Now. I would just feel kinda bad for Amelle for being left out after she was with the group for three albums, but maybe she can do lighting or something  

I actually prefer the Jade versions to the Keisha versions as well! Her voice suits that American style pop better than Keisha's soulful vocals. Get Sexy is really the worst song they ever recorded as a group isn't it?  People say that Keisha leaving killed the group, but imo the group was dead the second they decided to release that as a lead single (even though I think it charted pretty well)

Agreed! She's obviously not the best singer, but she brought a lot of personality with her weird ABBA Swedish pop vocals and a lot of stage presence with all her hip swinging and hair flipping  She was also by far the best dancer out of the original four which really improved their performances a lot. I can't imagine Siobhan pulling off those performances of Round Round or Push the Button in the way Heidi did.

I couldn't agree more.  On all of that except for having a 4 or 5 piece lineup. The only thing that's been constant in the Sugababes history despite the multiple lineup changes is that it's always been a 3 pieces band where all 3 of them had space to showcase their amazing vocals. All of the songs have been written with that in mind. 5 pieces worked on the Spice Girls for exemple because it was more about a group/gang of friends with very different personalities and it was not about showcasing how good they were individually as singers. Even if all 6 girls have their own personality most replacement have similar vocal range as the person they replaced. 

I really hope MKS will bring more new material because they have so much potential yet they didn't release much. That's also what's needed for them to be more than a legacy band. If that's all that it's gonna be, Heidi's presence would feel more logical than Siobhan's from the public's perspective.

About Keisha not wanting to work with Heidi and wanting to work with Siobhan, we don't know what actually happened and how bad each "feuds" where. All we know is that they were teenager when Siobhan left, and it's easier to put past because, well, teenager get mad at eachother and they can work things out more easily once they're more mature. Plus leaving was Siobhan's choice and she had other reasons to do so. From what Keisha said, she was kicked out from the band, and it seems like Heidi acted as she was supporting her until she learnt from media that's she had been removed. She felt betrayed and I understand that it could be hard to trust the other person again. She said there are no bad blood between them anymore and they're being supportive from afar but they wouldn't work together anymore. Who knows, maybe with more time they'll be also able to collaborate again.

I think that having all the girls on the scene together would only work on one circonstance : If they performed a medley with their biggest hits with each member singing her how part. That could only happen if the band wasn't active anymore because otherwise it could confuse people about who's actually in the band. Things have already been so confusing for the casual fans. It's been 4 lineup changes if you count the reset to 1.0. For a 3 piece band that's enormous.

[Main Pop Girl]

1 hour ago, sunshineslave said:

I couldn't agree more.  On all of that except for having a 4 or 5 piece lineup. The only thing that's been constant in the Sugababes history despite the multiple lineup changes is that it's always been a 3 pieces band where all 3 of them had space to showcase their amazing vocals. All of the songs have been written with that in mind. 5 pieces worked on the Spice Girls for exemple because it was more about a group/gang of friends with very different personalities and it was not about showcasing how good they were individually as singers. Even if all 6 girls have their own personality most replacement have similar vocal range as the person they replaced. 

I really hope MKS will bring more new material because they have so much potential yet they didn't release much. That's also what's needed for them to be more than a legacy band. If that's all that it's gonna be, Heidi's presence would feel more logical than Siobhan's from the public's perspective.

About Keisha not wanting to work with Heidi and wanting to work with Siobhan, we don't know what actually happened and how bad each "feuds" where. All we know is that they were teenager when Siobhan left, and it's easier to put past because, well, teenager get mad at eachother and they can work things out more easily once they're more mature. Plus leaving was Siobhan's choice and she had other reasons to do so. From what Keisha said, she was kicked out from the band, and it seems like Heidi acted as she was supporting her until she learnt from media that's she had been removed. She felt betrayed and I understand that it could be hard to trust the other person again. She said there are no bad blood between them anymore and they're being supportive from afar but they wouldn't work together anymore. Who knows, maybe with more time they'll be also able to collaborate again.

I think that having all the girls on the scene together would only work on one circonstance : If they performed a medley with their biggest hits with each member singing her how part. That could only happen if the band wasn't active anymore because otherwise it could confuse people about who's actually in the band. Things have already been so confusing for the casual fans. It's been 4 lineup changes if you count the reset to 1.0. For a 3 piece band that's enormous.

I hear what you're saying, and I personally don't like the visuals of a four piece girl group versus a three piece  But if it means we get to have both Heidi and Siobhan in the group I wouldn't be mad about it at all! I still think they should release the album they recorded Flatline with at some point. If they just keep doing anniversary re-releases, maybe a cool move would be to have Heidi rejoin for the re-release of Angels with Dirty Faces, Amelle rejoin for the re-release of Change, and Jade rejoin for the re-release of Sweet 7  A medley would definitely be cool and I'd also be down for a spin-off group called like Sugababes: HAJ to be their support act on their next tour 👀

I honestly still don't really understand what happened with Keisha leaving the band, and I'm not sure any of the girls really do either. I'm pretty sure Amelle complained about Keisha bullying her and then went overseas to some rehab facility for anxiety, leaving Keisha and Heidi to do some of their live shows by themselves. Keisha and Heidi both still seemed close during those shows. But then Amelle decided to leave and for some reason Heidi wanted to go with her? So then instead of replacing two members, the label kicked Keisha out and kept Heidi and Amelle around? I just don't get why Heidi wanted to leave in the first place...She didn't seem that close with Amelle so maybe she was having her own issues with Keisha 🤔 Either way, Keisha and Mutya have both spoken positively about Heidi in recent interviews so I'm going to hope for the best