It’s finally official – the original Sugababes are back together, and they’re known simply as Mutya Keisha Siobhan.
And they’ve already had a chat with Popjustice about their feelings towards the current Sugababes – Amelle, Heidi and Jade – and what will happen if someone quits again. (Hint: It’s not looking good for Heidi).
Keisha said: “When everyone else found out I wasn’t in the group is pretty much when I found out. I will say that we had a great relationship, me and the girls; I’ve never had an argument with Amelle in my life. I was really shocked by the things that they were saying because I’d always been there for them, and they were there for me as well.
“But, you move on, and you learn, and I learned valuable life lessons during that period… I feel like everything has gone full circle and right now I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. And I genuinely wish them the best of luck.
“To be honest with you I was very hurt and disappointed and I did feel betrayed by the whole thing. But I feel like when you don’t forgive people and when you’re very bitter it’s not really doing anything for you. But I’m in a great place, and that’s all I care about. Onwards and upwards.”
Very well said. Last month, Amelle had told Maximum Pop that she feels similarly: “I’ve got no bad blood; I’m not someone who’s like that. No, I think they’re all very talented… Mutya’s obviously got one of the best voices I’ve ever heard. And Keisha, a very talented person who’s also got a great voice. I’m intrigued, I’m intrigued…in a good way!”
But back to now, and if someone quits MKS it’ll apparently just be curtains for the whole thing.
Siobhan said: “That would be the end of that.”
Keisha, who seems to be doing 90% of the talking, said: “We’ve had discussions. We have a way of working: we trust each other. We look after each other. We are genuinely there for each other. If we were unhappy we’d tell each other and we’d figure it out, between ourselves.”
The second album is notoriously tough, particularly in the fickle industry we know as pop. One minute you’re the country’s favourite newcomer, your singles are played on commercial radio about 204 times a day and your debut album flies off shelves quicker than you can say ‘Gabriella Cilmi’. But then the second album comes around and it all goes to pot.
Anyone remember Duffy’s second album Endlessly? Anyone brave enough to compare sales of Pixie Lott’s 2009 breakthrough Turn It Up with its 2011 sequel Young Foolish Happy? Did anyone even notice Alexandra Burke releasing her second LP a couple of weeks ago?
10. Joe McElderry – Classic August 2011, follow-up to 2010′s Wide Awake
Critics were (understandably) unimpressed, but fans were certainly a lot more taken with Joe’s first post-Cowell record than they were with his debut. Classic, released just four months after he was dropped from his SyCo record deal, outsold its X Factor-friendly predecessor within weeks of being released. Unfortunately it didn’t do a great deal for Joe’s reputation as one of the talent show’s least successful winners, but he is currently the only champion from the show’s roster to score three Gold-selling albums, and that wouldn’t have been possible without Classic.
09. Girls Aloud – What Will The Neighbours Say? November 2004, follow-up to 2003′s Sound Of The Underground
The excitement around Girls Aloud looked like it was off down the drain very quickly, until producers Xenomania whipped out their A-Game and their second LP paved the way for what was to come over the next four or five years. ‘The Show’ and ‘Love Machine’ were both welcomed warmly by critics and pop music fans, and if it weren’t for this album the band would probably have disbanded a lot sooner. Who knows what Cheryl would be doing now…
08. Justin Bieber – Believe June 2012, follow-up to 2010′s My World/My World 2.0
Just how successful this album will turn out to be in the long run remains to be seen, but its opening sales figures are nothing to be scoffed at. Believe has edged ahead of Cheryl Cole’s A Million Lights in the UK midweeks and could become his first ever No. 1 album in this country on Sunday, while in the US Madonna’s record for the best first-week sales of 2012 looks likely to be overtaken. But whether or not Believe has the longevity to out-do My World(s) remains to be seen.
07. Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds September 2006, follow-up to 2002′s Justified
How do you follow an album that sells 8 million copies worldwide? With one that sells 10 million worldwide, that’s how. FutureSex/LoveSounds gave us a new, edgier Justin – one who has had a lasting influence on Bieber and our very own Conor Maynard, and one who is still missed today. ‘SexyBack’, ‘My Love’ and ‘What Goes Around… Comes Around’ were all global smash hits, and it remains a tragedy that he’s stepped away from hitmaking to focus on his much less interesting film career.
06. Sugababes – Angels With Dirty Faces August 2002, follow-up to 2000′s One Touch
Everyone nowadays seems to be wetting themselves over the reunion of the “original” three Sugababes, but lest we forget that very few people really gave two shits about them back in the day. Their album peaked at No.26 and lost them a record deal. But when Siobhan left (claiming Keisha bullied her) and Heidi Range was bought in, things really started to pick up. Led by singles ‘Freak Like Me’, ‘Round Round’ and ‘Stronger’, Angels… went triple platinum and is the band’s top-selling record to date.
05. Will Young – Friday’s Child December 2003, follow-up to 2002′s From Now On
Following a debut album that he himself probably detests, Will came back in 2003 with a game-changer that paved the way for one of the longest careers in talent show history. Friday’s Child launched with the enormohit ‘Leave Right Now’, and also produced ‘Your Game’, aka Song With The Coolest Video 2004. His more dedicated fans will say that Echoes is his best record to date, but there’s no way that would have even been released were it not for Friday’s Child.
04. Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You February 2009, follow-up to 2006′s Alright, Still
Lily made a media-baiting name for herself in 2006 with her first record, but it was 2009′s sequel that cemented her position as one of the country’s best popstars. ‘The Fear’ rocketed to No.1, ‘Not Fair’ became an instant fan favourite, and it remains a (may-as-well-be-a-) criminal offence that ‘I Could Say’ was never given single treatment. Confirmation this week that she’s back in the recording studio with Greg Kurstin is among the best pieces of news EVER.
03. Katy Perry – Teenage Dream August 2010, follow-up to 2008′s One Of The Boys
One of the most successful second album campaigns in the history of pop, Teenage Dream spawned eight (yes EIGHT) singles that were ALL global hits, and were – mostly – all amazing. ‘Firework’! ‘Teenage Dream’! ‘E.T.’! ‘Last Friday Night’! ‘The One That Got Away’! The album propelled its singer from a slightly whacky newcomer to one of the most famous faces on the planet, and also paved the way for one of the most successful concert tours of all time. Good luck with album 3, Katy…
02. Kelly Clarkson – Breakaway November 2004, follow-up to 2003′s Thankful
Kelly’s attempts to break the international markets with her debut album fell flat on their face – in the UK for one, Thankful only charted at No. 41. But then came Breakaway. Initially making only a minor smash when the title track was chosen as the lead single in the US, it wasn’t until ‘Since U Been Gone’ hit airwaves that its sales skyrocketed and propelled Kelly to the most famous she has ever been, and ever will be, in her whole career. ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes’, ‘Because Of You’ and ‘Walk Away’ followed in similarly huge fashion, the live version of ‘Beautiful Disaster’ went down a storm, and the album sold 6.2 million units in the US, and 1.6 in the UK.
01. Adele – 21 January 2011, follow-up to 2008′s 19
Who else?! Whether or not you’re sick to the back teeth of hearing about it by now (and understandably so), 21 is one of the best-selling albums of all time. Resonating with so many people in so many places, it only dropped down as low as No12 for the first time a couple of weeks ago (this being after 18 months in the Top 10) and is STILL riding high in the US. Grammys, Brits, world record after world record… Adele admits herself that her third album stands a cat in hell’s chance of matching the success of 21, but to be fair, she’d really have to go some to pull that off.
It’s quite boring in the singles charts this week – that pretty decent new Calvin Harris song flies in at No. 2 and a few songs from The Voice make quiet comebacks in the Top 40, but with Carly Rae Jepsen at No. 1 for the fourth week things are about ready for a shake-up.
BUT JUST LOOK AT THE STATE OF PLAY TEN YEARS AGO.
Number 1 – amazing.
Number 2 – amazing. Ish.
Number 3 – amazing.
It’s not all fun and games – Number 5 was fucking horrendous, for example – but this week’s chart in 2002 just KEEPS ON GIVING.
6. Shakira – ‘Whenever Wherever’
8. Gareth bloody Gates – ‘Unchained Melody’
11. Britney Spears – ‘I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman’
18. Jennifer Lopez – ‘Ain’t It Funny’
20. Will Young – ‘Evergreen/Anything Is Possible’
21. Blue – ‘Fly By II’
OK so the impossibly cute Sophia Grace and Rosie have made another appearance on Ellen in the US, got treated to their own massive Billboard, and performed Nicki Minaj’s ‘Starships’ (the clean version, of course).
Sophia-Grace Brownlee does, as usual, do all the singing, whilst Rosie, as usual, ups the cuteness by dancing faithfully by her side; holding a microphone but never at any point singing into it.
So what happens further down the line, when SG&E become more and more notorious and the trappings of girl-powered pop become more and more complicated?
History has taught us that any of five scenarios could become a reality.
1. ‘The Girls Aloud’ The girls will announce that they are “taking a break”, and both Sophia-Grace and Rosie will attempt solo careers. Rosie will perhaps be offered a judging role on some form of talent show before using it to launch her own music. Of course the music will either be auto-tuned using snippets of speech or totally instrumental, but it will sell by the bucketload and break all kinds of records, making her the new Nation’s Sweetheart. Sophia-Grace, as the stronger singer, will launch her album by way of an exclusivity deal with Tesco and absolutely bomb in the charts.
2. ‘The Atomic Kitten’ Sophia-Grace and Rosie will be on the brink of their most successful work yet when suddenly one of them will quit and be replaced by a new member. Let’s for arguments sake say it’ll be Rosie. Sophia-Grace and Newbie will go on to bigger and better things, whilst Rosie will earn her living through numerous reality shows, go through some kind of meltdown in her teenage years, and then kind-of-redeem-herself-ish to the point where nobody thinks she’s particularly mental anymore but at the same time nobody particularly wants to see her every move documented on camera.
3. ‘The Sugababes’
Sophia-Grace will quit and be replaced by a new member. Rosie will soldier on with a new singing partner until some kind of disagreement happens a few years down the line, resulting in her own removal from the line-up. Another newbie will join the previous newbie, and they will continue to record under the name ‘Sophia-Grace and Rosie’. As their star gradually begins to fade, Sophia-Grace and Rosie will re-unite, but unable to perform under the name ‘Sophia-Grace and Rosie’ because it’s still the legal property of Newbie 1 and Newbie 2, they will have to rebrand. Songs may be written for them by Emeli Sande.
4. ‘The Pussycat Dolls’
Things continue in much the same vein as they are now, with Sophia-Grace doing all the singing and Rosie smiling and doing her dancing thing in the background. But over time rumours of dispute will begin to surface in the press, and then suddenly one day they’ll release a song called ‘J’ai Ho’ which will be credited as ‘Sophia-Grace and Rosie featuring Sophia-Grace’, prompting speculation that Sophia-Grace has left the band. She will announce work on her own solo material and, eventually, that she is no longer a member of ‘Sophia-Grace and Rosie’. Rosie will then announce that she too has quit, but the duo’s management will insist that the ‘Sophia-Grace and Rosie’ will be back with a next generation line-up, fronted by that blonde girl from ‘Party Rock Anthem’. Sophia-Grace will land a judging role on X Factor USA but muck it all up and end the first season as Destroyer Of Rachel Crow’s Dreams. Rosie will enjoy tepid success elsewhere but nobody will really be paying any attention.
5. ‘The The Saturdays’
Things will continue as they are but just before they really, like REALLY, make it to true mega-mega-mega-superstar status, they’ll flatline and be named the World’s Favourite All-Girl Duo purely because there aren’t really any other all-girl duos to compete with.
Hard to predict at this point, everybody. Hard to predict.
How awkward for Jade, Amelle and Heidi – the original three Sugababes appear to be recording together with Professor Green.
Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan have set tongues wagging on Twitter with these not-so-cryptic tweets:
Exciting as this is, it’s a bit harsh on the “new” three ‘Babes. Yes, their career is on the skids now that nobody in the industry wants to touch them with a barge pole, but Siobhan and Mutya chose to leave the band and Keisha was kicked out for bitchy behaviour, so the smugness we’ll no doubt see in interviews and the humiliation the latest line-up will be subjected to by the press already seems unfair.
Also what on Earth are Siobhan, Keisha and Mutya going to call themselves?
After being dumped by long-term label Island earlier in the year, Sugababes have apparently now been dropped by their new label Sony RCA as well.
The trio inked the new deal ahead of their latest single ‘Freedom’, however the track was scrapped just days before its release date because of a severe lack of interest from TV and radio.
Although nothing has been confirmed, this wouldn’t exactly be surprising news. The band have been struggling since ‘Catfights And Spotlights’, the follow-up to 2008′s ‘Change’, was a relative flop, and their “electro” efforts such as ‘Get Sexy’ didn’t do much better.
The point of no return though was of course the ousting of last original member Keisha Buchanan in favour of Eurovision powerhouse Jade Ewen. Even though Keisha was strongly believed to be the villain of the situation, losing her from the trio made them a bit of a laughing stock.
The Prophet Blog alleges that they are unlikely to find a new record deal because nobody wants to touch them with a barge-pole. Maybe if Heidi Range does amazingly on Dancing On Ice they might have a profile boost, but other than that it seems the end of the road is fast approaching.
It’s a quiet week for new releases this week, especially with the “big” (…) Sugababes single scrapped in favour of a free download. But here are this week’s crop nonetheless…
Delilah – ‘Go’
The girl from Chase and Status’ ‘Time’ branches out on her own with ‘Go’, a haunting urban take on Chaka Khan’s ‘Ain’t Nobody’ that pairs Delilah’s ghost-like vocals with some unsettlingly busy production from Balistiq. It’ll be boring to some, genius to others; but the track’s already made a small impression on the UK Top 40 by sliding in at No33, and judging by the current iTunes rankings a Top 20 placement isn’t entirely off the cards. Seeing how unconventional this track is in comparison to the rest of the current bestsellers, that’s a great achievement.
Skylar Grey – ‘Invisible’ Skylar Grey, who cut her teeth singing the choruses for Diddy, Dr Dre and Eminem, finally makes her own proper debut with ‘Invisible’. Her considerably unjolly tone is right at home on this song, a low-key affair about feeling unnoticed. I doubt it’s a feeling that’ll last for long.
Sugababes – ‘Freedom’ Sugababes are back with less of a bang, more of a limp. The “official” release of ‘Freedom’ has been canned in favour of giving the track away for free, a nice sign of how confident the ‘Babes HQ were about the song’s chart chances, and judging by the video’s modest hit-count on YouTube and disasterous airplay figures, you can’t blame them. The song itself isn’t bad at all; it sounds a lot better than early previews and performances made it out to be, and it’s just a shame they settled for a song so beige when they used to mark new album campaigns with anthems like ‘About You Now’.
Two years to the day since the Sugababes came under fire for sacking their last original member and they’re still courting drama. Twitter speculation that they have decided to split has been denied; but they have, uh, cancelled the release of their Big Comeback Single.
‘Freedom’ was due for release on Sunday but will now only be made available as a free download on Amazon.
Speculation mounted on Twitter yesterday as to why the song had disappeared from online music retailers as a pre-order, with many assuming Jade was on her way out. She took to her own account this morning to deny the rumours.
The move is probably a result of the piss-poor reception the track has had from radio stations, and a last-ditch effort to save face in case it were to flop in next week’s charts.
The official line from the girls’ HQ is that the decision to release ‘Freedom’ for free is “to thank fans for all their support”.
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Last month you voted overwhelmingly in favour of Will Young’s ‘Jealousy’ over new efforts by Demi Lovato, Pixie Lott, Olly Murs and Joey Essex; and now we’ve got five more new tunes lined up for judgement.
Sugababes‘ ‘Freedom’ was previewed in a Nokia ad in May, and now a needlessly epic three months later, the video has premièred on T4.
Perhaps the billionth vid this year to be set in a club, the clip sees Jade, Amelle and Heidi writhing on various extras (and each-other) in a rather laborious bid to put the Sugababes name back in the industry’s good books.
The track sounds better than it did at the T4 On The Beach performance last month, but whether or not it has hit single written all over it remains to be seen. Still, we really hope it does well enough to ensure the album gets a proper big-deal release later in the year. COME ON, GIRLS.
The chilled-out approach to promotion sees the track released on September 18th.
It’s finally official – the original Sugababes are back together, and they’re known simply as Mutya Keisha Siobhan.
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