Sugababes

Sugababes are a British pop girl-group formed in 1998 with its founding and current members: Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. Their debut single “Overload” released in September 2000 to critical acclaim, followed by their debut album One Touch that November. In June 2001, Donaghy left the group as rumours arose of a rift between her and Buchanan.

Heidi Range was announced as the newest member of the group and with this, they experienced a boom in commercial success. The first single of the new line-up, “Freak Like Me” was released in April 2002 to more acclaim, followed by the group’s second album Angels with Dirty Faces that August. They released a further two studio albums, Three and Taller In More Ways, the latter led by the single “Push The Button” which became the group’s biggest hit to date. Just two months after the release of the album, it was revealed that Buena was leaving the group to pursue a solo career.

Amelle Berrabah was announced as Buena’s replacement, joining the group for a re-release of Taller In More Ways. A greatest hits collection, Overloaded: The Singles Collection, followed in November 2006. The group then returned with their fifth studio album Change in October 2007, led by lead single “About You Now” which became the group’s best-selling hit in the UK. Critics noted that the album was decidedly more mainstream pop than previous releases.

The group’s sixth album, Catfights and Spotlights, followed in October 2008, the title poking fun at media rumours of a rift between the group. The group’s seventh album, Sweet 7 was announced for a late 2009 release. In September 2009, during promotions for the album’s second single “About a Girl”, Buchanan was removed from the band and replaced with the UK’s 2009 Eurovision representative Jade Ewen.

The band released a re-recorded version of “About a Girl” with Ewen that November, followed by a re-recorded version of the album in March 2010. The album was released to commercial & critical disappointment, with many critics feeling the sound was “bland” and “soulless”, particularly following the removal of Buchanan.

The fourth line-up then signed a three-album distribution deal with RCA Records and released one more single, “Freedom” in September 2011. The song was expected to lead to an eighth studio album but due to predicted poor sales, its commercial release was cancelled and the album never materialised. The group then began a hiatus to focus on solo-projects. In 2013, Ewen announced that the group had been effectively disbanded since 2011.

In 2011, the original band members (Buena, Buchanan & Donaghy) reformed as a new group called Mutya Keisha Siobhan (MKS), due to the original band name still being in use by the fourth line-up. The group released one single, “Flatline” in September 2013.

In August 2019 it was revealed that the group’s original line-up had regained legal use of the name. The group appeared on DJ Spoony’s Garage Classical compilation with a cover of Sweet Female Attitude’s “Flowers”. During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show to promote the song, the trio announced that a 20th anniversary edition of their debut album would be released in 2020; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the label changed the released date to October 2021.