The Pop Corporation

Oh, the fractured and chequered history of the mighty Sugababes. There’s been six members, and you could only really argue that four of them really count, and the puritans, three. Obviously, the holy trinity are Mutya, Keisha and Siobhàn, but Heidi’s tenure involves some of the group’s most iconic moments, even if deep in our souls, she wasn’t ever a real Sugababe.

Then, there’s the wilderness years featuring Amelle Berrabah who could have been a fine popstar in any other group and the plucky Jade Ewen who was previously a Eurovision entrant and just not the right kind of singer for a delicately poised band like this. Fact is, there was magic in the blend of voices when the original trio sang together, and Heidi was game enough, if a little plain of voice (so much so that she didn’t make the Atomic Kitten cut pre-Babes).

With all the drama, there was a plethora of bangers and enough mid-tier material that there’s a lot to chew on here. We rank, for no good reason at all, the singles released by the Sugababes and if you disagree, that’s fine. Tell us. Either way, it’s going to be great hitting play on all these tracks and reliving what we love about the group, how frustrating they ended up being and, of course, one of the finest redemption arcs in music history.

Let’s go!

WALK THIS WAY

Okay. Charity single. Girls Aloud vs Sugababes. Cover of an attitude filled rock-rap thing. Does it work? Nope. No surprise that this scores so lowly, is it really? Even if it is well-meaning.

CHANGE

Anyone remember this? The video looks like a showreel for someone learning hairdressing in some provincial town somewhere, and while it’s not particularly bad, it kinda limps along.

WEAR MY KISS

The unholy trinity period and this could be anyone, honestly. It sort of sounds like it’s a banger that you’d enjoy if you were in a bar drinking brightly coloured drinks, but ultimately, it isn’t. Bruno Mars had a hand in writing it apparently, so use that information as you will. We don’t know if the use of clones of pop singers in the video was someone being arch or not, but we see you.

EASY

This song was the single from their greatest hits compilation, and it’s fine. It’s very perfunctory for a band that had seen better days. It has the hallmarks of ‘contractually obliged’ about it, but that’s okay. No great shakes.

FOLLOW ME HOME

For reasons, this isn’t on YouTube properly – only fan uploads. It might be something to do with the fact that it contains a verse written about Mutya’s daughter, because Mutya was still in the band when it was written, but had left by the time it was recorded, leaving it to be confusingly sung by Amelle, who probably never even met the child. Strange. It’s fine, but once you know that factoid, it’s hard to get past.

GIRLS

Soul Jazz had released the perfect New Orleans Funk compilation and DJs started playing Ernie K-Doe’s ‘Here Come The Girls’. Someone at Boots was listening and used it on an advert. Following the success of the pharmacy commercial, someone threw the song at the Sugababes and soon, they’d interpolated it into a song called ‘Girls’ which featured some cod-Mark Ronson production and it’s fine and all, but it wasn’t great and the whole thing felt terribly forced and… we don’t say this lightly… the Sugababes looked desperately uncool. This could have been sung by anyone, and that’s not a great hallmark for a Sugababes banger, is it?

NO CAN DO

Honestly, this is a perfectly serviceable pop song, but watching the video, Keisha looks like she’s all but tapped out. There’s a whiff of classic Stax and Motown about the whole thing and, sincerely, if some other band had released it, we might like it a bit more. Duffy was around at the time, and you could tell. Cashing in on the trouble in the group, the LP it was taken from was called ‘Catfights & Spotlights’ and from the outside, it looked like the wheels were falling off. And they were.

UGLY

There was a spate of songs that were meant to empower, such as TLC’s ‘Unpretty’ and Xtina’s ‘Beautiful’ and the Sugababes found themselves trying it out with ‘Ugly’. To be perfectly peevish, the extensions on Heidi’s head are exactly that, in the promotional video. Inspired by some of the nasty press written about the band – such as unfavourably being referred to as ‘SugaLumps’ etc – it means well, but just doesn’t stick the landing. This may have fared better in our list, but Self Help Pop gives us the ick.

IN THE MIDDLE

Quite why the only official version on YouTube is in potato resolution is beyond us, but that’s by-the-by. This is the Sugababes in fun form, being chaotic and the lyrics reflect that. It’s not going to change your life singing along with “cuz everybody’s making trouble – someone’s burst their bubble“, but that’s not the point really. This is night out music. Silly, badly behaved and exactly what it says on the tin.

GET SEXY

Strange little track this. It’s as subtle as a bag of hammers, but we suppose, in the right environment, we could imagine having a good time with it. However, this is one of the wobbliest periods in Sugababe history, and Amelle’s presence is effectively the death knell for the group and Keisha looks uncomfortable as she makes her way through this song. The group was losing sight of what it was, and listening to Buchanan sing “when I’m walking down the street they say, hey sexy” just feels off.

RED DRESS

Xenomania and the ‘Babes is usually a marriage made in heaven, but this one failed to grab the listener like previous collaborations. It’s Amelle’s first appearance in the group and almost sounds like a song that was touted around a few bands before it was taken up by the Sugababes. It would always be hampered by the fact that this was the first thing we heard after the team looking after the Sugababes replaced Mutya after 24 hours. Regarding the song, Mutya would say she “absolutely hated” it.

DENIAL

We have absolutely zero recollection of this track, which is a shame because it’s not too shabby. Sampling ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ by The Gossip, it’s the ‘Babes in rawish mode. High fashion video, it’s a reasonable bop, but it’s ultimately pretty disposable. The B-Side of this song is, remarkably, a cover of ‘Hey There Delilah’ which we hope to never hear.

SHAPE

Sugababes vs Sting? That’s interesting isn’t it? A mature slice of US inspired R&B, and a lovely track from a strong opening pair of LPs from the gang. ‘Angels With Dirty Faces’ wasn’t exactly shy of good singles, which is why this may be slept on a little and not held in quite the regard other cuts have been. Critics weren’t keen but fans liked it. Go figure.

WHEN THE RAIN COMES

The girls, all grown up with a magical little ballad that gets better on each listen. This song is enjoyable for sentimental reasons, rather than the song itself, and if this was 10 years older, it may have scored higher, but we’ve got more emotional attachments to older songs. As ever, it’s wonderful to listen to Siobhàn singing with Mutya and Keisha.

ABOUT A GIRL

Begrudging banger time, and this is from GaGa approved RedOne, and features absolutely zero original Sugababes. The whole thing is basically embarrassing and they absolutely should have just changed the band’s name and be done with it, so we could enjoy this camp slice of EuroPop. However, it says SUGABABES on it, right there, and there’s no avoiding that. It’s a gem in an absolute shit sandwich that is the closing days of the group’s career. We don’t want to like this, but we do, so that’s that.

CAUGHT IN A MOMENT

This is a solid mid-tempo number from your fave girl group, but this is your fave girl group so it’s mid-table. Like ‘Stronger’, it’s a good little song, but when you compare it to peak ‘Babes, it is what it is. Had someone else recorded it, it’d be a solid classic you suspect. It’s a thoughtful song for sure, but interestingly, appears on the terrible Wimbledon film.

ABOUT YOU NOW

‘About You Now’ is a historic British pop song in that it was the first track to solely chart solely on downloads. It’s a tricky period in the Suga annals because by this point, Keisha is the only remaining member and we all know that Sugababes without Mutya is missing all that danger and camp. It’s also Dr Luke produced, bleh. However, in a vacuum, it’s a fine little pop song mixing electro-pop and a bit of rock, even if it is missing a bit of magic. Amelle is in the band by this time and this was really the last time the name Sugababes would put out something we didn’t feel weird dancing to.

STRONGER

The girls in heartbreak, mature mode and showing their huge love of US R&B, ‘Stronger’ is a self-empowerment midtempo affair, which still has enough attitude to keep the girls different enough from the rest of the pop pack at the time. Even if it’s a little mid-table compared to some of the other Sugababe tracks, it’s wise beyond its years, and maybe if it was by anyone else, we’d be talking about it with much higher praise?

NEW YEAR

‘New Year’ is one of the finest showcases of how incredible the harmonising of Mutya, Keisha and Siobhàn is. Effectively a Christmas song, when they sing “I’m older than my years – drowing in my tears – surrounded by the fear”, it’s genuinely heartbreaking. And seeing as it’s a seasonal song, it manages to sing about the festive period without falling for any cliches, and fails to sound completely contrived like so many December ballads. Harmonies that The Ronettes would be proud of, it’s criminal that this isn’t on repeat when Christmas comes.

SOUL SOUND

The final single from ‘One Touch’ and Siobhàn is about to depart the group, ending on a delicious little soulful number that again shows just how magical the girls’ voices are when in sync. There’s some hilarious graphic tricks in the promo video which ages it like milk, but then, it’s hard to stay mad when seeing Mutya’s Karen haircut floating out of her own body. A classy joint, that’s for sure and one that proper Sugababe fans hold dear.

ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES

Double A with ‘Stronger’, and a peculiar (if fun) tie-in with the Powerpuff Girls, this is the Sugababes and Xenomania in perfect harmony, with nods to UK Garage and some dirty wub-wubs, it also showcases why you could convince yourself that the Sugababes were Europe’s Destiny’s Child. Maybe. It’s a bit better than the track it was coupled with, and of course, gave title to the LP it was released on. A fine track in the canon.

FLATLINE

Technically, this is a renegade track that was originally released under the MKS moniker, but seeing as it found it’s way onto The Lost Tapes album, we’re putting it in. Co-written with Dev Hynes, it showed just how vital and brilliant the girls were when they put their minds to it. After the ignominious dissolving of the Sugababes name, our three faves had soul searched and joined forces again for some intimate shows, and their voices harmonised again making anyone with a vested interest in them well-up and punch the air.

While comebacks are usually a bombastic affair, this is the OG Sugababes we’re talking about here. Sure, it’s killer, but instead of lamping you over the head with it, you were reminded once again that you’re dealing with the coolest, most sophisticated pop group of their generation, and at the time, Michael Cragg (a pop fan and writer you can implicitly trust) said that the song was “indescribably captivating.” What other group can casually throw the word “miscellaneous” into a song? Not many. Legal proceedings and nonsense meant this song hasn’t been given the legs it deserved, but we’re ranking it highly because Justice For Flatline runs through our core.

PUSH THE BUTTON

When you simply imagine ‘Push The Button’, you almost assume it must be one of the Sugababes best songs, right? It’s a certified bop and obviously one of the best pop songs of the 2000s. The girls worked with Dallas Austin (TLC, Boyz II Men, Pink, Madonna) and together, created a lively, brash radio friendly banger that latter, frankly bad iterations of the Sugababes would try to recreate.

Sure, it’s more straight-up pop than perhaps we’re used to with the group, but it still has that secret sauce that made us love them so much in the first instance. It went to number one, it’s their second biggest selling single. It’s got everything. However, thanks to the strength at the top of the Sugababes catalogue, it’s not even in the Top 5. Feel free to disagree.

HOLE IN THE HEAD

Listen – this deserves a high place just for the insanely catchy “why don’t you cry-i-yi-ee” line, but any song that starts off with Mutya distinctive voice singing “seven hours since you went away – eleven coffees, Ricki Lake on play” deserves all the flowers you can throw at it. This is one of Xenomania’s finest production jobs, and with the Sugababes basically telling some deadbeat to ‘get lost‘, it’s the perfect fodder for anyone with even the vaguest investment in pop music.

It’s spiky, it’s camp, it’s super fun and it’s still sounding fresh as a daisy in 2024, while still being absolutely indicative of that mid-00s electro pop sound. We love this. Everyone loves this don’t they?

RUN FOR COVER

A cinematic masterpiece from the first LP which is hard to shake off once you’ve listened to it. Considering their young years, it’s impressively dark as they sing “you never seem to wonder/how much you make me suffer” and for Mutya to sing “I tend to cut myself off” is a startlingly grown-up thing to say in a song. Production-wise, it’s so far ahead of so much of the pop released around it. Madonna was covering ‘American Pie’, Westlife were unleashed on the charts, and the Sugababes sounded like they’d been listening to Aaliyah and the pain of Mary J Blige. This is a sensational pop record and one of the all-time greats in the girls’ catalogue.

ROUND ROUND

A Xenomania classic – hip dancefloor action with cool girls singing “I don’t need no man”, and one of Mutya’s great vocal performances. It’s a near perfect Sugababes song in that it’s kinda can’t be arsed with you in attitude, and a too cool for a proper dance routine to match. Heidi’s halftime middle eight is perhaps her finest moment while in the group, belting out “Does it hurt when you see how I’ve done without you? You thought that I couldn’t beloooong“.

To put things into some context, the chart that this song crash-landed in featured Darius Danesh with ‘Colourblind’, Scooter’s ‘Logical Song’, and ‘Automatic High’ by S Club Juniors. Around the same time was Nelly’s ‘Hot In Herre’, Ja Rule’s ‘Livin’ It Up’, and ‘Foolish’ by Ashanti and, honestly, it felt like Sugababes were in that company, rather than most of their British pop peers.

TOO LOST IN YOU

Okay, so the track was helped somewhat by an appearance on ‘Love Actually’, but the song started life as a Diane Warren track written for a French singer called Patricia Kaas, titled ‘Quand J’ai Peur De Tout’. Produced by Rob ‘Clubbed To Death’ Dougan, the track put paid to the notion that the Sugababes couldn’t tackle a big ballad (even though that was a nonsense idea in the first instance, what with ‘One Touch’ having some gorgeous slowies on it) and with it’s swooning orchestrations, it’s impossible to not get swept up in the melodrama of the song.

Even Richard Curtis referred to the track as the “life and soul” of the film, and not surprising, given it’s moody harmonies and a performance that allows us to get (too) lost in it. It’s a real grown-up ballad that hints at huge yearning ’60s pop, but is still forward looking enough to not feel like a paint-it-by-numbers lovelorn number that tells us how to feel. It’s a beautiful record and a real gem in the Sugababes back catalogue.

FREAK LIKE ME

Originally Adina Howard’s G-Funkish BANGER, Richard X stuck a bootleg out which used Adina’s acapella with a chop of ‘Are Friends Electric?’ by Gary Numan’s Tubeway Army, called ‘We Don’t Give a Damn About Our Friends’. It was a hit ’round the clubs and Richard X wanted to do an official release, but Adina wasn’t smart enough to bite and allow usage of her vocals. The Sugababes though, with their ears to the ground, picked up on it and together with Richard X, created one of the most brilliant, most postmodern pop songs ever, and it became the group’s first number one, and richly deserved.

Gary Numan, ever the pop devotee, even claimed that the Sugababes version was better than his own ‘Are Friends Electric?’. The track was Heidi’s first release with the group after Siobàhn’s departure, and was a confident statement after the cool hit of the ‘One Touch’ LP. For R&B fans, they could have worried about someone covering an R&B classic, but the girls along with Richard X, managed to do one of those impossible feats of a cover version being just as good as the original, while spinning it into something different. It’s one of the true magical moments in Top 40 history and endures to this day.

OVERLOAD

There was much (maybe too much) deliberation about what should land the top spot in this list, but there’s a magic in ‘Overload’ that is undeniable. Before the fallouts, before the politics, before the mismanagement, before any of the stupid drama that tore the band up numerous times, there was ‘Overload’. The three girls still impossibly young, brought an exuberance to British pop music that dragged it away from the usual safety to something that sounded genuinely street smart, fresh, and on-par with more mature American R&B, but instead of fecklessly aping music from the States, created something that was uniquely British.

While their contemporaries All Saints were the cooler girls, the Sugababes landed the coolEST. Coming in at 125bpm, with surf guitar, Mutya’s B&H baritone and Keisha and Siobhàn harmonising like absolute angels, they were out of the gates real hot and perfectly formed. One reviewer at the time referred to it as ‘disarmingly sophisticated’, and it was served up with a level of sophistication that British pop fans weren’t used to. It is still one of the finest debut singles in music history, and it was arguably the first step in the indie kids looking toward pop music for their kicks. ‘Overload’ ran so ‘Sound of the Underground’ could walk.

It was the first British pop single that sounded like it could have come from the clubs off a white label, and when the chorus of ‘train comes I don’t know it’s destination – it’s a one-way ticket to a madman’s situation’, you know you’re not dealing with any old pop song. And then, to the crunchy as hell middle eight with a thunderous break topped with “The tension is incredible, boy I’m in charge, you know how I feel for you. Will you stop, or will you just keep going? Please don’t say no…” and you’re already thinking of pressing play again, even though the song hasn’t finished.

Co-written by the girls themselves, it’s a remarkable piece of music that still sounds every bit as brilliant as it did as when it was released at the stroke of the Millennium.

If there’s a better British pop song than this, that somehow crosses all genres at once, and is so identifiably reflective of a modern, cool Britain, we can’t think of it right now. Utterly perfect. While you’re listening to it, no other pop group has sung anything that even remotely comes close to ‘Overload’.