Sugababes Biography

Sugababes are a UK girl group formed in 1998. They have so far released 13 songs that have made top 40 charts around the world including four UK number one singles. They have also had two UK top five albums — Angels With Dirty Faces in 2002 and Three in 2003 — and the Number 1 album Taller in More Ways in 2005. The band has also won at the Brit Awards for "Best British Dance Act".

Keisha Buchanan (born 30 September 1984) and Mutya Buena (21 May 1985) were childhood friends in London and met Siobhan Donaghy at a party when they were thirteen. Buchanan's family hails from Jamaica while Buena's mother is Irish and her father comes from the Philippines. The trio decided to form a group together soon after in 1998. London Records decided to offer the group a contract when the girls were 14 and brought in Cameron McVey, known for his work with All Saints to develop an album.

The first single "Overload" made the UK Top 10 and was nominated for a Brit Award. The group largely wrote One Touch album which had three further Top 40 hits in the UK - "New Year", "Run For Cover" and "Soul Sound". Despite this, the One Touch didn't sell as well as London Records hoped leading to them dropping the band in 2001. Siobhan Donaghy left the band mid-tour in 2001 due to depression and fighting within the group. She later decided to pursue a career as a solo artist. Siobhan Donaghy's critically acclaimed solo record Revolution In Me released through London Records failed to achieve the same success as the Sugababes subsequent releases, failing to make the official UK top 40, despite boasting the Top 20 single "Overrated". She was then dropped by London Records, but in October 2005 was resigned to Parlophone records. Her second album is awaited early 2006.

Heidi Range (born 23 May 1983) from Liverpool replaced Donaghy in the group as they signed with Island Records. Their first single with the new label was "Freak Like Me", a Bastard Pop song masterminded by producer Richard X that fused a musical sample from "Are friends electric?" by Gary Numan's Tubeway Army with the girls singing lyrics taken from Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me".

This song was a breakthrough for the group being their first UK number one in 2002 and reaching number two in Ireland. The song was also a European top ten song and reached the top 40 in New Zealand, The Netherlands, Norway and Belgium. Their second single for Island Records, "Round Round," produced by Kent-based production team, Xenomania was the group's second UK number one single and went to number two in Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

On the back of these hits, Sugababes' second album Angels With Dirty Faces reached number two on the UK Albums Charts and was a success all over Europe. The third single from the album "Stronger" went top ten in the Netherlands and Norway, while a double A-side of "Stronger" and the album's title track, "Angels With Dirty Faces," the theme to The Powerpuff Girls Movie, went top ten in the UK and top 20 in New Zealand in late 2002. The fourth single "Shape," which samples the Sting classic, "Shape Of My Heart," reached number eleven in the UK and was a hit in The Netherlands and Ireland in early 2003. The girls topped off their year with a performance of "Freak Like Me" at the Brit Awards where they won the award for "Best British Dance Act". Their success also lead to them recording a special 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.

The group's third album Three was released in late 2003 and continued the momentum reaching number three on the UK album charts. The first single "Hole In The Head," another Xenomania production, who were now working with Girls Aloud, was the group's third UK number one single and went to number one in Denmark as well. It reached number two in Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway, went top 10 in Germany, peaked at #25 in Australia and also hit the US Billboard Hot 100, charting at #96, as well as hitting #1 on the US Billboard Dance chart. The second single "Too Lost In You," written by Diane Warren and taken from the soundtrack to the UK movie, "Love Actually," went top ten in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway, as well as going top ten on both sides of the Straits of Taiwan (Taiwan and China). The third single "In The Middle" went top ten in the UK, top twenty in Ireland and top 40 in Europe and Australia, as well as being nominated for a Brit Award. The fourth and final single to be released from "Three" was the ballad, "Caught In A Moment," which reached #8 in the UK.

After a break from the music industry, whilst recording their fourth album, Mutya gave birth to a daughter, Tahlia, in March 2005. The group did their first performance for over a year at the Edinburgh Live 8 concert, where Mutya told journalists, "When I see pictures of children starving it makes me want to cry. Since becoming a mum, these images upset me and I think, 'if that were my daughter I'd want something to be done'."

The group's brand new single, "Push The Button," was premiered on BBC Radio One in August 2005, with the DJ Chris Moyles playing album track (and second single), "Ugly," by accident. "Push The Button," which was produced by Dallas Austin, who has also worked with Madonna and TLC, was eventually premiered later in the show. Both songs are taken from the Sugababes' fourth studio album, Taller In More Ways (named after a lyric in the song, "Ugly"), released in October 2005, preceded by "Push The Button" in late September 2005.

On 2 October 2005 "Push The Button" debuted at #1 in the UK singles chart, giving the girls their fourth #1 single, giving them a run of #1 singles released before the album from which the single is lifted. "Push The Button" became the group's first Irish Number One single on October 7th, 2005. It reached #1 in Austria, peaking at #2 in Germany and New Zealand and #3 in Norway and Switzerland. It also broke ground elsewhere charting in Italy, Greece, Australia, Bulgaria, Holland and Sweden. On October 16th 2005, "Taller In More Ways" became the band's first UK #1 album. On that same date, the girls celebrated being at the top of the singles, album, airplay and download charts simultaneously.

Following an apparent illness that prevented Mutya from promoting the follow-up single "Ugly", it was announced on 21 December 2005 that Mutya had left Sugababes. According to an announcement on their website, "Mutya's decision is based purely on personal reasons and she will continue to remain the best of friends with both Keisha and Heidi." Amelle Berrabah will be the replacement band member.

A last single will be released with ex-band member Mutya Buena called "Spiral", which has been produced by William Orbit. The single which is scheduled for release in February 2006, will be on Orbit's new album "Waveforms".

The Sugababes will also make another attempt to crack the American music scene with "Taller in More Ways". While in the States recording their fourth studio album with famed producer, Dallas Austin, the Sugababes recorded additional tracks set to be included on the US release.

Four new tracks have been recorded with Amelle are "Head Check", "Divider", "Sticks & Stones (B.A.D remix)" and "Lust For Dancefloors".