We've been polling on this question for a few days and votes are trickling in.
Surprisingly, the original line-up is leading the contest. I say surprisingly because the greatest success and the greatest hits came when Heidi joined the band - when Freak Like Me and Push the Button stormed the charts.
Okay it's not that surprising. We know that young as they were, the originals were three talented young women. Unrecognised as she is, Siobhan has proved herself a talented song-writer. It seems that many of the songs on the under-stated One Touch album were written by the girls. What could they have achieved if they stuck together? Sadly that required commercial success - and that involved handing their fate to others.
Personally I've got mixed feelings. In the face of public opinion, I maintain that Change was the greatest and most perfect album. Yes, that's the next poll! But I was stunned by One Touch from the time when I first heard it, several years after it came out. It was so different from the overblown pap and synthesised absence of melody that characterises most pop music. And really Angels, with its double number one, five singles and two classic live performance tracks should be acknowledged as the best.
No wonder that a survey out today lists the Sugababes as among the top ten most played bands of this century. It's a "surprise", says this commentator. Only if you haven't been listening closely, mate.
They are in fact the only pure 21st century band to feature in the list, which includes the Beatles, Elvis and Abba. That's about right - and it's all about the music.
Is hard to pick up one.
ReplyDeleteI've been fan since day 1 with Overload, and still whenever I listen to the original trio, I know this type of vocal combination was perfect. The songs were great, and the style was something that's timeless...
But the second line-up gave me the best Pop tracks mixed with so many different kind of styles, from R&B to electro. And yet, Heidi's voice grew up with the years, and her dramatism added some flavours Siobhan's voice didn't had in the band. It wasn't better, only different. And I did liked the vocal mixture of Mutya, Keisha & Heidi.
Then, it was hard to see Mutya go. But since it came after a month of having some 'fake' departure news, I've got already mentally prepared for the time she had to leave (I was feeling she actually wanted to leave earlier), and I could apreciatte Amelle's color from day 1. Her voice had a range similar to Mutya's, but her ways and her flow was completly different. She added new flavours to the band, and with her, we've got to see the best lyrical albums since One Touch was released: Change and Catfights & Spotlights (the most underrated album, in my opinion, but the one with better musical tracks).
I didn't know if I would like Sweet 7 turn... it was maybe too crunk for them... but I was ready to try it. Then they kicked Keisha out, and I found it wrong: I do accept line-up changes (trust me, I'm a girl band amateur fan XD and I also see this everyday being a Korean's Music lover) but no when the member who's most dedicated to it and obviously doesn't want to leave gets forced to do so.
But even trying to ignore they've got the shame to keep with the name, I don't see the point of having Jade there. She doesn't match the other two, and her voice will never add anything to the band.
I could even picture a band with both, Mutya & Amelle's voices, Heidi's & Keisha (not sure Siobahn would like to join XD) like a new All Saints (another 4 voices perfectly combinated) pursuing to bring older Sugababes' sound to a new era... but Jade's voice has nothing. She can sing, that's all she has.
Some great comments. We'll all live in hope!
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