Happy Christmases from the Babes past and present

Here are the Sugababes on Christmas Day this year...



An interesting performance as you can see Jade taking over the "soul" role from Keisha. However the quality of the vocals is different.

And here they are three years ago doing White Christmas on the Charlotte Church show...

Sweet 7 - the original!

Here is one of the "leaked" tracks from the original Sweet 7. It turns out a demo had been circulated, maybe to some radio stations, before the album was pulled to record Jade Ewen's vocals.

What to make of it?

Already, even with Keisha singing - and doesn't she put some life into this song! - it's like a ghost, a shadow of the Sugababes. The album is heavily influenced by US urban hip-hop. That's quite a long way from the dance music that created Freak Like Me and Round Round, let along Overload. The good news is the songs are half-way decent - Keisha shines on this one so it will be interesting to see what Jade makes of it. There are five tracks in circulation, including About A Girl.

The tracks to look for are: About A Girl, Miss Everything (with Sean Kingston), Wear My Kiss, Wait for You, Thank You for the Heartbreak

Keisha and Mutya may duet

Keisha Buchanan has been talking about a collaboration with her original play-ground singing buddy, Mutya Buena, on her new album. Let's hope they get the bug and duet on a great song, which will make a great single for the "Original Sugababes"!

Here are the tweets which set out her hopes:

"@Jay_JayLondon I'll hopefully be working with mutya on my album! Lets see if i can get her attention 4 3 seconds first lol She's a busy beex
7:36 AM Nov 23rd from web in reply to Jay_JayLondon

I'm talking about the original line up by the way ;-) xxx
3:27 PM Nov 17th from TwitterBerry

:) I'm not re-forming the sugababes. We've spoken & I'm pleased they've lent me their support & vice versa. But we're 100% NOT reforming xxx"

Sweet7 delayed

From sugababes.com:

"'Sweet 7' OUT 08.03.10

We just wanted to confirm for you that the release date for the Sugababes' upcoming album ‘Sweet 7’ has changed. The album will now be coming to you on March 8th 2010."

Possible reasons:

• re-recording Keisha's parts and remixing with Jade Ewen's;
• Amelle Berrerah's indisposition;
• marketing sense.

Oh, to get a copy of the album with Keisha's original vocals.

Best Sugababe album tracks

Most pop bands are only remembered for their singles. The Sugababes are a band that has made great albums, from start to finish. You could find songs on their albums, beautifully written, sang and produced that never rated a video but in some cases became gig favourites.

These are the tracks, never released as singles, that stand out to me. :
from Angels with Dirty Faces:
Virgin Sexy
Breathin' Easy
from Taller in More Ways:
Ace Reject
Better
from Overloaded:
Good to be Gone
from Change:
Back When
3 Spoons of Suga

What do you think? What are your favourite album tracks?

Notice I've only drawn from four albums. On One Touch, Three and Catfights it's a little harder to pull out songs that really stand out.

My favourites from these would be:
One Touch
look at me
real thing
Three
We could have it all
Conversation's Over
Catfights
Every heart broken
Can we call a truce

These are personal choices. Judging by the songs the band performed live, their own choices would be:
One Touch
One Touch
promises
one foot in
Three
Whatever makes you happy
Situation's heavy
Buster
Catfights
Hanging on a Star
Every Heart Broken
She's like a star

Talking reunion!

Meanwhile there's talk of the original first ever Sugababes reforming!

Mutya Buena has apparently met Siobhan Donaghy. Here's the MTV report.

I wonder what they would perform as? Mutya, Keisha & Siobhan would be good enough. There were all sorts of gags going around about what the new Sugababes should really be called - I liked Nutrababes.

The reformed band would be a serious affair - how about Babes No More ?

About A Girl - new video

Here's the video of About a Girl. Actually it's the best video that's been made with the band for a long time. It pays tribute to the classic hip hop scenario. The song isn't too bad in spite of the American intonations, jettisoning what little that was left of the band's distinctive sound. It all could have been so good...

Who are the legal Sugababes?

As predicted, the lawyers have had to get busy to try to seal the Sugababes' line-up changes. Officially it's being stated that Jade Ewen hasn't yet signed her contract and as a result the new band has had to pull out of a gig.

Pop stars are notoriously reliant on their managers - and vulnerable to them - in protecting their rights. But sometimes managers miss a trick and sometimes stars do something clever. The past few decades have seen many legal battles in the courts over the rights to names of different bands.

So who does own the name? There's an added complication that Keisha Buchanan is listed as a co-writer on a great many songs - possibly including those on Sweet7. Asked about this on Twitter, Keisha has replied:
"maybe;-) lol but im all about staying positive. That would be so mean & bitter, im not like that:-) Good luck to em i say"

Keisha reputedly signed a deal in which she agreed to leave the band and in return was given a solo contract with Island Records and possibly an additional pay-off. So the odds are she has already signed away all her rights to the band's name. Did Mutya and Siobhan do the same?

A classic Sugababes performance

This was that performance of Breathin' Easy at Glastonbury with, what is now, the classic line-up of Keisha, Mutya and Heidi. The song was a brilliant ode to youthful friendship - and, listening to it now, replete with irony - tucked away at the end of the Angels with Dirty Faces album. Although it's a classic song, it prefigured the direction in which the band went, moving away from dance tracks to ballads and close harmonies and culminating in the sound of Change.

Mutya - Falling

Here is the video for Mutya Buena's new single Falling, out today, produced with Agent X and Ultra. Very electro and, although there's quite a lot of Mutya, she's not especially vocally challenged on this one.

The first smile...

This may have been the moment when a Sugababe first smiled...it was Keisha. It came during the Top of the Pops performance of Caught in a Moment. The single was not a great success but it's a great song and this was a great performance by Keisha, Heidi and Mutya. I haven't been able to find it on YouTube anywhere so have uploaded this clip. The smile comes at the end.

Keisha lets rip -

No, not on Twitter! This is a great video compilation posted on youtube some months ago by a fan, including a clip from the Sound of Goodbye from Catfights. It's entitled Keisha's high notes - but really it just highlights the strength of the ex-Sugababes' voice and, also, the way it has developed over the last decade.

Aint it crazy how you think you've got your whole life planned
only to find out it was never in your hands
(Change)

Keisha, Mutya, Heidi - it's official!

Spotted on Google this week - the link to the official Sugababes' web-site. Members? Keisha, Mutya and Heidi. We wish! Someone needs to get their meta-tags sorted out.

Will the real Sugababes please stand up...

Here's a great commentary by the guy from popjustice.com, posted by The Guardian newspaper .

"Sugababes made pop whose values and attitudes were strong enough to inadvertently create a brand. Theirs was smart, British, soulful pop, occasionally arty but always melodic, lush and a cut above most of the rest.

....
Today the Sugababes don't exist as a band, and after Get Sexy they don't really exist as a sound either. If this new girl group before us today is to have any future at all, and Ewen, Berrabah and Range do actually make a great three-piece, it must find a new name. Sugababes died when Buchanan left."

The difference

Siobhan walked, Mutya walked, Keisha was sacked to all intents and purposes. I wonder who actually has the copyright on the name...I can see legal action coming up.

This is a link to the photoshoot with the new line-up. Look at Heidi's body language. And, yes, the pictures and the poses are seriously demeaning.

Mutya's Buena's come out fighting - and as it happens she has a new single "fallin".

She's said some sensible things: like, why on earth has Heidi Guest stuck around? You can find her thoughts on Twitter. And that she's definitely interesting in reforming the Sugababes. Not clear whether it's with Heidi or Siobhan or both.

She says: It all started so innocently...a love for music and a dream...look what its become. RIP

She's also been heard talking about reforming the band. Check out this interview here...skip the yukky bits about plastic surgery, which occupy the first three minutes. I like the idea of the reformed band the "Sugawomen"!