No more sugar, just soul

No more sugar, just soul

Unlike the departure of Geri Halliwell from the Spice Girls, when Mutya Buena gave the Sugababes the flick and was replaced by Amelle Berrabah, there was a belief that this all-girl threesome was destined for more success.

With the re-release of Taller in More Ways and last year’s Change, it seemed the re-alignment was for the best. Sadly with this month’s release of Catfights and Spotlights, it’s evident that the group has lost the essence of what it is to be a Sugababe.

The sweet harmonies found in their smash hits Too Lost In You and Caught In A Moment and their dance tunes like Round Round, About You Now and Push The Button are no longer heard.

The new album is not bad, although a tad boring. It’s certainly a new sound that the Sugababe fan needs to be prepared for. Remember when Emma Bunton released that sixties soul album Free Me? Well, Catfights and Spotlights has a similar resonance.  

This album is probably different. I think it’s the best album we’ve done together with Amelle. It’s quite a live sound, said the sweet-voiced Heidi Range.

I don’t think we ever plan a direction to the music. It kinda just happens from one album to the next. We’ve had a few albums since the first kinda Caught In A Moment but,I think we all just love listening to loads of different styles of music.

Before we went into the studio for this one we were listening to a lot of Queen stuff and that was something we were really into at the time. So we were inspired and we started doing this sweet kind of harmony and fancied doing a few more old-school-sounding songs.

Swedish producer Klas Ahlund, the mastermind behind both Robyn and Britney Spears’ Pieces of Me, produced six of the tracks. Range admits that they were under a lot of pressure to get this album out.  

We were under pressure with time because we weren’t actually going to do an album now. We were going to wait till next year and then we recorded a few songs and that kinda started the ball rolling for doing an album this year, she said.

When we got the guys together and were told that Robyn’s producer would like to come over and work with us, that was okay. We went into the studio and did a few songs.

It was quite pressured coz the label came along to say -˜we want you to do the album now.’ We were working constantly but it was fun coz they were really fun people we were working with.

Sixteen of the Sugababes’ 22 single releases have achieved Top Ten chart success and their album sales are in excess of five million, making them the UK’s most successful female act of the 21st century.

There’s no word of a promotional tour Down Under but given the recent lack of sales in Europe it’s unlikely we’ll see them. The Sugababes have had their heyday with their previous four albums but in saying that I’m looking forward to their comeback album.   

info: Go to www.sugababes.com

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One response to “No more sugar, just soul”

  1. Thanks for the insight on the Sugarbabes!

    I certainly do not mind their music. I liked the honesty behind your opinion. I also agree a tad boring, but different sound to their previous album.Hope to hear more about other artists and up and coming singers from you.Will stay tuned to read more.Well written.