by Raj Rudolph
As soon as I saw MNEK's tweet this morning about him working with the original Sugababes, that sort of sealed the deal for me in confirming that Sugababes 1.0 are in fact recording together. There has always been something quite attractive about Sugababes 1.0 as an original lineup and how they were rough around the edges, streetwise, while still remaining utterly sophisticated. Through all the line-up changes and dilution of the Sugababes as a brand to something that seems just a little bit too plastic now, it makes perfect sense for Keisha, Siobhan and Mutya to re-form and set the world world straight on their strength as one of the best pop girl groups of all time.
Can you really blame the girls for splitting up whilst so young though? Siobhan Donaghy has bucket-loads of extraordinary talent which is evidenced by her two stellar solo albums. Mutya Buena was always a bit of free spirit, but her smoky voice is undeniably entrancing. Keish Buchannan being the quintessential mother glue of the group really had it's role and as young girls brought up in the industry, it was only fair enough for them to go out – live life on their own and comeback even stronger. Needless to say, I am excited by all the internet chatter about Sugababes 1.0 coming back. If they bring back the energy and exuberance to tracks like "Overload", "Run For Cover" and "Freak Like Me" whilst still banging out quality new tunes, then I'll be one of the happiest pop pimpers around.
When girl groups like Girls Aloud and The Saturdays in all of their glossy airbrushing and hairspray currently defining what girl groups are these days, it will be nice to see Sugababes 1.0 come back and bring their unusual and quirky aesthetic and energy back to the girl group pop culture – this time hopefully with a bit more womanly wise, maturity and importantly, REAL TALENT into this upcoming year.
Confession – I wouldn't be too bothered either if both Sugababes groups merged into one big super girl group too…that will never happen, but how amazing would it be as a one-off single or pop music event on the grand scale of let's say, a Spice Girls Reunion Tour? Food for thought.