the sugababes get sexy.

Ok, the blog entry I was planning to write has been put on hold because today the Sugababes’ new single premiered on radio.  It’s called “Get Sexy” and it is very good.  It is the best thing they have released since Amelle joined the group, because it brings back the Sugababes sound of urban club pop as present on their previous songs “Freak Like Me”, “Blue”, “Whatever Makes You Happy”, “Gotta Be You” and “Future Shokk!”.  So to the people who are saying the Sugababes have sold out and are simply copying “Boom Boom Pow”, you are very 2000 and late because the Sugababes were doing this kind of music much prior to releasing Avril-lite pop such as “About You Now” (although the piano-led ballad version on Catfights and Spotlights went a long way to redeeming that song for me).

When Mutya left the group, I was very curious to see how the Sugababes would continue since, up to that point it had seemed like Mutya was the main creative energy in the group, and her attitude and swagger modified Keisha’s pop sensibilities into something much more angular.  Replaced by Amelle, it would seem that I had been correct – her voice just didn’t have that Sugababes blend (whereas when Heidi replaced Siobhan, her voice was a stellar compliment to the group – if you don’t believe me, go and listen to “Breathe Easy (Acoustic Jam)” and any live version of “Stronger”) and seemed harsh and grating.  Out went the streetwise edge, in came the high pop polish that remained for the Change album; IMO, the group’s creative nadir.  By Catfights and Spotlights, Amelle’s voice seemed to complement the others’ more and the mix of brass-led pop and R&B tracks such as “Side Chick” and “Can We Call A Truce” evoked 60s Motown as interpreted by Shola Ama.  An improvement, but still not enough for me to consider the Sugababes back in my good books.  Meanwhile, Mutya Buena dropped a fantastic solo album which underperformed and she was promptly dropped from her label.  As ever, my taste and that of the British public are very divergent.

So “Get Sexy” is not a particularly deep song; “My Love Is Pink” was hardly a lyrical revelation.  But “Get Sexy” is a song that embodies fun, attitude and club-ready flirting, and it is a song that you can act sexy to.  It has multiple hooks (one of which riffs of that classic Right Said Fred song), and Heidi’s voice in the second verse is the sexiest part of the whole thing.  I doubt very much that the Sugababes aimed to ape the Black Eyed Peas, but I don’t care if they did, because it’s better than choosing to ape Girls Aloud or the Saturdays, which is apparently what people expected.  And if the Sugababes are still defying expectations and releasing fantastic music such as this, then I might just begin following them again with renewed interest.

Oh, after all that, you might want to listen to the song.  Here you are – enjoy! 😀

You can also stream it below: