Niki N. Phaser

After a few days ago it was reported that Amelle Berrabah left the British pop force, Sugababes, it is now officially confirmed that it’s actually the last original member, Keisha Buchanan, that is no longer a sugababe. The departure was obviously not as peaceful as these events are advertised to be in Pop La-La Land. Buchanan herself confessed on her twitter page that “Although it was not my choice to leave, it’s time to enter a new chapter in my life”. This is not the end of Sugababes (should it be?), as a new member was already being groomed in the person of Jade Ewen, singer, actress and Eurovision contestant. The new Sugababes album, Sweet 7 will come out on November 23rd, probably re-recorded with Ewen, even though the last single to feature Keisha Buchanan, Get Sexy, reached the second spot in the UK and represented a strong comeback for the band. Maybe the music woun’t be affected, considering that the girls weren’t always holding writing credits, but it’s always sad when a band becomes an institution where people come and go.

Sugababes announced the release of their new single Get Sexy on the 31st of August, which is preceding their anticipated new album (out November), recorded in the US, with producers like RedOne (partly responsible for Lady Gaga’s Just Dance and Poker Face), the Stargate team (Beyonce’s Irreplaceable) or Ne-Yo. Get Sexy received its worlwide premiere on July 7 on Scott Mills’ Radio One show. Another thing it received was mixed impressions. The song will surely be a club hit, plenty of booties will shake to it, but it’s a change for Sugababes, an obvious one. A bit of that melodic innocence that was their trademark is missing in this one. They have been Americanized, meaning they sound like Lady Gaga or Ciara or whoever is topping the US dance charts. On the other hand, this is just a single, so let’s keep our shirt on.

Despite losing two of the founding members, Sugababes were always a band that could offer pop perfection, despite their (too) often stops at the R’n'B station. They are also a band very well represented through their singles. Nothing’s As Good As You and Every Heart Broken would have been essential hits if promoted properly. But, after all, their 2008 album, Catfights and Spotlights could be called “an incident”, because it had so much great material, but created a little buzz, except for Girls, which was released so relatively soon after Denial, that most people thought it was from Change.

But all of this is additional information, the fact remains that Nothing’s As Good As You is a good non-single example of the Sugababes sweetness. Sometimes, they co-write the songs, sometimes they are just inspired in choosing producers. This song, co-written among others by V.V. Brown, has the 60′s feel that was in fashion last year, but it also has quality vocal hooks that will never sound outdated. Lyrically, we are dealing with a straightforward “I love you” song, with the girls singing simple lyrics like “I just can’t help the way that I’m feeling, Nothing’s as good as you, What is it that you make me so crazy, I’m so in love with you”. If you are able to leave behind all prejudices regarding sexy pop girlbands, you’ll discover a real feel-good sunshine pill over here.