A couple weeks ago I reviewed the Sugababes' "Sweet 7" album, today I'll be reviewing their greatest hits album, "Overloaded: The Singles Collection". The album includes all their singles from 2000-2006 except "New Year", "Soul Sound", "Angels with Dirty Faces", and "Follow Me Home". Here's my track by track review of the album.
1) Freak Like Me: The first single from their second album "Angels with Dirty Faces". The lineup on this single were the 2nd, Keisha, Mutya, and Heidi. It was the band's first U.K. number 1 and the first feature Heidi as a member of the band. The video for the single showed the girls in a club scaring guys as they seemed to be vampires. The video also acted as an introduction to Heidi joining the band. 10/10
2) Round Round: The second single from their second album "Angels with Dirty Faces". Like the first single, "Freak Like Me", it was released by the second lineup and was a number 1 in the U.K. The song is my favorite on their "Angels with Dirty Faces album and I'm happy that it's included on the album. It also hit number 7 on the U.S. dance charts. 10/10
3) Red Dress: The third single from their fourth album "Taller in More Ways". Initially recorded by the second lineup, it was re-recorded by the third line-up, Keisha, Heidi, and Amelle when Mutya left and was replaced by Amelle. Although I think Mutya sings great, Amelle sings "Red Dress" better than Mutya. Mutya has said that she hated the song and was glad they redid it. The song peaked at number 4 in the U.K. 10/10
4) In the Middle: The third single from their third album "Three". It was released by the second line-up and had a very risque video. The video also featured a slightly different version of the song than the album did as it featured re-recorded vocals (you can hear it in Keisha's verse) and the chorus is only sang once after Keisha's verse, whereas on the album version it was sung twice. That being said I love both versions and love the song. It peaked at number 8 in the U.K. 10/10
5) Stronger: The third single from their second album "Angels with Dirty Faces". It was released by the second line-up and was released as a double A-side with the song, "Angels with Dirty Faces" so the chart positions for those songs were basically the same. The song peaked at number 7 in the U.K. Despite it being an empowering song, I don't listen to it much. 8/10
6) Shape: The fourth and final single from their second album "Angels with Dirty Faces". It was released by the second line-up and samples Sting's song "Shape of My Heart". The song is amazing ballad and I liked the sample in the song. The song peaked at number 11 in the U.K. It's one of my favorites. 10/10
7) Overload: The first single from their first album "One Tough". This single was released by the original first lineup Keisha, Mutya, and Siobhan. It was their debut single and it peaked at number 6. I ignored the song for awhile but after listening to it, I think it's pretty good. 8/10
8) Good to Be Gone: This is one of the new tracks on the album. I think it's pretty boring and bland. It was supposed to be the second single from the album but the release was cancelled after the Sugababes did a collaboration with Girls Aloud. 4/10
9) Caught in a Moment: The fourth and final single from the band's third album "Three". It was released by the second line-up and although it's a good ballad, it feels like a watered down version of their single "Too Lost in You". I also wonder why this was released as a single instead of "Conversation's Over". That being said, you can't deny their great vocals. The song peaked at number 8 in the U.K. 10/10
10) Ugly: The second single from their fourth album "Taller in More Ways". It was released by the second line-up and was the last single to feature Mutya as she left the band before the third single was picked. The song is an empowerment song that was written by Dallas Austin, who co-wrote TLC's "Unpretty", which was one of the songs that "Ugly" got compared to. I love this song and I'm happy it was a single. It peaked at number 3 in the U.K. 10/10
11) Easy: The first and only single released from this album. Like "Good to Be Gone", the song is boring. The only good thing about it is the chorus. Other than that the song is dreadful. It peaked at number 8 in the U.K.
12) Too Lost in You: The second single from the band's third album "Three". It was released by the second line-up and was also on the soundtrack to the film "Love Actually". There are two versions of the video. One version of the video featured the girls walking through an airport and having fantasies about a guy. The other version is basically the same with scenes from the movie in the video. It's vocally one of their best songs. It peaked at number 10 in the U.K. 10/10
13) Run for Cover: Some versions of the greatest hits album didn't include this track and some did. The version that i got did include this song. It was the third single from their first album "One Touch" and was released by the first line-up. For some reason I don't listen to the song that much at all. It peaked at number 13 in the U.K. 5/10
14) Hole in the Head: The first single from the band's third album "Three". It was released by the second line-up and it was even released in the U.S. where it was a number 1 on the dance charts. It became the group's third number 1 in the U.K. I love song and I think it was a perfect choice to release it as a single. 10/10
15) Push the Button: The first single from the band's fourth album "Taller in More Ways". It was released by the second line-up and mainly written by Keisha as the inspiration for the song was about a guy she was crushing on. The group has said the video for the song was funny to them as the guys they were with the video aren't their types of guys. It became the band's fourth number 1 in the U.K. and was the band's best selling single until 2007 when they released "About You Now". 10/10
"Overloaded: The Singles Collection" is my favorite album by the band as it has the band's biggest hits from 2000-2006. My favorite songs are: "Round Round", "Freak Like Me", "Shape", "Too Lost in You", "Hole in the Head", "In the Middle", "Red Dress", and "Ugly". Out of 150 points I give the album 130 points which is 86%, a B+. Better grade than I gave "Sweet 7"!
Showing posts with label Sugababes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sugababes. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Friday, January 24, 2014
Sugababes: Sweet 7 Album Review
One of the U.K.'s most successful pop bands is the Sugababes. They've had a total of 6 number one singles and many top 10 hits. Unfortunately these days they aren't remembered for their music as much as they are for their line-up changes. From 1998-2001, the group consisted of Siobhan Donaghy, Mutya Buena, and Keisha Buchanan. They only released one album in 2000 called "One Touch" along with 4 singles. Siobhan left the group in 2001 and was replaced by Heidi Range. It was then that the group gained extreme success with 3 albums called "Angels with Dirty Faces", "Three", and "Taller In More Ways" and 4 number 1 singles: "Freak Like Me", "Round Round", "Hole In The Head" and "Push The Button". This line-up lasted from 2001-2006 when Mutya left the group. She was replaced with Amelle Barrabah who re-recorded three of the songs on "Taller In More Ways". This line-up lasted from 2006-2009 and released "Overloaded: The Singles Collection", a collaboration with Girls Aloud which was a cover called"Walk This Way", "Change", "Catfights and Spotlights", and a single called "Get Sexy". "Get Sexy" was to be the first single from their next album "Sweet 7". They were about to release the second single, "About a Girl", when disaster struck once again when Keisha was kicked out of the group and replaced with Jade Ewen. Because "Sweet 7" was not released yet, The record label replaced Keisha's vocals with Jade's. "About a Girl" was the first video by the Sugababes to not have any original members. Despite that Sweet 7 was still released and I'm going to review it track by track.
1) Get Sexy: The first single from Sweet 7 and the last single to feature Keisha's vocals. Unfortunately, even though Keisha was in the video for it, the album has Jade's vocals on it. It doesn't make sense to do that, especially since it doesn't make the song any less boring. It somehow peaked at number 2 in the U.K. despite many fans labeling it as "one of the Sugababes worst singles". 4/10
2) Wear My Kiss: The third and final single from the album. It was also the second to feature Jade. This song is much better than "Get Sexy" and it's futuristic video is also good. I have to say Jade's version of the song is a little better than Keisha's (don't judge me!). Another shock is that Bruno Mars co-wrote this song as well as "Get Sexy". "Wear My Kiss" peaked at number 7 in the U.K. 10/10
3) About a Girl: The second single from the album and the first to feature Jade in the band. The song was produced and co-written by RedOne, who's produced many hits for Lady Gaga. This song one of the better songs on the album and one of my favorites. The video however was not as good as the song. I'm also not sure whether I like Jade or Keisha's version of the song more since they both did great on it. The song peaked at number 8 in the U.K. without any promotion. Not bad. 10/10
4) Wait for You: Another song co-written by Bruno Mars. The song is okay, but not great. The version with Keisha was much better than the version was Jade. I usually skip it. 7/10
5) Thank You for the Heartbreak: The song was rumored to be a single at one point and I can see why. It's one of the good songs on this album. Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic co-wrote this song and he's written great songs for Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, Colbie Caillat, etc. I like Jade's version just as much as Keisha's version. Another fav. 10/10
6) Miss Everything (featuring Sean Kingston): The first and only song on the album to feature someone else on the album. The song's pretty catchy but it's only negative is Heidi's vocals on the song. Amelle, Jade, and even Sean Kingston outshine her. I'd give the song an 8 but since Keisha's version is better this one I took a point off. 7/10
7) She's a Mess: WTF?! The title of this song should be called "This Track's a Mess". TOO MUCH AUTO-TUNE! The upside to this song? The beat and Amelle singing "everybody go mad, everybody go psycho" other than that the song's horrible! 3/10
8) Give It to Me Now: The upside, there's no auto-tune. The downside, the song is boring! 3/10
9) Crash & Burn: An uptempo ballad that was supposed to be the 4th single but was cancelled. Unlike the rest of the songs on the album, this song was recorded after Keisha was kicked out of the group. But there are still 2 versions of this song. The differences are the first half of the second verse which is "We lost it all in the fire we can't get it back, there's no way to recover anything we had, we're on the outside looking in at our aftermath, now it's too late". One version has Amelle singing it and the other has Heidi singing it. I prefer the version where Heidi sings it. It's much better than the previous two songs. 10/10.
10) No More You: Another ballad. The version with Keisha has yet to be released however there is a version were she's singing it live with Heidi. This song is okay but not as good as "Crash & Burn". 8/10
11) Sweet & Amazing (Make It The Best): Sugababes go acoustic pop? An uplifting ballad that's kinda boring and feels like it's been played on radio several times before. 5/10
12) Little Miss Perfect: This was Heidi, Amelle, and Jade's favorite song on the album. It showcases their voices beautifully and it's pretty good, but not as memorable as the other songs. 6/10
Overall Sweet 7 ended up getting not only negative reviews but peaked at number 14 in the U.K., their lowest charting album since One Touch. This many have been because no original members were in the band and a lot of the songs weren't as good as their previous songs. My favorite songs on the album are: Wear My Kiss, About a Girl, Thank You for the Heartbreak, and Crash & Burn. Out of 120 points, I give it 83 which is 69%, a D. The Sugababes have apparently broken up but the original members: Siobhan, Mutya, and Keisha have gotten back together as "Mutya Keisha Siobhan", "MKS" for short. They'll release an album later this year.
1) Get Sexy: The first single from Sweet 7 and the last single to feature Keisha's vocals. Unfortunately, even though Keisha was in the video for it, the album has Jade's vocals on it. It doesn't make sense to do that, especially since it doesn't make the song any less boring. It somehow peaked at number 2 in the U.K. despite many fans labeling it as "one of the Sugababes worst singles". 4/10
2) Wear My Kiss: The third and final single from the album. It was also the second to feature Jade. This song is much better than "Get Sexy" and it's futuristic video is also good. I have to say Jade's version of the song is a little better than Keisha's (don't judge me!). Another shock is that Bruno Mars co-wrote this song as well as "Get Sexy". "Wear My Kiss" peaked at number 7 in the U.K. 10/10
3) About a Girl: The second single from the album and the first to feature Jade in the band. The song was produced and co-written by RedOne, who's produced many hits for Lady Gaga. This song one of the better songs on the album and one of my favorites. The video however was not as good as the song. I'm also not sure whether I like Jade or Keisha's version of the song more since they both did great on it. The song peaked at number 8 in the U.K. without any promotion. Not bad. 10/10
4) Wait for You: Another song co-written by Bruno Mars. The song is okay, but not great. The version with Keisha was much better than the version was Jade. I usually skip it. 7/10
5) Thank You for the Heartbreak: The song was rumored to be a single at one point and I can see why. It's one of the good songs on this album. Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic co-wrote this song and he's written great songs for Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, Colbie Caillat, etc. I like Jade's version just as much as Keisha's version. Another fav. 10/10
6) Miss Everything (featuring Sean Kingston): The first and only song on the album to feature someone else on the album. The song's pretty catchy but it's only negative is Heidi's vocals on the song. Amelle, Jade, and even Sean Kingston outshine her. I'd give the song an 8 but since Keisha's version is better this one I took a point off. 7/10
7) She's a Mess: WTF?! The title of this song should be called "This Track's a Mess". TOO MUCH AUTO-TUNE! The upside to this song? The beat and Amelle singing "everybody go mad, everybody go psycho" other than that the song's horrible! 3/10
8) Give It to Me Now: The upside, there's no auto-tune. The downside, the song is boring! 3/10
9) Crash & Burn: An uptempo ballad that was supposed to be the 4th single but was cancelled. Unlike the rest of the songs on the album, this song was recorded after Keisha was kicked out of the group. But there are still 2 versions of this song. The differences are the first half of the second verse which is "We lost it all in the fire we can't get it back, there's no way to recover anything we had, we're on the outside looking in at our aftermath, now it's too late". One version has Amelle singing it and the other has Heidi singing it. I prefer the version where Heidi sings it. It's much better than the previous two songs. 10/10.
10) No More You: Another ballad. The version with Keisha has yet to be released however there is a version were she's singing it live with Heidi. This song is okay but not as good as "Crash & Burn". 8/10
11) Sweet & Amazing (Make It The Best): Sugababes go acoustic pop? An uplifting ballad that's kinda boring and feels like it's been played on radio several times before. 5/10
12) Little Miss Perfect: This was Heidi, Amelle, and Jade's favorite song on the album. It showcases their voices beautifully and it's pretty good, but not as memorable as the other songs. 6/10
Overall Sweet 7 ended up getting not only negative reviews but peaked at number 14 in the U.K., their lowest charting album since One Touch. This many have been because no original members were in the band and a lot of the songs weren't as good as their previous songs. My favorite songs on the album are: Wear My Kiss, About a Girl, Thank You for the Heartbreak, and Crash & Burn. Out of 120 points, I give it 83 which is 69%, a D. The Sugababes have apparently broken up but the original members: Siobhan, Mutya, and Keisha have gotten back together as "Mutya Keisha Siobhan", "MKS" for short. They'll release an album later this year.
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