The Ever-Changing Face Of The Sugababes
By admin • Oct 20th, 2009Following news last month that the last remaining original member of girl group Sugababes - Keisha Buchanan - had been given the boot to make way for yet another new girl, the world has been left questioning the credibility of the threesome. Once admired as a unique and edgy act, the Sugababes seems to have become more of a brand than a band.
Sugababes was originally formed by childhood chums Keisha, Mutya Buena and Siobhan Donaghy back in 1998. Their first single Overload was released in 2000, gaining the band much critical success. However, after rumours of in-fighting between the three girls emerged, Siobhan walked out of the group and was subsequently replaced by blonde babe Heidi Range.
It was this line-up, comprising Keisha, Mutya and Heidi, that went on to enjoy the band’s greatest success, with hit singles including Freak Like Me and Push the Button. From 2002 to 2006, the girls seemed to get on well before Mutya made her shock departure amid more rumours of in-fighting between the girls. However, at the time, she claimed that it was her wish to leave in order to spend more time with her little girl. Mutya’s replacement in 2006 was Amelle Berrabah, with whom both Keisha and Heidi claimed they instantly clicked.
It seemed that the common denominator among all the group’s speculated rifts that caused the line-up reshuffles in the first place was the last remaining original member Keisha, which suggested that it was she who was pulling all the strings behind the scenes. But that theory was proved wrong when she found herself ousted last month by Heidi and Amelle.
According to widespread reports, Keisha and newcomer Amelle did not get on and the former allegedly pushed to have the latter booted out, but the group’s management and Heidi craftily decided that it was she who needed to go and started auditioning for her replacement - before they even informed her of her own departure.
The fourth line-up of the group - with none of its original members - now stands as Heidi, Amelle and Keisha’s replacement Jade Ewen. According to a number of different publications, the threesome should now change their name because Sugababes is dead. In a report by the Guardian entitled Why the Sugababes show can’t go on without Keisha, journalist Peter Robinson stated: "Today the Sugababes don’t exist as a band … If this new girl group before us today is to have any future at all, and Ewen, Berrabah and Range do actually make a great three-piece, it must find a new name. Sugababes died when Buchanan left."
Something that is likely to please fans of the original line-up - Keisha, Mutya and Siobhan - is speculation that they are set to reunite. Apparently Mutya has approached the other two about a possible rejuvenation of the real Sugababes and they are reportedly considering it.
Commenting on the sorry state of affairs that saw Keisha ousted from her own band, Mutya was recently quoted as saying: "It all started so innocently … a love for music and a dream … look what it’s become."
