To their surprise, the English girls from The Sugababes have become the hippest girl group of their generation. It would only have made a difference if the Babes had ceased to exist. After the release of the debut album One Touch (2001) it has been quite a mess in the ranks. After the departure of group member from the first hour Siobhan and the entry of Heidi (ex-Atomic Kitten), the tide turned.
The second album Angels With Dirty Faces (2002) - with the singles Round Round and Freak Like Me - was the definitive breakthrough. There are few surprises to be heard on the third album Three, other than the bhangra influences in Million Different Ways. For the rest, they draw as ever to their heart's content from r & b, hip-hop and UK garage, in twelve songs partly written by the group members themselves, that are still firmer than the majority of the girl groups but no longer so surprising. The ballad Sometimes, sung by Heidi, contains all the annoying groans and mannerisms of the genre. The Sugababes are sounding more and more like an ordinary girl group. (MS)more
