All 27 Sugababes singles ranked definitively from worst to best by The Tab. No Can Do at the very bottom, and Freak Like Me at the top. Thoughts?

 

I always hated No Can Do, but not sure it's deserving of last place when Wear My Kiss and Get Sexy exist...

I don’t agree with a lot of this list. Flatline near the top? In the Middle above Change and About a Girl and Red Dress? No. Love Denial being as high as number 11.

There's definitively oddities on that list - funny how Flatline was included and Freedom wasn't. I'm guessing they bought the whole "free Amazon download as a gift for the fans" bit?

There’s defo been some choices made. I’m happy to see Flatline high as it’s a truly wonderful track

I actually pretty much agree with that list :o In fact switch out Angels with Dirty Faces for Denial (which they have at 11th anyway) and you have my top 10 of theirs.

There’s defo been some choices made.

 

I spent the majority of the time thinking this, it's clearly a strong 1.0 fan who has made the list. Which is fine, just don't completely agree with it, but everyone's different. #congenialmuch

Do agree with some of these placements, 'Girls' & 'No Can Do' - both very deserving of bottom placements as they were dreadful lead single choices that tanked the 'Catfights & Spotlights' era (still a dreadful album title). The album wasn't all that great, but there were far better choices on there such as 'Every Heart Broken', 'You On A Good Day', 'Sunday Rain' or even 'Nothing;s As Good As You'.

The 'Sweet 7' era was DREADFUL, nothing could have saved that.

'Change' was a pretty boring & forgettable song, not surprised to see that so low. But nice to see some love for 'Flatline' (incredibly underrated), 'Soul Sound' (okay not as great as the other 'One Touch' singles, but still better than most of the Amelle era singles. 'Denial' - YES that really was the last great Sugababes single.

'Stronger' - SHOULD be top 10 & swapped with 'Angels With Dirty Faces' as well as 'In The Middle' which again is far too high.

Do agree with some of these placements, 'Girls' & 'No Can Do' - both very deserving of bottom placements as they were dreadful lead single choices that tanked the 'Catfights & Spotlights' era (still a dreadful album title). The album wasn't all that great, but there were far better choices on there such as 'Every Heart Broken', 'You On A Good Day', 'Sunday Rain' or even 'Nothing;s As Good As You'.

 

I don't think though after Girls that any other track from C&F would've performed better than No Can Do, as naff as it was, I believe it was the next most commercial song on there. I always go through phases too of thinking C&S could be my favourite Sugababes album to listen to, after Girls has finished of course.

Flatline is not top 3... and Angels with Dirty Faces is definitely not top 10 material

rest more or less ok

I did hate No Can Do at the time, but I've found a new appreciation for it over the years. It's a nice list. Sure it has questionable choices but that's the point of it. Loving Flatline and Denial so high, but Get Sexy should be in the pits of hell.

that list seems so wrong to me?

 

Follow Me Home is such a lovely song (the Mutya version)

 

Caught In A Moment at #20? That's to low.

 

Angels With Dirty Faces at #10? That's about 15 places to high.

 

I understand this is just opinion though.

Follow Me Home is such a lovely song (the Mutya version)

 

This. :wub: It makes me so sad that Follow Me Home gets the hate it does. It was a horrendous single for 3.0, but the original is completely stunning.

This. :wub: It makes me so sad that Follow Me Home gets the hate it does. It was a horrendous single for 3.0, but the original is completely stunning.

 

Whilst I don’t think it was a great single choice it should’ve been a 2.0 single.

 

The original is sublime, the 3.0 version just doesn’t match up to it for me. Not a surprise given I believe. Part if not all of it was written about Mutya’s daughter.

Oh, totally. In an ideal world (i.e. one in which Mutya never left :cry:), Ace Reject would've worked well in its place in closing the era, following on from Gotta Be You or Red Dress (I know Mutya despises it, but I still think it was a good single) as the third single. Although, I do think they were intent on releasing Follow Me Home all along, and for sure it would've performed better than when 3.0 released it, at the least.

I also find something irritating in the way the writer reviews half of the songs, I can't put my finger on it. He sounded a bit bitchy when reviewing the Saturdays too.

Flatline is not top 3... and Angels with Dirty Faces is definitely not top 10 material

rest more or less ok

Couldn’t agree more, needs to be top 2!

I've posted the results of the Girls Aloud/Cheryl rankings in their forum & decided to do the same here, just copy & paste it from the tab article to make it easier for people to read:

27. No Can Do
This is one of the blandest pieces of music ever recorded. It’s advert music. It’s music that your mum would listen to reading the Argos catalogue. No clue why this was recorded or ever made. Dreary, dull, and couldn’t be less like a Sugababes song if it tried.

26. Girls
Girls is a slight improvement on No Can Do, but barely, and it’s a bleak state of affairs for their sixth album Catfights and Spotlights that these two Boots advert fodder were pushed as lead singles. I do think that bombastic brass production that feels almost Mark Ronsonesque was good for the time in 2008 – but it’s hard to imagine many people getting particularly excited by a song that sounds like the equivalent of getting a good deal on some face cream in 2021.

25. Change
Not sure what the college course in BTEC hair and beauty is going on with this music video, but Change is just fine. It’s completely and utterly fine. It’s miles better than the dregs of this list, but it is a song that elicits no response. Empty.

24. Follow Me Home
Follow Me Home was the fourth single from Taller In More Ways, and it’s just kind of… nice. The song was written when Mutya was still in the band and has a verse written by her about her daughter that then ended up being sang by Amelle, which just feels daft. I love a Sugababes midtempo, but this one isn’t really for the history books.

23. Get Sexy
This song is actually a load of shite. It’s so stupid. It’s what people who have no clue about pop music think pop music is. It kind of sounds like a fictional song in a film about music that they’d show the character releasing for the narrative of them selling out to the mainstream. But you know what? I kind of love it! If this comes on in a gay bar you know it’s popping off, and there’s a place for that. Even if it’s on a Sugababes singles ranked list sounding nothing like a Sugababes song.

22. Easy
Easy was the lead single from their greatest hits compilation record, and it’s pretty good, actually. Not sure why the video was filmed in a club toilet but I wish it well.

21. Wear My Kiss
An empty, soulless, vacuous bop. Not a Sugababes song in the slightest and barely a single reputable Sugababe singing. Could have been recorded by any pop artist in 2010. But do I slap my tits when it comes on? You bet.

20. Caught In A Moment
Caught In A Moment is a great song, and in a lesser group’s discography would get a much higher ranking. But the beats and vibes the girls go for here is similar to other songs they’ve done that are a lot better, and it often feels like just a placeholder in their catalogue to me and isn’t too much of a heavy hitter to the other tunes when you get the Sugababes singles ranked. Vocally gorgeous, though.

19. Ugly
A great little self love anthem in the vein of Beautiful by Christina Aguilera, complete with music video that tries to hit the exact same beats as that song. It’s good though. Great vocal harmonies on the chorus and a nice listen, even if its not particularly remarkable.

18. Red Dress
A Xenomania written tune that sounds too much like a Girls Aloud reject for it to be much in the Sugababes discography. It would be a middle of the pack Girls Aloud song, and it’s a middle of the pack song for the Sugababes also. A banger that we’re happy to hear, but uninspired lyricism and predictable production. It’s also Amelle’s first vocal appearance, which was never going to work particularly in its favour let’s be honest!

17. About A Girl
RedOne! SUGABABES! Cringing to the high heavens at this awful video, bopping to the high heavens over this anthemic EDM lead banger. The music video looks like a record label has just scooped up three random women and forced them to make a song. But this song goes off. Don’t deny it. The sparkling jewel in the middle of the Sweet 7 turd.

16. Shape
Shape marks the point of the ranked Sugababes singles where things are getting truly excellent. This is a brilliant song, and considering it was the last single of their second album and it’s still to this high quality is a testament to how good Angels With Dirty Faces is as a record. Everyone’s vocals are immaculate and the production is perfect. Mutya sounds like butter. Heidi in the video as some kind of butterfly goddess is gorg.

15. Soul Sound
The final single from their first and best album, Soul Sound is quite frankly just absolutely delicious, and if you think it’s ranked too high on this Sugababes singles ranked list – TOUGH. The way the OG Sugababes sound vocally together is untouchable. They work in perfect synchronization and sound so mature – they were 14/15 when they recorded their vocals for this. It’s lush.

14. New Year
Their second ever single New Year is this simple and heartfelt Christmas song, that deserves to be in the conversation for one of the best festive songs ever made. Certainly one of the best released after the year 2000. It’s one of those special Christmas songs that can exist outside of the holiday season. Christmas heartbreak is the theme, but the melody and lyrical content suits any time of year. A little festive gem in the Sugababes singles discography, and it’s getting ranked respectfully because of it.

13. Stronger
It’s heartbreaking to me that a song this great hasn’t even got into the top 10, but such is the calibre of the material we’re working with. Stronger is ominous, bursting with attitude and a jaded bitterness that makes the girls sound wise beyond their years. The production is cinematic and twinkly with glimmers of William Orbit. Heidi’s legendary police siren note in the bridge is the stuff pop music history is built on.

12. Push The Button
What Push The Button does so successfully that the sound shift for Catfights and Spotlights and Sweet 7 never managed is evolving the sound of the Sugababes to something poppier without abandoning what makes them sound special. It still sounds so distinctly them. The video is legendary, everyone’s vocals are amazing. Keisha’s pre-chorus is pop perfection and she literally never misses. It’s their second best selling single ever and a number one hit, with very good reason.

11. Denial
An absolute god tier later Sugababes single, and one that I think is deeply underrated. Written by industry legend V V Brown whilst she rode the Victoria Line, Denial samples Standing In The Way Of Control by Gossip but makes it completely its own. The chorus is euphoric, and the only way you could improve Denial is if Mutya sang instead of Amelle. Excellent and underrated pop banger.

10. Angels With Dirty Faces
Production wise alone, the title track from the Sugababes’ second record is one of their most futuristic and exciting. The way the song starts with that wob wob sound and the whispered “Keisha… Mutya… Heidi”? So special and thrilling. The verses have a UK garage bounce to them and then the chorus is full moans, harmonies and gorgeous layering. The lyric “you don’t know that we’re angels with dirty faces in the morning” is absolute cinema to me.

9. In The Middle
It’s a national outrage and travesty that this song’s music video only exists on YouTube in one megapixel of quality. We need a remaster immediately! In The Middle is like a shot of adrenaline to your veins. Rampant, chaotic, seductive. Absolute banger and deserves its solid placement when Sugababes singles get ranked. Every one is on top form. Goes off.

8. About You Now
Even Amelle’s fag ash breath vocals and Keisha’s horrible bob haircut couldn’t detract from About You Now being one of the best pop songs of the 21st century. This is how to do a pop smash. It pounds along at a banging pace, it’s vocally well layered and has arguably their best chorus. It’s their all time best selling song, a fact that surprises no one. Huge stuff. Keisha deserved a Grammy for her up the octave final chorus.

7. Hole In The Head
As soon as Mutya kicks off that sublime first verse with her unparalleled voice, you just know Hole in the Head is going to be so special. It’s bombastic and weird, and sounds completely cool and fresh nearly 20 years after it was released. Heidi’s throaty second verse sounds so perfectly 00s. Sugababes at their most unique and special.

6. Run For Cover
The third single from Sugababes’ first record One Touch is breathtakingly mature. Cinematic and lush orchestration over a hip hop drum beat. Run For Cover feels so dark and ominous, and once it soaks into your veins it never leaves. The 2021 MNEK rework is a great new take too, and really showcases the staying power of how good the Sugababes sound was.

5. Too Lost In You
Diane Warren wrote Too Lost In You as a rework of the French song Quand J’ai Peur du Tout by Patricia Kaas, and gave it new lyrics in a writing room with Mutya, Keisha and Heidi. The result is one of Sugababes’ most rich and haunting songs, with so much depth and replay value. They all sound absolutely perfect. It’s an irresistible song. If you aren’t obsessed with it I don’t know what to tell you. Click off this list now!

4. Round Round
Round Round is a song that just feels absolutely massive. It swirls and swells like a pop juggernaut, especially when coupled with the wind machine laden music video that has the Sugababes girls looking like they’re about to destroy earth with their star power and prowess all whilst bopping softly from side to side. By the time we get to Heidi’s legendary bridge that completely changes up the entire song in what feels like the music equivalent of an M Night Shyamalan film twist, I’ve already died and gone to pop heaven.

3. Flatline
Wasn’t sure wether to include this on a Sugababes singles ranked list, but concluded it’s too important not to. Original babes Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan came back together in 2013 and weren’t allowed to call themselves the band name that they originated. It was a stupid, legal faff – but under the name Mutya Keisha Siobhan came Flatline, one of their best ever songs that when it underperformed resulted in a comeback era that never really materialised. Produced by Dev Hynes (Blood Orange), Flatline is exactly what Sugababes should sound like in the 2010s/2020s. Gorgeous harmonies, production that suits them so well and a song that just feels so perfect to their artistry and legacy.

It’s been taken off streaming services, seemingly due to the girls now being back together with their original name. Justice for Flatline, one of the greatest songs of their career and the last decade.

2. Overload
Overload is one of those rare, special songs that come around about once in a blue moon. It’s a miraculous pop song written by a new girl group aged 13. The songwriting and production are so exemplary it’s had critical acclaim for years, appearing on best of lists for the year and for the decade. There’s something so special about it. It gets into your system. Overload is not just a song, it is a way of life. I listen at least once a day and probably will for the rest of my life. You should probably do the same.

1. Freak Like Me
Richard X, producer of Freak Like Me, had a stroke of genius when he mashed up Adina Howard’s original version with the instrumental of Are Friends Electric by Tubeway Army and Gary Numan. The Frankenstein formula of the song being put together ended up with the Sugababes vocals on because X couldn’t get the rights to Howard’s vocals. Released as the Sugababes 2.0 lineup’s big lead single, it was a huge critical and commercial success and is one of the best pop songs ever made.

It’s grimy, it’s filthy, it’s dark. It sounds nothing like anything that could have been released by any other girl group, and it helped change perceptions on pop music being cool again. It’s why the Sugababes are so special, and it’s the best single they’ve ever released. We are not worthy.

I’ve only just seen this & I’m sad that anyone could feel that Change is “empty”, I’ve always thought it’s a very beautiful and moving song.

23. Get Sexy

This song is actually a load of shite. It’s so stupid. It’s what people who have no clue about pop music think pop music is. It kind of sounds like a fictional song in a film about music that they’d show the character releasing for the narrative of them selling out to the mainstream.

 

Honestly, this is a perfect description of Get Sexy. I could totally see it being featured in Girls5Eva with Sara Bareilles character being totally opposed to it and thinking the Right Said Fred sample is stupid while Busy Phillips and Renée Elise Goldsberrys characters are totally into it. :lol:

 

I'd also think the obvious comparison to Ugly is TLC's Unpretty, not Christina's Beautiful.

Edited May 11, 20223 yr by tommie

My top singles:

 

29. Walk this way

28. Get Sexy

27. Angels with dirty faces

26. Girls

25. Easy

24. Wear my kiss

23. Freedom

22. about a girl

21. Follow me home

20. Caught in a moment

19. soul sound

18. freak like me

17. ugly

16. change

15. shape

14. too lost in you

13. no can do

12. denial

11. push the button

10. New year

9. Red dress

8. hole in the head

7. in the middle

6. about you now

5. Stronger

4. Flatline

3. Round round

2. Overload

1. Run for cover

Edited May 12, 20223 yr by Sacred3