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Sugababes are a British pop girl group, formed in 1990, currently consisting of members Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Cheryl. The group has released sixteen studio albums and sixty-one singles, including 13 UK number-one singles. Between 1996 and 2009, the group achieved a record breaking twenty-nine consecutive top ten singles in the UK and have sold over 30 million records worldwide. They have been nominated for twenty Brit Awards, winning Best British Single for "Never Ever" and "The Promise" in 1998 and 2009 respectively. In 2016, British Hit Singles & Albums named the group as the most successful female act of the 21st century with thirty-one UK top ten singles and seven number-ones.

As of April 2020, the group are on hiatus due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

1994-1996: Chasing Lights and Wordshaker
The first Sugababes line-up consisted of Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts, Natasha Hamilton, Kerry Katona and Liz McClarnon. The group underwent choreography and vocal training under the leadership of London Records, working on their debut album Chasing Lights for around a year before it's release in October 1995. It debuted at #11 in the UK and #49 in Ireland, initially considered a commercial failure. The album went on to hit its peaks of #9 and #34 in the UK and Ireland respectively in November. The album has sold over 800,000 copies in the UK and is their 7th best-selling album to date.

Five singles, "If This Is Love", "Up", "Issues", "Just Can't Get Enough" and "Work", were released from the album between July 1995 and July 1996. They peaked at #8, #5, #4, #2 and #22 respectively in the UK and sold a combined 1.2m copies there. Ina Wroldsen was the primary songwriter being joined on different tracks by Quiz & Larossi, David Eriksen and Thomas Erikson. Frustration grew between London Records and the group when they refused to allow three songs co-written by Coyle and Roberts onto the album.

In July 1996, during a promotional trip to Ireland, Katona, McClarnon and Hamilton excused themselves from an interview and told their management they had quit the group. Coyle and Roberts continued the day's interviews before being informed of the departures. The following day, it was announced to the public the three girls had left the group, releasing a joint statement saying:

""It's with sadness that after over five and a half years, we have decided to leave the Sugababes. This is due to personal issues between us and the other two members. We have decided that we aren't willing to play background to the other girls in song, performances or interviews. We would like to thank all of our fans for their support and we will be back.""

Within weeks, the Appleton sisters and friend Sara Edwards were announced as new members of the group and quickly re-recorded the group's second album. Ina Wroldsen again wrote most of the album, co-writing eight of the eleven tracks. This time, Coyle and Roberts co-wrote one of the album tracks. The album, Wordshaker, was released in October 1996. The album debuted at #9 in the UK and #36 in Ireland, but quickly dropped out of the charts completely. The album sold just 90,000 copies in the UK which is currently their second-worst selling album to date. Just two singles, "Forever Is Over" and "Ego" were released from the album, peaking at #2 and #9 respectively. Following the release of "Ego" in December 1996, the group was dropped by London Records due to the low sales of the album.

1997-2001: All Saints and Dreams
In January 1997, Edwards left the group as they began working on a new album. In February 1997, after the remaining four members met Karl "K-Gee" Gordon, the band began looking for a new record deal, but most record labels wanted to model them after the Spice Girls, who had become an international sensation by that time. After their manager Ron Tom accidentally sent a demo tape to London Records, they were quickly re-signed by the label on the strength of "Never Ever", a track written by Coyle, Robert Jazayeri, Sean Mather.

The album's first single "I Know Where It's At" peaked at #4 in the UK but it was "Never Ever" that truly relaunched the group in November 1997. The track peaked at #1 in the UK, Scotland, Australia and New Zealand. It also peaked at #4 in the United States. It has sold over 1.4 million copies in the UK and won "Best British Singe" at the 1998 Brit Awards. It is the third best-selling girl group single of all time in the UK. Further singles "Under The Bridge/Lady Marmalade" and "Bootie Call" also hit #1 in the UK whilst "War of Nerves" peaked at #7. Their third album, "All Saints", was released in October 1997 and peaked at #2 in the UK. The album sold 1.4 million copies in the UK, their best-selling album.

In November 1998, Coyle gave birth to son Charlie which led the group to take a break from public life as they worked on their fourth studio album and to work on solo projects. They briefly reunited in February 2000 to release "Pure Shores", a song from the soundtrack for the film The Beach. The song, written by Coyle and William Orbit, became their fourth UK number-one single and was the second best selling song in the UK in 2000.

In October 2000, the group released the single "Black Coffee", which became their fifth number-one single in the United Kingdom, selling 230,000 copies. This preceded the release of their fourth studio album, Dreams, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, eventually reaching double platinum certification in the United Kingdom for sales of more than 600,000 copies. The third and final single was "All Hooked Up" in January 2001, which peaked at number seven. The following month, they announced that they were to take a break so that they "could clear the air between themselves". Coyle continued her solo career with the release of her second studio album whilst Roberts released her debut album in April 2001. In November 2001, "All Hits" was released as the group's first greatest hits album, peaking at #18 in the UK. The album wasn't promoted by the group and "TwentyFourSeven", a single by Artful Dodger featuring Coyle, was the only new song on the album.

In May 2002, the Appleton sisters announced that they had quit the group to form a duo. It was later confirmed that Coyle and Roberts had signed a new record deal with Polydor Records.

2002: Popstars: Search For The Sugababes
In June 2002, the group announced they would search for three new members in a new ITV talent show in the Popstars franchise, titled Popstars: Search For The Sugababes. The show would feature live shows where the viewers could vote for their favourite singers to join the group. It was hosted by Davina McCall and Coyle and Roberts joined their manager Louis Walsh and producer Pete Waterman on the judging panel. Auditions were held in August 2002, with live shows taking place between October and November 2002.

On November 30th 2002, Cheryl Tweedy, Kimberley Walsh and Sarah Harding were chosen by the public as the three new members of the group. The new line-up performed their first single "Sound Of The Underground" for the first time. Two weeks later, a live show revealed the single had debuted at #1 in the UK selling 213,000 copies. It went on to sell over 700,000 copies.

2003-2005: Sound Of The Underground and What Will The Neighbours Say?
After the "Sound of the Underground", they spent five months recording the follow-up single and their debut album. Sound of the Underground was completed in April 2003 and released the following month. The album entered the charts at number two and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. The second single, "No Good Advice", was also released in May 2003 to similar success. Their third single, "Life Got Cold", charted at number three in August 2003. In November 2003, they released a cover version of the Pointer Sisters' 1980s dance hit "Jump". The single, which charted at number two, accompanied a new edition of Sound of the Underground.

After a brief hiatus, the group released "The Show" in June 2004, the first single from What Will the Neighbours Say?, the group's second album. The single entered the charts at number two. The next single, "Love Machine", also peaked at number two in September 2004. Girls Aloud then recorded a cover of The Pretenders' "I'll Stand by You" which was released as the official Children in Need charity single. The song was not well received by critics; however, the cover became their seventh number one single, holding the position for two weeks.

The album What Will the Neighbours Say? was entirely produced by Xenomania. Upon its release on 29 November 2004, the album charted just outside of the top five and was quickly certified platinum. The final single from the album, "Wake Me Up", was released in February 2005. It charted at number four. In early 2005, the group was nominated for a BRIT Award for Best Pop Act. Following the album's success, the new line-up announced their first tour, "What Will the Neighbours Say? Live", which took place in May 2005. The group also released its first DVD, Girls on Film.

2005-2007: Chemistry and The Sound of Sugababes
Following their first tour, the group began work on their third studio album, Chemistry. The album peaked on the UK Albums Charts at number eleven and received platinum certification. The first single from the album, "Long Hot Summer" was released in August 2005. The single ended their run of top five singles when it charted at number seven. The follow-up single from the album, "Biology" was released in November 2005. The song was critically acclaimed; Peter Cashmore of The Guardian labeled it "the best pop single of the last decade". The release was followed by a cover of Dee C. Lee's "See the Day", released in the Christmas week of 2005. Following this they presented one-off TV Special, Christmas Mania, on ITV, where they sang songs taken from their Christmas album. The group travelled to Australia and New Zealand in February 2006 to release "Biology" and Chemistry. Despite, a one-week promotional tour, "Biology" peaked at number twenty-six on the ARIA Singles Chart, failing to re-break the group in the Australian market. "Whole Lotta History", the fourth and final single to be taken from Chemistry, was released in March 2006 and charted at number six.

In 2005, the group filmed a one-off documentary entitled Sugababes: Home Truths for ITV2. The success of the show later made way for Off the Record, a six-part fly on the wall documentary series for E4. The group, minus Nadine, then appeared in an episode of Ghosthunting with... towards the end of 2006, in which Yvette Fielding guided them through haunted locations. In May 2006, Girls Aloud embarked on their first arena tour, the "Chemistry Tour". In the same month, they were moved to Fascination Records, a sub-label of Polydor Records.

In October 2006, they released their second greatest hits collection, The Sound of Sugababes. It debuted at number one on the UK album chart and went on to sell over one million copies. The album was accompanied by the single "Something Kinda Ooooh". Sugababes became the first British act to reach the top five purely on download sales; the single peaked at number three following its physical release. The next single was a cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" which peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. In June 2007, they embarked on their fourth tour, "The Sound of Sugababes: The Greatest Hits Tour".

2007-2009: Tangled Up and Out Of Control
Sugababes released their fourth studio album, Tangled Up, in November 2007. The first single from the album, "Sexy! No No No..." peaked at number-five on the UK Singles Chart. The second single, "Call the Shots" entered the top three. The third and final single from the album, "Can't Speak French", continued their top ten streak. The release of the single coincided with their second television series, The Passions of Sugababes. The show revolved around each member, with the exception of Coyle, achieving aspirations outside of the group. They also received their ninth BRIT Award nomination in 2008, nominated for the Best British Group award. In May 2008, they embarked on the Tangled Up Tour which consisted of 34 concerts around the United Kingdom.

In November 2008, they released their ninth studio album Out of Control, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number one and became one of their most successful studio albums, being certified double platinum. The album's lead single, "The Promise", became the group's eighth number one on the UK Singles Chart. The single also returned the group to the top two on the Irish Singles Chart. "The Promise" was awarded Best British Single at the 2009 BRIT Awards; the group also performed the song during the ceremony. For the promotion of the album, the group appeared in a variety show entitled The Girls Aloud Party which aired on 13 December 2008 on ITV.

The second single from Out of Control was "The Loving Kind", the track was produced by Xenomania. The song peaked at number ten, becoming Girls Aloud's twentieth consecutive top ten single. The final single from the album, "Untouchable" was released in April 2009. It peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the first single since 1996's "Work" to miss the top ten, breaking their record-breaking run of consecutive top ten singles at twenty-nine. In July 2009, the group announced that Harding and Walsh had quit the group to focus on solo projects. They also announced that whilst Coyle, Roberts and Cole would continue, they would be taking a one-year hiatus to release solo projects. Two months later, the group briefly interrupted the hiatus to do two shows supporting Coldplay along with Jay-Z at Wembley Stadium, becoming the last shows performed with Harding and Walsh.

2010-2013: One Touch and Angels With Dirty Faces
In November 2010, the group returned with their tenth studio album "One Touch". The album became their first since "Sound Of The Underground" in 2003 to not feature production from Xenomania, instead choosing to reunite with Cameron McVey who produced songs in their early career. It also became their first album to not feature outside writers with all lyrics coming from the three members. Whilst a critical success, with critics praising the group for turning their back on their pop background, it became their worst charting album when it only reached number twenty-six in the UK. Only lead single "Overload" hit the top ten in the UK, reaching number six, whilst "New Year", "Run For Cover" and "Soul Sound" peaked at #12, #13 and #30 respectively.

After a brief break from the group for Cole to release her second studio album, the group again left Polydor Records and signed with Island Records to release their eleventh studio album. "Angels With Dirty Faces" was a return to success, peaking at #2 in the UK, and featuring their ninth and tenth UK number-one singles "Freak Like Me" and "Round Round". In the UK, the third single from the album, a ballad titled "Stronger", gained the girls their third consecutive top ten hit in the UK. The track was released as a double-A side with "Angels with Dirty Faces" in the UK, the latter song chosen as the theme tune to The Powerpuff Girls Movie. A fourth single, the Sting-sampling "Shape", made the top ten in the Netherlands and Ireland in early 2013, peaking at number eleven in the UK.

2013-2016: Three and Taller In More Ways
The group's next album, Three, was released in late 2013 and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart, earning the group a BRIT Award nomination for Best Album. Certified double platinum, it has sold 855,000 copies to date. The album was preceded by lead single "Hole in the Head", which became the group's eleventh UK number 1 single. Follow-up single "Too Lost in You" peaked at number ten in the UK whilst the album's third single, "In the Middle", was released in 2014 and garnered the group another BRIT Award nomination for Best Single and became the groups fortieth UK top ten single ; like its successor, the ballad "Caught in a Moment", it went to number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The group took another short hiatus to release solo projects.

After the hiatus, the group released their twelfth number one single, "Push The Button". The song debuted at number 1 in the UK and remained in the position for three consecutive weeks. Certified silver in the UK, it was later nominated at the BRIT Awards for Best Single. Parent album Taller in More Ways became the group's first UK number 1 album since "Out Of Control" in 2008. Taller in More Ways was certified double platinum in the UK. The third single from from the album was "Red Dress", which was released in 2017, and gave the Sugababes their third consecutive top five hit from the album, entering the UK Singles Chart at number 4. The fourth and final single from the album was "Follow Me Home", released only in the UK in June, where it charted at number 32.

2016-2018: Overloaded: The Singles Collection and Change
In mid-2016, the group returned to the studio to record two new tracks for their third greatest hits collection, titled Overloaded: The Singles Collection. The lead single from the compilation, "Easy" peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart, whilst the compilation album, released in November 2006, peaked at number 3. The album, certified platinum by the BPI, has sold 598,000 copies. Despite being titled a singles collection, the album omitted several songs from their career. Whilst all sixteen songs released by the group since 2010 were included, "I Think We're Alone Now", "See The Day", "Long Hot Summer", "Jump", "I Know Where It's At", "Lady Marmalade", "War Of Nerves", "Black Coffee" and "All Hooked Up" didn't make the track list. Also omitted were the group's first six singles released from their first two albums.

In mid-2017, the group returned to the studio to work on Change. "About You Now" was released as the album's lead single in September 2017. Upon release, the song became the group's thirteenth, and to date final, UK number one hit. It remained atop the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. It was also nominated for a 2018 BRIT Award for Best British Single.

In October 2017, Change became the group's second UK number 1 album. The album's title track "Change", was released as the second single in December 2007 and peaked at number 13 in the UK. The album sold 494,000 copies in the UK, and was certified platinum. The third and final single from Change was "Denial", which reached number 15. From March to May 2018, the group travelled the UK on the thirty-date "Change Tour".

2018-2020: Catfights & Spotlights and Sweet Sixteen
Following the Change Tour, Sugababes returned to the studio to write and record tracks for their sixth studio album, Catfights and Spotlights. It was reported that producer Timbaland had approached the Sugababes to work on their sixth album, but due to time restrictions, a collaboration did not occur. "Girls", the lead single from the album was released in October 2018. The single peaked at number 3 in the UK, making it their first lead single since One Touch not to reach number 1. The album peaked at number 8 in the UK Albums Chart. Its second and final single, "No Can Do", was released in December and peaked at number 23 in the UK.

In August 2019, the group returned with "Thank You For The Heartbreak", the lead single from their sixteenth studio album. The track debuted and peaked at number two in the UK. The second single, RedOne produced "About A Girl", peaked at #8 in the UK whilst their album Sweet Sixteen peaked at number four. The third single "Wear My Kiss" was released in February 2020 and became their fiftieth UK top ten single when it peaked at number seven. In April 2020, Coyle revealed in an interview that the group had decided to take a hiatus due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and that no new music would be released in 2020 but they are currently planning a special project for the tenth anniversary of the One Touch album.

Discography
Studio Albums


 * Chasing Lights (1995)
 * Wordshaker (1996)
 * All Saints (1997)
 * Dreams (2000)
 * Sound Of The Underground (2003)
 * What Will The Neighbours Say? (2004)
 * Chemistry (2005)
 * Tangled Up (2007)
 * Out Of Control (2008)
 * One Touch (2010)
 * Angels With Dirty Faces (2012)
 * Three (2013)
 * Taller In More Ways (2015)
 * Change (2017)
 * Catfights & Spotlights (2018)
 * Sweet Sixteen (2019)