Formed in 1998 when original members Keisha Buchanan and Mutya Buena met Siobhan Donaghy at a party, all sharing a liking of garage, hip-hop, and dance music – Sugababes have gone on to be one of the most successful pop groups of the 21st century, despite several line-up changes that left only one original member remaining.
Following the departure of Donaghy, after some initial success, the introduction of ex-Atomic Kitten member, Heidi Range, in 2001, was met with the commercial breakthrough of number-one single
Freak like Me from the album
Angels with Dirty Faces (2002). There was also a marked change in the band’s style and fashions, displaying a more mature and provocative side. The band survived a second line-up change with Amelle Berrabah replacing Buena in 2005. Chart success continued throughout and, to date, they have released twenty-two singles, six of which have reached number one in the UK, and seven albums that have reached top forty charts worldwide.
Upon the release of
About You Now (2007), the Sugababes became the only female act to have topped the single, album and download chart simultaneously twice, having previously achieved the same feat with
Push the Button (2005). They have attained at least platinum certification for five of their albums in the UK. They have also gained success around Europe and Asia with number-one singles in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Austria, New Zealand, Japan, Slovenia, Estonia, Georgia, Czech Republic, the Philippines, Croatia, Hungary and the Republic of Macedonia. With sixteen of their twenty-two single releases achieving top ten chart success and album sales in excess of six million, the trio have been named the UK's most successful female act of the 21st century.
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