More than any other British girlband, the Sugababes have weathered through the most extreme conditions of the pop storm. A revolving door of lineup changes in the 2000s became something of a running joke, overshadowing the brilliance of their music and fueling tabloid headlines of behind the scenes beef and backstabbing for over a decade.
With all of this in mind — and after claims that industry high-ups tried to sabotage their reunion — it’s nothing short of a miracle that the band’s three founding members, Mutya, Keisha, and Siobhan are performing on their first ever arena tour, which tonight stops by London, their hometown.
Clutching as many plastic glasses of prosecco as their hands can fit, millennial women in sequined tops and greying gay couples race down the arena’s steps as the black curtain drops to reveal the trio — who are now an independent entity — sitting (almost comically) still in the middle of the arena for Overload.
Over the course of the next few noughties pop gems — Hole In The Head, In The Middle and Red Dress — we’re reminded why the women are able to pack out an arena 25 years in. Their pop-with-a-side-of-soul is delivered in such a way thanks to their distinct vocal offerings — Keisha’s power, Mutya’s husk and Siobhan’s airiness.
While the trio’s vocal abilities have never been called into question, their chemistry notoriously has. But their sisterhood is laid out on stage tonight, and is especially evident when they’re performing their original material. 2013’s widely-loved Flatline (released as Mutya Keisha Siobhan before they won back the Sugababes name in 2019) is clearly a highlight of theirs to perform, and shows off their iconic harmonies, while One Touch from their debut album is accompanied with vintage rehearsal footage from when they were teenagers.
Part of the Sugababes’ charm has always been in their slight awkwardness (the comical stillness I mentioned earlier, for example). But an effort has noticeably been made to combat this through armography and microphone stand swinging, and granted, they do loosen up as the night goes on.
After cinematic performances of Too Lost In You and new single Weeds, and before their confetti-filled About You Now finale, a quick on-screen projection addresses their time apart and the joy they’ve experienced in being back together again. Though admittedly, it would’ve been nicer to hear this from them live on stage.
But despite this, what the on-screen Keisha, Mutya and Siobhan tell us is true: it does feel great to have the original Sugababes back again.
