Sugababes are releasing a self-titled album early next year – their second record under the original name and line-up since 2000’s One Touch.
The trio – Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy – say the comeback didn’t happen without some upheaval. Keisha says she had to “take on a few giants” to win back the group’s name, describing the fight as long, messy and expensive.
She told British Vogue: “I had the rights to the name from old contracts, and there was a lot of tricky things going on behind the scenes and, pretty much, I had to take on a few giants in order for that to happen… It wasn’t easy. There were a lot of things that went on financially.”
Mutya still feels the years haven’t dulled their spark.
She laughed: “I mean, I still look at myself as quite young.
“It doesn’t feel like as many years as it’s been. I find it quite refreshing to always keep going out with new material and performing with the girls.”
The album – comprising 12 tracks – pulls from UK garage, trip-hop, distortion-heavy dance-pop and the London grit that has always set them apart.
The lead single, Ghost, is out today (24.09.26).
Siobhán said: “It came from something that happened to me with my first love.
“He essentially ghosted me before we even had the terminology for it… There’s something strange about grieving someone who’s still out there.”
It was proved that the girls still have a massive following when both their Glastonbury sets in 2022 and 2024 caused security shutdowns.
Siobhán reflected: “Even just looking at what happened to our band, and how we’ve been able to come back together is a triumph.”
Keisha noted of their resurgence and gaining new fans: “At any age, at any point, you can restart… You can bounce back from any situation.”
The self-titled LP is the follow-up to 2022’s The Lost Tapes, which had originally been planned for release under their former moniker MKS during the long-running name battle.
The original trio didn’t stay intact for long. Siobhán departed in 2002 and Heidi Range stepped in. Mutya left in 2005, later speaking about postnatal depression, and Amelle Berrabah joined the group. Keisha remained until 2009 before exiting, with Jade Ewen completing the then-new line-up. The founders later regrouped around 2011 as MKS, beginning the long legal fight that eventually allowed them to reclaim the Sugababes name.
