The Sugababes, made up of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy, got off to a good start when they first hit the music scene in 2000, with their single debut Overload being in the top ten and nominated for a Brit Award.
But from that moment on, their history deviates from the traditional history of the pop group: with reports of fights, a constantly changing lineup and ownership of the band’s name direction, which eventually led to the trio original was forced to act under a different nickname.
It wasn’t until 2019 that they fully regained the name of Sugababes, and now after a successful return to the Mighty Hoopla festival stages, the group has announced a UK tour, the first in more than two decades.
While their experiences are certainly not common, they do reflect a recent theme of women musicians who do not have full control of their careers.
Singer Raye left her Polydor label last summer after claiming that she had been barred from releasing her debut album for years, while earlier this month Halsey claimed they were told they could not release a song. unless they went viral in Tik Tok.
But while the Sugababes may have faced their fair share of struggles as they tried to regain control, they have told Sky News that they are finally at a stage where they can enjoy their career.
“Personally I think we’re very big now, we just want to have fun, we want to enjoy every moment we’re doing right now,” Buena said.
“We can’t control what’s going on around us, we just have to be able to do everything we can to deal with these things,” Buchanan added.
“Some of the hurdles we had to face weren’t the best to deal with, and it was very difficult, and of course it’s hard to stay motivated, I know for myself, but as Mutya said, it’s about enjoying- ho.
“And, you know, who’s going to say which curved balls will be thrown next, but again, how we handle it is key.”
Read more: Keisha Buchanan talks about harassment claims and racism over time in the Sugababes
More than two decades since they began, the music industry has undoubtedly undergone some changes.
Buchanan says they are reaping the fruits of that progress, admitting it was much harder when they arrived on the scene.
“The industry is completely different from when we started and it was exhausting,” he said.
“It’s like half the work we used to do in terms of promotion and stuff like that, and even just the preparation; the rehearsals were a lot longer because we were trying to get the right sound and we would have speakers on stage listening -our ourselves, and now collectively, we all carry In-Ears [monitors that allow singers to hear]. “
“We know what we expect, we have an amazing new band and we have all the creative input we want, and I think, you know, it’s really the dream,” Donaghy added.
In over 20 years in different iterations of the band or working as soloists or even taking a break from the business, the singers have gained a lot of experience and a lot of perspective.
They admit that if they had known at first what they know now, of course, things would have gone differently.
Image: The Sugababes performing for the Graham Norton Show in 2019
“I think you would naturally do things differently, but I think the good thing is that we’ve learned from a lot of mistakes and a lot of things that we’ve been through in the past,” Buena said.
“And now it’s like going out, having fun and bouncing off each other.”
“Yes, it’s the school of life,” Buchanan agreed.
Older and wiser
“This is a universal thing: everyone compares how you were when you were 16, the things you would think and just look back.
“And I think that’s the most important thing you look back on and then try to make better decisions.”
Older and wiser is probably a good way to sum up the group now: Buchanan has abandoned the “20 cans of Red Bull” she used to drink before a show and Donaghy says she, too, is no longer bound by pre-show rituals. ‘show they may not have been. it doesn’t really help.
But despite their collective decades of time spent in the music industry, Buchanan says they will never get used to it at all.
“I don’t think anyone has to go on stage or have a camera in their face [gets used to it] – It’s not normal, this lifestyle, “he said.
“But yeah, I think it’s nicer for us to be a little more experienced with that, I guess and it seems like it’s the right time.”
‘No obstacles’ at this stage of his career
And Donaghy says his experience brings resilience.
“There aren’t really any surprises, but I want to say it in a good way, you know,” he said.
“If there are curved balls or anything, it’s like water from a duck’s back at this point.”
The focus right now is on the next tour and the group says they currently can’t find time to enter the studio to make new music.
But 22 years after their first single, the group has faced much of their challenges and they say they see nothing on the horizon that will interrupt this stage of their career.
“There are no obstacles right now,” Donaghy said.
“We have control over what we’re doing right now and it’s ours, so we can just go out and enjoy it.”
Tickets for the Sugababes tour in the UK go on sale today.