The sweet sound of success

Sugababes are on a high these days. Their single, Get Sexy, has debuted at number two on the United Kingdom singles chart, second to Jay-Z's Run This Town.

The girls aren't put out though – considering Jay-Z is the founder of Roc Nation, the Sugababes' new record label in America.

However, the British trio has yet to find time to toast their success, what with their endless press dates and their MySpace competition that invites surfers to use the GoMix Widget to make their own Get Sexy remix.

What a difference a couple of years can make in the life of a girl band. Two years ago, the Sugababes were busy settling in new member Amelle Berrabah and promoting their Change album.

"We both had advice for her back then, and Heidi [Range] was great because she knew what it was like to join the band, but also how I felt having someone new come in," offers Keisha Buchanan, the only member of the original trio left in today's line-up. "We told Amelle some things about the business, but really, until it happens to you it's hard to explain."

The last comment draws a fierce, knowing laugh from Amelle, who, since joining Sugababes, has been a regular fixture of the tabloids, whether for her love of a good night out or for her rocky relationship with ex-boyfriend Freddie Fuller.

"I definitely jumped into that side of things with both feet," says Amelle, smiling.

Fast forward to today, and there's no air of "new girl" around her – and neither should there be; the Hampshire native has been in the band almost four years now.

As we chat, she's sitting pretty in the middle of the other two girls, Heidi and Keisha, on their hotel room's gigantic sofa, chipping in with answers about the Sugababes' new sound, decked out with a stylish crop and designer clothes.

For their past six albums (Sweet 7 is due in November) the Sugababes, whatever the line-up, have co-written their songs. This time around, however, they mixed things up and decided to let the songwriters come to them.

"Even though we weren't writing, we ended up being so hands on," says Keisha. "There's always been pressure in the past to come up with songs from scratch in the studio, so it's been great not having any ego about it, just letting new people come in and put their ideas to us.

"Sometimes we'd hear 10 new songs in a day. We just had to pick the right ones, so that definitely still leaves something on our shoulders - you can choose the wrong songs, believe me."

The change in how they work is down to a number of things. Signing to an American label for the first time, and one as glamorous as Roc Nation, has allowed the girls to attract some of the biggest and best songwriters.

Sweet 7 will boast songs from producers RedOne, who recorded most of Lady GaGa's album and various songs with Rihanna; Stargate, the unit who provided Beyoncé with recent hits – not to mention S Club 7's S Club Party; and Ryan Tedder, frontman of OneRepublic and co-writer of Leona's Bleeding Love.

Secondly, and more importantly, the disappointing performance of their last album, Catfights And Spotlights, meant something had to change if Sugababes were going to continue as Britain's biggest selling girl band and most successful female act of the 21st century – they have sold six million albums and 16 of their 23 singles have made it into the UK Top 10.

Ask Heidi, Amelle and Keisha about the album now, and they'll tell you how proud they are of it, but from their initial reaction, it's easy to tell how hurt they were by the album's critical mauling and poor reception.

"The last album was great, and it was a Top 10 album with the single going to No2," begins Keisha, professionally, if not convincingly. "But, when you don't get the No1 you're used to, you see people write you off. It was great to start work again and have people in America tell us we're still good, and we should be concerned more with longevity and staying in the business than having a hit.

"You can get complacent," she says. "It's great we're singers and writers, but you can't stay in a box and do one thing. That's how you survive, you have to change it up. And we have.

"We got new stylists, auditioned a new band, got a new choreographer [Beyonce's], who has changed the way we dance and move."

And their self-confidence soared as they began laying down new tracks, says Heidi. "We are proud of this new album though, and we've got a new energy," she says.

And they're right too. New single Get Sexy is unlike any Sugababes single – much more influenced by American RnB than past work. They also look better than ever in their video and are ready to take on the very best the United States has to offer. There's also a Right Said Fred sample. What more could you want in a pop single?

"That started off as a joke," says Amelle, laughing, leaving Queen Sugababe Keisha to pick up.

"The song was done, the chorus was in there – the old chorus – and the producers, The Smeezingtons, are real jokers basically. The 'Hey Sexy' bit in the song was a bit of a joke too, but sounded good so we kept it. The next thing, one of them was singing 'I'm too sexy for the club,' making lyrics up and messing around, but it sounded good in the song, so we asked for permission to use it. It was pure accident. I never thought when I was listening to it years ago I'd end up singing it myself."

Get Sexy is their 25th single, something of a milestone for any band, let alone one that's been through three line-up changes and so many rumours of in-fighting.

Original member Keisha was in school when their first hit Overload hit the charts in 2000. She's now something of a veteran of the industry, yet she's still only 24.

"Veteran? That's the second time I've heard that word today," she says in mock indignation. "It feels amazing we've come this far because the band is so close to my heart. I left school to do it, I've never had a proper job. When we first started out, we just wanted to be singers. Being famous wasn't part of it, whereas kids now know all about that.

"We were so naïve... I never thought we wouldn't release singles. As far as I was concerned, we had a record deal, and we were just going to carry on singing.

"With this new album, it feels like we're kick-starting it all over again." (With inputs from Bindu Rai)

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