# 15

Sugababes - Girls
(written by MacDonald, Jenkinson, Toussaint & Buchanan; 2008; UK #3; September 2008)

At the time it seemed like a flash of brilliance, and to me it still does, but three months down the line and the fall out of their least successful album of the Heidi Range years, perhaps it was a misjudged attempt to cash in on a kitsch song. Sampling 'Here Comes The Girls' a song that, as we all know, featured heavily in 2007 Boots commercials, the song was brassy, sassy and stomping. The loyal fans, however, appeared to loose interest, this is not what they had come to expect from the same school of thought that had brought us the electro rock of 'About You Now', the slick kiss off that was 'Hole In The Head' and possibly the best thing they've ever done 'Freak Like Me'. So where did it all go wrong? Why did the Sugababes sixth album fail to ignite public interest and struggle to make the top 10 landing at number 8? Perhaps they took the retro trend a step too far, or maybe it was just a case of bad timing (going against the encompassing Girls Aloud).Whilst 'Girls' is not up to their usual standard it is still a whole lot better than a lot of other stuff floating around at the moment. Mark my words, though, they will comeback with something that will blow our minds, if history has taught us anything about the Sugababes - it's that they won't take this lying down.

Best Lyric: "Step aside i got a starring role/ Camera, Action, here we go"