Sweet 7
Studio album by
Sugababes
Released5 March 2010 (2010-03-05)
RecordedApril–November 2009
Studio
  • London, UK
  • Los Angeles, US
  • New York City, US
  • Copenhagen, Denmark[1]
Genre
Length43:48
Label
Producer
Sugababes chronology
Catfights and Spotlights
(2008)		 Sweet 7
(2010)		 The Lost Tapes
(2022)
Singles from Sweet 7
  1. "Get Sexy"
    Released: 30 August 2009
  2. "About a Girl"
    Released: 8 November 2009
  3. "Wear My Kiss"
    Released: 21 February 2010

Sweet 7 is the seventh studio album by British girl group Sugababes, released on 15 March 2010 by Island Records. Production for the album began in April 2009. Sweet 7 is the only Sugababes album to feature Eurovision Song Contest 2009 entrant Jade Ewen following the controversial departure of Keisha Buchanan in September 2009. As a result of the group line-up change, Sweet 7 was re-recorded to feature the vocals of new member Ewen and for the removal of Buchanan's vocals, making this the only Sugababes album that features none of the original members.

Production on the album began with Buchanan's involvement, who was featured on the lead single "Get Sexy", which peaked at number two in the UK. Following her departure, "About a Girl" and "Wear My Kiss" peaked at number eight and seven, respectively. The album was produced by Jay-Z's entertainment company Roc Nation; the involvement of Roc Nation's in-house producers gave the album a strong electro and dance-pop sound due to work from US producers and writers, mainly Fernando Garibay, Stargate and The Smeezingtons. Despite the high-profile input, Sweet 7 was negatively received by critics, with the negative reviews criticising the lack of an identifiable sound and soul from the project as well as the group's loss of identity due to Buchanan's departure, with many considering it a major step down in quality from their previous works.

Sweet 7 peaked at number 14 in the UK and number 35 in Ireland, becoming the group's second-lowest charting album to date in those countries. Promotion for the album ended after the release of the final single so that the group could begin work on a new album, but they split after they released its intended single, "Freedom".

Recording and line-up change

Prior to the album's creation, Sugababes signed a US record deal with Jay-Z's label Roc Nation.[4] The album was recorded by Sugababes mostly in Los Angeles and New York with a couple of sessions in London.[5] The group primarily worked with RedOne,[6] Ryan Tedder,[6] Stargate,[5] Fernando Garibay,[7] and The Smeezingtons. One of the album's tracks, "No More You", was written by Ne-Yo.[5] Keisha Buchanan compared the song to Rihanna's "Hate That I Love You" and "Take a Bow".[8] Buchanan told BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat, the album has "definitely got the British feel throughout the album - we've not gone away and gone 'All American' on our fans."[5] Buchanan continued, "I think it's given us a fresh energy again. I think the one thing we wanted to do was come back with something different."[5] She also admitted the girls had become "complacent" around the time of Catfights and Spotlights but they also said that they are very proud of that album.[6]

After the release of the album's first single "Get Sexy" and just two months before its initial projected November 2009 release, it was reported by the media that Amelle Berrabah had quit the group.[9][10][11] Buchanan, however, denied any drama within the group and insisted that Berrabah would remain a member "for the moment". Rumors began circulating that Jade Ewen, the UK's 2009 Eurovision Song Contest entrant, would be joining the group and replacing Berrabah.[12] On 21 September 2009, it was announced that Buchanan had left the band,[13] although she stated via her Twitter account that it was not her decision to leave.[14] Berrabah and fellow member Heidi Range later stated that they both attempted to quit the Sugababes themselves only to find that their group's management decided that they would follow them, rather than find two new members for Buchanan.[15] Buchanan was immediately replaced by Ewen, who immediately began recording her vocals over Buchanan's in preparation for the album's release.[16] Additional new material was recorded in November 2009.[17]

Buchanan reunited with the original Sugababes line-up with former members Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy in 2011, but the trio would not regain the Sugababes name and trademark until 2019. In March 2023, Buchanan stated that she would never again perform any of the songs from Sweet 7.[18]

Songs

"Thank You for the Heartbreak" is an electropop song with a 1980s electro influence.[8][19] David Balls of Digital Spy described it as a "snappy electropop number", and noted its potential to "have slotted quite nicely" onto Sugababes' fifth studio album, Change (2007).[20] During an interview with Digital Spy, group member Amelle Berrabah stated that "Thank You for the Heartbreak" is amongst the tracks on the album that the Sugababes enjoy, and later named it a potential single from the album.[21] There was a "potential lyrical mishap" with the song's lyric, 'dancing off my tears', on which Heidi Range replied: "If people want to sing that when we perform it, well, we won't complain!"[22] Nick Levine of Digital Spy wrote that the song "displays the Sugababes spunk of old" in comparison to the other "characterless" tracks on the album.[23] David Balls of Digital Spy noted that the song suggests that the Sugababes "extracted maximum benefit from their recording sessions in LA earlier this year", and they did not "stray too far from their comfort zone". Balls also described "Thank You for the Heartbreak", as well as the album's second single "About a Girl", as a track that is both "fresh-sounding" and "packed with the attitude that always made the group stand out."[8] Thomas H Green of The Daily Telegraph listed the song in his "Download this" category.[24] Lauren Murphy of Entertainment Ireland described it as a "minor saving grace" and "very likeable" in comparison to the other "mediocre" tracks on the album.[25]

"She's a Mess" is an uptempo electropop song. Originally called "I'm a Mess", the group decided to retitle it due to concerns that the lyrics (such as "Drinking bottle after bottle / I'm such a mess in that dress / I'm not impressed") encouraged binge drinking. However, Range stated that "there are some lyrics that are quite cheeky but people shouldn't take them seriously."[26] During an interview for Digital Spy, Berrabah described the overall sound of Sweet 7, saying: "It's quite an uptempo album with a lot of different sounds." Berrabah cited "She's a Mess" as an example for this, which she said was "just totally different from everything else."[27] Jon O'Brien of AllMusic wrote that the "aptly named 'She's a Mess' is a chaotic attempt at a Clubland trance-pop floor-filler".[28] Al Fox of the British Broadcasting Corporation called the song, along with the album's third single "Wear My Kiss", a "glimmer of brilliance" and went on to say that it is saved by Berrabah's "unashamed attitude".[29] Christopher Lee of The Scotsman named it one of the better tracks on the album, although admitted that it "wouldn't have sounded much different coming from any other girl band".[30] Nick Levine of Digital Spy wrote that "sisterhood" is being "jettisoned entirely" on the track, which he described as "crass and misogynistic".[31] Celina Murphy of Hot Press suggested that "She's a Mess" "might actually sound quite punchy" if it was recorded by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna.[32]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic39/100[33]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Daily Mirror[34]
The Daily Telegraph[35]
The Guardian[36]
The Independent[37]
London Evening Standard[38]
NME[39]
The Scotsman[40]
The Times[41]
Virgin Media[42]

Sweet 7 received poor reviews from music critics. Aggregating website Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 given to reviews from mainstream critics, gave the album an average score of 39, based on six reviews, which indicates "generally unfavorable reviews".[33]

Jon O'Brien of AllMusic, who gave the album a 2 out of 5 star rating, criticised it as a "bland, soulless, and repetitive affair", while admitting that it "reveals they [Sugababes] are now unrecognizable, not only in terms of personnel, but also in terms of their sound and image". He admitted that although the album is "never short of an infectious hook or club-friendly production", it "undoubtedly betrays the experimental sensibilities that set them apart from their contemporaries."[2] Thomas H Green of The Daily Telegraph gave the album a 3 out of 5 star rating, praising it as "catchy, cod-sexy, hi-NRG cheese that will ensure jammed and joyful school discos and gay club dance floors."[35]

Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian called the album "disappointing" and criticised the band's shift in sound, stating that most of the tracks "are [...] either in thrall to Lady Gaga's robotronic sound" or "just wrong for this particular band", with her gaving the album 2 out of 5 stars.[36] Andy Gill of The Independent gave a notably unfavorable review wherein the album was awarded 1 out of 5 stars. He criticised the group's lack of identity, in particular the loss of founding member Buchanan, writing: "Sugababes finally slipped from being a band to a brand". He went on to say that the "policy of replenishment has eroded both the trio's character and its appeal".[37] Regarding the quality of the album, Gill felt that Sweet 7 contained mostly "generic disco stompers".[37]

Rick Pearson of London Evening Standard wrote that Range, Berrabah and Ewen were unconvincingly "grasping for an identity" on the album, giving it 2 out of 5 stars.[38] Alex Denney of NME awarded it 4 out of 10, writing that Sweet 7 "leaves us hankering after the good old days" and that "time was we could expect more than bland consistency from the Sugababes – shame."[39] Johnny Dee of Virgin Media awarded Sweet 7 2 out of 5 stars; according to him, the Sugababes "have completely lost all vocal character and personality".[42] The Times's Dan Cairns criticised the album's songs and went on to write that the Sugababes in 2010 "are a pale, karaoke imitation of the glory days."[41] Simon Price of The Independent wrote that the group "plays it depressingly safe with substandard electro pop", while reacting negatively to the line-up change, saying: "They [Sugababes] can call themselves what they like, but they'll never fill the heels of Keisha, Mutya and Siobhan. It's over."[3]

Commercial performance

Sweet 7 debuted at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart.[43] It became the Sugababes' lowest-charting album in the country since their 2000 debut album, One Touch.[44] The album dropped 29 places to number 43 in the following week, which was its last appearance in the chart.[45] In Ireland, Sweet 7 peaked at number 35 on the Irish Albums Chart, becoming their second-lowest charting album in that country to date.[46] The album debuted at number 92 on the Swiss Albums Chart, becoming their lowest charting album in that country, excluding Catfights and Spotlights (2008), which failed to chart.[47] Sweet 7 debuted at number five on the Greek International Albums Chart, staying the chart for two weeks.[47] In Scotland debuted Sweet 7 at Number 16. The Album sold out more than 40.000 Copies in the UK and total 60.000 Copies in Europe.

Singles

"Get Sexy" was released on 30 August 2009 as the album's lead single. It is the last single to feature vocals by founding member Buchanan. Some reviewers praised the song's production and lyrics, while others dismissed it as unoriginal and generic. The song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and number three on the Irish Singles Chart, while also charting on the singles charts in Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden and Slovakia.

"About a Girl", the first single to feature vocals by Ewen, was released as the album's second single on 8 November 2009. The single peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and inside the top twenty on the Irish Singles Chart.

"Wear My Kiss" was released as the third and final single from Sweet 7 on 21 February 2010, three weeks prior to the album's release. It went top-ten in the UK and Ireland at numbers seven and nine, respectively.

Track listing

Sweet 7 track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Get Sexy"
The Smeezingtons3:14
2."Wear My Kiss"
Garibay3:44
3."About a Girl"
RedOne3:28
4."Wait for You"
  • Garibay
  • Mars
  • Lawrence
Garibay3:54
5."Thank You for the Heartbreak"
Stargate3:40
6."Miss Everything" (featuring Sean Kingston)
  • Mars
  • Lawrence
  • Levine
  • Brody Brown
The Smeezingtons3:39
7."She's a Mess"
  • Mars
  • Lawrence
  • Levine
The Smeezingtons3:26
8."Give It to Me Now"
Syience2:50
9."Crash & Burn"
Jeberg3:35
10."No More You"
  • Stargate
  • Ne-Yo[a]
4:15
11."Sweet & Amazing (Make It the Best)"
  • Rob Allen
  • Eriksen
  • Hermansen
  • Martin Kleveland
  • Bernt Stray
  • Stargate
  • Martin K
3:50
12."Little Miss Perfect"
  • Hermansen
  • Eriksen
  • Kelly
Stargate3:53
Total length:43:48
Sweet 7 – iTunes Store bonus content[48]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."About a Girl" (The Sharp Boys Extended Remix)
  • Riddick
  • Khayat
  • RedOne
  • The Sharp Boys[b]
7:22
14."About a Girl" (music video)  4:23
15."Wear My Kiss" (music video)  3:13

Notes

  • ^a signifies a co-producer
  • ^b signifies an additional producer

Sample credits

Personnel

Track listing and credits taken from Sweet 7 liner notes.[50]

Visuals

  • StudioBOWDEN – art direction

Vocal and performance credits

Technical

Charts

Chart performance for Sweet 7
Chart (2010) Peak
position
Greek Albums (IFPI)[47] 5
Irish Albums (IRMA)[46] 35
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[51] 92
UK Albums (OCC)[44] 14
Scottish Albums (OCC)[52] 16

Release history

Sweet 7 release history
Region Date Label Catalogue Ref(s)
Poland 5 March 2010 Universal Music 060252727295 [53]
Switzerland [54]
Austria [55]
Australia 12 March 2010 [56]
Netherlands [57]
Ireland Island
United Kingdom 15 March 2010 00602527272955
Germany 16 March 2010 Universal Music 0602527272955 [58]

References

  1. ↑ "Sugababes reveal all their gossip". Newsbeat. BBC. 9 July 2009. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 O'Brien, Jom. "Sweet 7 - Sugababes". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  3. 1 2 Price, Simon (14 March 2010). "Album: 'Sugababes', Sweet 7 (Island) - Reviews, Music". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  4. ↑ 3am (2 May 2009). "Sugababes get ready to roc". Mirror.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 September 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Sinead Garvan (9 July 2009). "Sugababes reveal all their gossip". BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  6. 1 2 3 Caroline Sullivan (24 July 2009). "Sugababes: 'We took our eye off the ball'". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  7. ↑ Fernando Garibay (17 July 2009). "FERNANDOGARIBAY status". Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2009 – via Twitter.
  8. 1 2 3 David Balls (14 August 2009). "Sugababes". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 22 August 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  9. ↑ "Amelle Quits Sugababes | Sugababes | News | MTV UK". Mtv.co.uk. 18 September 2009. Archived from the original on 22 September 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  10. ↑ "Music - News - Sugababe Keisha: 'Amelle wants to go'". Digital Spy. 14 September 2009. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  11. ↑ Archived 23 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ "Amelle leaves Sugababes?". New! Magazine. London. 19 September 2009. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  13. ↑ David Balls (21 September 2009). "Keisha Buchanan leaves Sugababes". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
  14. ↑ Keisha Buchanan (21 September 2009). "Although it was not my..." Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2009 – via Twitter.
  15. ↑ "Keisha Buchanan | Range Eyed Sugababes Walk-Out Before Buchanan". Contactmusic. 5 February 2010. Archived from the original on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  16. ↑ Rachael Wheeler (24 September 2009). "Sugababe Heidi Range reveals why Keisha Buchanan was kicked out". Mirror.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
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  24. ↑ "Sugababes: Sweet 7, CD review". The Daily Telegraph. 12 March 2010. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
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  26. ↑ Balls, David (4 March 2010). "Sugababes change 'boozing' album lyric". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  27. ↑ Balls, David (14 August 2009). "Sugababes". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  28. ↑ O'Brien, Jon. "Sweet 7 – Sugababes". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  29. ↑ Fox, Al (16 March 2010). "Music – Review of Sugababes – Sweet 7". British Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  30. ↑ Lee, Christopher (14 March 2010). "Sugababes: Sweet 7". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  31. ↑ Levine, Nick (22 March 2010). "Sugababes: 'Sweet 7'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  32. ↑ Murphy, Celina (5 March 2010). "Sweet 7". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  33. 1 2 Stevens, Darren. "Sweet 7 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
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  35. 1 2 Green, Thomas H (12 March 2010). "Sugababes: Sweet 7, CD review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 March 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  36. 1 2 Sullivan, Caroline (4 March 2010). "Sugababes: Sweet 7 - CD review - Music - The Guardian". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  37. 1 2 3 Gill, Andy (5 March 2010). "Album: Sugababes, Sweet 7 (Island) - Reviews, Music". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  38. 1 2 Pearson, Rick (5 March 2010). "CDs of the week: Gorillaz, Sugababes and Jimi Hendrix - Music - Arts - Evening Standard". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  39. 1 2 "Album Review: Sugababes – 'Sweet 7' (Universal/Island)". NME. 5 March 2010. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
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  41. 1 2 "Sugababes: Sweet 7 review - CD reviews - Music - Times Online". The Times. 7 March 2010. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  42. 1 2 Dee, Johnny (8 March 2010). "Sugababes: Sweet 7 review - Reviews - Music". Virgin Media. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  43. ↑ "Music forums focusing on chart music with chart and entertainment discussion". BuzzJack. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  44. 1 2 "Music Week - GaGa back to the top of the albums chart". Music Week. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  45. ↑ "TV exposure helps Boyzone and GaGa to top charts - Music Week". Music Week. 29 March 2010. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  46. 1 2 "Irish-charts.com – Discography Sugababes". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  47. 1 2 3 "Sugababes - Sweet 7". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  48. ↑ "Sugababes - Sweet 7 (pre-order)". iTunes Store UK (Apple Inc). Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  49. ↑ McAlpine, Fraser (25 August 2009). "Sugababes – 'Get Sexy'". The Chart Blog. BBC Online. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  50. ↑ Roc Nation (2010) Sugababes - Sweet 7, Album Notes. Island Records, (Universal Music Group)
  51. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Sugababes – Sweet 7". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
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  53. ↑ "Sweet 7 PL - Sugababes- 34.99zł". empik.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
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