Sugababes

They might sound like a pre-fab British girl group, but the Sugababes couldn’t be further from it. Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena and Heidi Range have been a major force on the global pop music scene for the last four years. Their three albums have produced a dozen Top 10 hits in the U.K. and numerous international honors and awards (including a BRIT Award). Over time these young women (still in their teens) have matured into formidable singers, songwriters and producers crafting catchy and feisty pop songs.

Three (Interscope/Island Records), the third Sugababes album and first to be released in the U.S., sees the girls stretch their wings without losing sight of the ground. There’s maverick funk (“Whatever Makes You Happy” and the Adina Howard-meets-Gary Numan nugget “Freak Like Me”), string-laden dramas (“Caught in a Moment”), superplush ballads (“Conversation’s Over” and “Too Lost in You”) and a succession of songs which pull together elements of hip-hop, pop, R&B, ragga, funk and soul into uniquely idiosyncratic forms best described as Sugababe-ish (“Million Different Ways” and the massive worldwide #1 hit “Hole in the Head”). The lyrical perspective is straight from the girls’ trove of experience.

The Sugababes landed their first record deal by the age of 14. Their first album, Overload, debuted in 2000. Changing record labels and lineups (original member Siobhan Donaghy left the group in 2001 and was replaced by Heidi Range), the girls catapulted to pop stardom in 2002 on the strength of their second album, Angels with Dirty Faces. Three followed in late 2003 and will be released this summer in the U.S. in a slightly expanded version, including three monster international hits from Angels: “Round Round,” “Stronger” and “Freak Like Me.”

Three works as an emotional rainbow, reflecting the ups and downs of real life. It is just one example of how the girls support and compliment each other. Vocally the ballad strengths of Heidi back up Mutya’s compelling tone and Keisha’s acrobatic abilities.

Beware wielders of the lazy stereotype. Out of little Sugababes, world-conquering, superfine soul star Sugaladies grow.