Ah, Sugababes — a hugely-successful UK act that has even warmed the cockles of a small but loyal legion of followers here in the States. Unfortunately, as the original members of the girlie trio have dwindled one-by-one and been replaced over the course of the band’s 14-year history, all we’re left with is the shell of a trio that attempted to release a new single last year (“Freedom”) — only to have it yanked by the label — and that is pretty much on hold while Heidi Range takes part in Dancing On Ice. Thankfully, the latest reports from across the pond have it that the original ‘babes — Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena and Siobhan Donaghy — are back in the studio!

“Hanging out in the studio with @professorgreen and two lovely ladies with bags of talent :-p lol,” Buchanan tweeted last night. Buena added, “@ studio wit professor green in tha building and 2 beautiful ladies.”

British rapper Professor Green recently topped the UK chart with “Read All About It”, which features none other than our recent Popping Up-featured artist Emeli Sande on chorus duty.

PopJustice notes that the ladies will, of course, not be called Sugababes, but that they’re being managed by one of their former songwriters, Felix Howard. Keisha, Mutya and Siobhan also apparently have studio time booked with production team Xenomania.

Consider us intrigued. And, we’d like to officially request that the reunited ex-’babes properly record Keisha’s unreleased (but excellent) “Under Control”!

Who needs the original Sugababes lineup to reform when founding member of the group Mutya Buena is turning out grade A trash like “Can You Persuade Me,” a cover of Pitbull’s smasheroo “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)”?

The track is by the outfit known as NightShift, who, according to their/his official MySpace, “were able to combine the genotypes of 11 international multiplatinum UK, US and Jamaican artists to create a powerful and hypnotic combination.”

And part of that combination includes Sisqo. Yes, that Sisqo—the one with the silver hair who sang “Thong Song.” Hear “Can You Persuade Me” below!

The other “boys” on “Can You Persuade Me” that Mutya encourages to “come and show me what you got” include MegaMan, DJ Ironik, Tanto Metro & Devonte, TQ, Steelo and Juxci D. Kinda makes Britney’s “3″ sound like a nursery rhyme by comparison, thematically.

Here’s a dodgy homemade video that was slapped together for the NightShift tune featuring older footage of each of the artists:

A UK gossip site is reporting that the three original members of the girl group Sugababes—Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena, and the completely brilliant Siobhán Donaghy, all of whom have left the band since it was formed way back at the turn of the millennium—are in negotiations to reform, and put out an album. This bit of rumormongering comes in the wake of the announcement that the forthcoming album by the current incarnation of the band, the American-audience-tilted Sweet 7, has been pushed back to next February amidst internal strife of the legal and medical sorts. And of course it raises the question of what the new/old version of the group would even call itself at this point. (Sugababes UK? The London Sugababes?) But the best aspect of this rumor is this little nugget…

On top of the new group deal, all three have been offered seperate solo deals as a bit of a sweetener.

And how convenient that Siobhán has been working on a new record! Oh man if this all works out—and of course there’s the possibility that it can get cocked up in multiple ways—I will totally send a fruit basket to whichever managerial type kicked Keisha out seven weeks ago.


Exclusive: The original Sugababes ARE definitely reforming [HolyMoly via Joe Muggs]

The news of founding member Keisha Buchanan leaving the UK pop trio the Sugababes, and being replaced by Eurovision contender Jade Ewen, continued today as the BBC tracked down former member (and Big Brother alum Mutya Buena for her thoughts on the shakeup. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she is calling shenanigans! “Obviously, Keisha being the original that was left out of the band, her leaving doesn’t make it Sugababes. I’m not trying to put my foot into it, but I wouldn’t be surprised [if she had been forced out] in any way just because people were trying to say she was the bully [before the news of Buchanan's leaving broke].” And she even went the “dis the new iteration of the group by complimenting the replacement” route, saying: “She would be a lot better as a soloist, because she’s got an amazing voice. It would kind of seem like she’d be the frontline, and there’d be two backing singers.” Oh, Heidi Range. Are you gonna take that??? The full interview after the jump.


(Skip to the 9:45 mark.)



[BBC via Popjustice]