Brit Music Scene

Sugababes – ‘Get Sexy’ Music Video Review

Posted: 22 Aug 2009 11:30 AM PDT

I’m a big fan of the Sugababes, and have been since they started out in the last millennium. Back then they were a very different group of course. For starters, two of the girls were different, but more than that they had a very different style. So they’ve changed and evolved, but whether that’s a good thing or not depends on your point of view.

My personal take on it is that they’ve dumbed down considerably, now appealing more to the lowest common denominator, which in the U.K. today is chavs. The refined pop sound has disappeared to be replaced by generic dance tracks. The intelligent lyrics replaced by meaningless soundbites. Has this slide continued into the Sugababes’ seventh album?

The album is as yet untitled and still without a release date. However, the Sugababes are releasing the first single from it to remind us who they are and to give a flavor of the direction they’re headed. The song is called Get Sexy and the music video and review are after the cut.

I know a lot of people like this song. And in a way I kind of do as well. It’s as catchy a tune as I’ve heard all year and will appeal to a very broad base of people. It’s mainstream, could do well in the U.K., Europe, the U.S., and beyond, and is likely to bring the Sugababes back to the forefront of the British music scene.

However, there are a few problems I have with Get Sexy. For starters, it’s indistinguishable from the tracks put out by American dance/pop girl groups. In fact, it’s as though the Sugababes have stolen the Pussycat Dolls act and are refusing to give it back. It’s generic, uninspired, and entirely insipid. This is pop in the worst sense of the word, written and produced in order to be popular and sell records.

Then there are the lyrics. “Just shut up and watch me walk” is far too close to “Just shut up and let me go” by The Ting Tings. Then it gets worse with the chorus of “I’m too sexy for this club, too sexy for this club, so sexy it hurts.” Which is almost word for word lifted from Right Said Fred’s I’m Too Sexy. Richard Fairbrass is listed as one of the writers so I assume that explains it.

Lastly, there’s the video. This looks more like something Justin Timberlake or N.E.R.D. would come out with. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it takes away any unique British quality the Sugababes possessed. Get Sexy has turned the girls into another generic American-style girl group. And that’s not what I’m looking for from a British pop group.

Song: 5/10
Video: 3/10

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[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

Post from: Brit Music Scene