Three is the third studio album by British girl group Sugababes, released by Island Records on 27 October 2003. It generated four singles that charted in various parts of the world; the first, "Hole in the Head", became the group's third UK number one single. The three members of the Sugababes each recorded a "solo" song on the album—"Whatever Makes You Happy" (Keisha Buchanan), "Sometimes" (Heidi Range) and "Maya" (Mutya Buena). Three debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart.
| Three | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 October 2003 | |||
| Recorded | December 2002 – March 2003 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 55:15 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Producer |
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| Sugababes chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Three | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Guardian | [2] |
| Rolling Stone | [3] |
| Stylus | B+[4] |
| Yahoo! Music | 8/10[5] |
Background edit
After releasing "Shape", the fourth and final single from their successful previous album Angels with Dirty Faces (2002), the group announced that they had gone back into the studio to start work on the next album with producers whom they worked with on the previous album such as Jony Rockstar and Xenomania. They went over to America to work with producers such as Linda Perry and Diane Warren, who wrote the ballad "Too Lost in You". They had also aimed to promote the new album in America. The girls co-wrote and recorded their own tracks on the new album—Keisha's being "Whatever Makes You Happy", Heidi's being "Sometimes", and Mutya's being "Maya", a song about her sister who died unexpectedly. The Sugababes later announced the lead single "Hole in the Head" and its release date of 13 October. The UK release was a special edition with two extra tracks, "Twisted" and "Buster". Initially, the digital download version offered by Woolworths in the UK accidentally contained an earlier demo version of "Whatever Makes You Happy" but the mistake was quickly rectified. On streaming services, an alternative version of "Whatever Makes You Happy" has replaced the original album version.
Commercial performance edit
Three debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart with 52,905 copies sold in its first week. The first single, "Hole in the Head", was the group's third number-one single in the United Kingdom and also went to number one in Denmark. It reached number two in Ireland and Norway, and the top forty in Australia. The second single, "Too Lost in You", reached the top ten in the UK and Norway, and the top forty in Australia. The third single, "In the Middle", went top ten in the UK, top twenty in Ireland and top forty in Europe and Australia. A fourth single, "Caught in a Moment", also reached the top ten in the UK.
In 2004, "Hole in the Head" was serviced to radio in the United States and became a top forty hit on pop radio. Following the moderate success of the single, Three was due for release in the US on 22 June 2004 with an altered track listing featuring singles from the group's previous album, Angels with Dirty Faces (2002).[6] The release was subsequently cancelled. In the UK, the album is certified two times Platinum by the BPI.[7] The album also received a Platinum Europe Award by the IFPI in recognition of European sales in excess of 1 million copies.[8]
Critical reception edit
Three received positive reviews from critics, who praised the experimental new urban and hip hop sounds on the album. Alan Braidwood from the BBC gave Three a positive review, stating the album takes lead from Angels with Dirty Faces and calling it a fresh and exciting album. He also praised the new sound on the album. Ross Hoffman from AllMusic described the album as "tuneful, R&B-inflected dance-pop with fresh-sounding but accessible productions, along with a healthy smattering of big droopy ballads with an expanded stylistic range".[9]
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hole in the Head" | 3:38 | ||
| 2. | "Whatever Makes You Happy" (Keisha Buchanan solo) |
|
| 3:15 |
| 3. | "Caught in a Moment" |
| Jony Rockstar | 4:24 |
| 4. | "Situation's Heavy" |
|
| 4:10 |
| 5. | "Million Different Ways" |
|
| 4:29 |
| 6. | "Twisted" (UK & Japan bonus track) |
|
| 3:03 |
| 7. | "We Could Have It All" |
|
| 3:37 |
| 8. | "Conversation's Over" |
| Rockstar | 4:06 |
| 9. | "In the Middle" |
| 3:59 | |
| 10. | "Too Lost in You" | Diane Warren |
| 3:58 |
| 11. | "Nasty Ghetto" |
|
| 4:16 |
| 12. | "Buster" (UK & Japan bonus track) |
|
| 4:22 |
| 13. | "Sometimes" (Heidi Range solo) |
| Rockstar | 4:34 |
| 14. | "Maya" (Mutya Buena solo) |
|
| 4:43 |
Notes and sample credits
Charts edit
Weekly charts edit
|
Year-end charts edit
|
Certifications and sales edit
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Germany (BVMI)[29] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| Russia (NFPF)[30] | Gold | 10,000* |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[31] | Gold | 20,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[7] | 2× Platinum | 600,000^ |
| Summaries | ||
| Europe (IFPI)[8] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
References edit
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ "CD: Sugababes, Three". The Guardian. 24 October 2003. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023.
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ Stylus review
- ^ Gennoe, Dan (28 October 2003). "Sugababes - Three". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on 6 April 2004. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ C, Jeff (16 May 2004). "Sugababes To Release Album in the U.S. | popdirt.com". PopDirt. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ a b "British album certifications – Sugababes – Three". British Phonographic Industry.
- ^ a b "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2004". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
- ^ BBC review
- ^ "Week Commecing: 1st December 2003 - Issue No: 719" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 1 December 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2003. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Sugababes – Three" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Sugababes – Three" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Sugababes – Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sugababes – Three" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Sugababes: Three" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Sugababes – Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 44, 2003". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Sugababes – Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sugababes – Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Sugababes – Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sugababes – Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "2003 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. 8 November 2003. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2003". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2003". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2004". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2004". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sugababes; 'Three')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ^ "2m-online.ru". NFPF. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Three')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.