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Three (Sugababes album)

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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
Studio album by
Sugababes
Released27 October 2003 (2003-10-27)
RecordedDecember 2002 – March 2003
Genre
Length55:15
LabelIsland
Producer
Sugababes chronology
Angels with Dirty Faces
(2002) 		Three
(2003) 		Taller in More Ways
(2005)
Singles from Three
  1. "Hole in the Head"
    Released: 13 October 2003
  2. "Too Lost in You"
    Released: 15 December 2003
  3. "In the Middle"
    Released: 22 March 2004
  4. "Caught in a Moment"
    Released: 23 August 2004
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Guardian[2]
Rolling Stone[3]
StylusB+[4]
Yahoo! Music8/10[5]

Background

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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

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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

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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

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Three track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Hole in the Head"
3:38
2."Whatever Makes You Happy" (Keisha Buchanan solo)
  • Craig Dodds
  • Gary Cooper
  • Buchanan
  • Pete Martin
  • Stuart Crichton
3:15
3."Caught in a Moment"
Jony Rockstar4:24
4."Situation's Heavy"
  • Buchanan
  • Buena
  • Range
  • Tim Larcombe
  • Shawn Lee
  • Higgins
  • Cooper
  • Edele Lynch
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
4:10
5."Million Different Ways"
  • Craigie
  • Sigsworth
  • Crichton[b]
4:29
6."Twisted" (UK & Japan bonus track)
  • Buchanan
  • Buena
  • Range
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Lee
  • Larcombe
  • Lynch
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
3:03
7."We Could Have It All"
  • Craigie
  • Howard
  • Johnny Dollar
  • Buchanan
  • Buena
  • Range
  • Craigie
  • Sigsworth
3:37
8."Conversation's Over"
  • Tom Elmhirst
  • Lipsey
  • Poole
  • Buchanan
  • Buena
  • Range
Rockstar4:06
9."In the Middle"
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Scarlett
  • Lee
  • Lisa Cowling
  • Buchanan
  • Buena
  • Range
  • Andre Tegler
  • Phil Fuldner
  • Michael Bellina
3:59
10."Too Lost in You"Diane Warren
  • Andy Bradfield
  • Rob Dougan
  • Nevo[a]
3:58
11."Nasty Ghetto"
  • Perry
  • Wheatley[a]
4:16
12."Buster" (UK & Japan bonus track)
  • Buchanan
  • Buena
  • Range
  • Cooper
  • Higgins
  • Lee
  • Larcombe
  • Lynch
  • Higgins
  • Xenomania
4:22
13."Sometimes" (Heidi Range solo)
  • Howard
  • Range
  • Lipsey
  • Buchanan
  • de Vries
  • Buena
Rockstar4:34
14."Maya" (Mutya Buena solo)
  • Craigie
  • Sigsworth
  • Buena
  • Range
  • Buchanan
  • Sigsworth
  • Craigie
4:43

Notes and sample credits

  • ^[a] denotes additional producer
  • ^[b] denotes original producer
  • "Whatever Makes You Happy" samples the music from the Sly Fox song "Let's Go All the Way".
  • "In the Middle" contains a sample from "U Know Y" performed by German DJ Moguai.

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Certifications and sales for Three
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.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ "CD: Sugababes, Three". The Guardian. 24 October 2003. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023.
  3. ^ Rolling Stone review
  4. ^ Stylus review
  5. ^ Gennoe, Dan (28 October 2003). "Sugababes - Three". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on 6 April 2004. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  6. ^ C, Jeff (16 May 2004). "Sugababes To Release Album in the U.S. | popdirt.com". PopDirt. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  7. ^ a b "British album certifications – Sugababes – Three". British Phonographic Industry.
  8. ^ a b "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2004". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
  9. ^ BBC review
  10. ^ "Sugababes ARIA Chart History (Albums) complete to 2024". ARIA. Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  11. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Sugababes – Three" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sugababes – Three" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  13. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Sugababes – Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sugababes – Three" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  15. ^ "Sugababes: Three" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  16. ^ "Lescharts.com – Sugababes – Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  17. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  18. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 44, 2003". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  19. ^ "Charts.nz – Sugababes – Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  20. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sugababes – Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  22. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Sugababes – Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sugababes – Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  24. ^ "2003 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. 8 November 2003. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  25. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2003". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  26. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2003". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  27. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2004". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  28. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2004". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  29. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sugababes; 'Three')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  30. ^ "2m-online.ru". NFPF. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  31. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Three')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
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