Caught In A Moment

## **Caught In A Moment**Single by Sugababes

**Caught In A Moment** is the fourth and final single, and the third track of the Sugababes' third album, Three. The song was written by the group's members in collaboration with Karen Poole, Marius De Vries and its producer Jony Rockstar. "Caught In A Moment" is a downtempo pop, R&B and soul ballad backed by an orchestral musical arrangement, and contains emotive lyrics that explore concepts of melancholy and hopefulness. The track received mixed reviews from critics who were ambivalent towards its balladry.

Following its release in 10 August 2004, the song became the group's fourth consecutive top-ten hit on the UK Singles Chart, while internationally it peaked within the top forty on the singles charts of Ireland, Hungary and the Netherlands.

## Background

In 2003, the Sugababes began to work on songs for their third studio album *Three*. They wrote and recorded material in various countries around the world as they performed at festivals such as the Liverpool Summer Pops. "Caught In A Moment" is a downtempo pop, R&B and soul ballad, with similar production to the Sugababes' older ballads "Stronger" and "Too Lost in You". It appears on the soundtrack to the 2004 film Wimbledon, and is included on the group's 2006 greatest hits album Overloaded: The Singles Collection. The song contains emotive lyrics that explore concepts of melancholy and hopefulness. It was compared to the works of girl band All Saints, and English musical group Massive Attack.

### Reception

"Caught In A Moment" received mixed reviews from critics. K. Ross Hoffman of AllMusic described the song as "a stirring, string-laden monolith of melody" and commended it as the standout ballad from Three. Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian praised the song as terrific and highlighted its "deep-pile swoon". Dan Gennoe of Yahoo! Music wrote that "Caught In A Moment" and "Too Lost in You" are reminders that the Sugababes "handle trip-hop melancholy with the same devastating confidence as their seething club stomps". According to a critic from Entertainment Ireland, "Caught In A Moment" is one of three tracks from the album that displays the group's "funky vocals and brattish attitude". A writer for Daily Record described it as a "slow, thoughtful number" with sophisticated sounds.Hot Press magazine's Phil Udell called the song an elegant ballad, while Shane Murray of RTÉ.ie described it as atmospheric.

The song's balladry was also a focal point for criticism. Writers from the London Evening Standard wrote that "instead of sweeping you up all misty-eyed" like their previously released ballad "Too Lost in You", "Caught In A Moment" "drifts by a bit inconsequentially". The Observer's Kitty Empire was unfavourable of the sound and mature nature of the song, questioning: "Who wants Sugababes to grow up gracefully, into the mini-Gabrielle poses of songs like 'Caught In A Moment'?" A writer from Virgin Media criticised the song's "trudging" balladry and its orchestral backdrop as bland, elaborating: "For a band who've previously put out some genuinely edgy and confident pop, this is inexcusably forgettable". A critic from The Scotsman regarded "Caught In A Moment" as a mediocre filler track,while The Independent's Simon Price considered it insipid. Anna Britten of Yahoo! Music rated the song five out of ten stars and wrote that it "has all the standard features of your average MOR lady ballad".

### Performance

The song's first chart appearance was on the 26 August 2004 issue of the Irish Singles Chart, where it debuted and peaked at number 28. It subsequently became the group's second lowest-charting single in Ireland to date. "Caught In A Moment" was most successful on the UK Singles Chart, where it debuted at number eight with sales of 11,633 copies, and became the Sugababes' fourth consecutive top-ten hit in the United Kingdom. The song spent seven weeks on the chart. In the Netherlands, "Caught In A Moment" debuted on the Dutch Top 40 chart at number 32 and later peaked at number 30, while on the Mega Single Top 100 chart, it reached number 46. The ballad reached number 38 on the Hungarian Dance Chart, and number 56 on the Austrian and Swiss charts. The song spent nine weeks on the German Singles Chart, where it charted at number 71.

## Track listing

UK CD 1 Single
1. Caught In A Moment- 4:23
2. Caught In A Moment (D-Bop Remix) - 5:34

UK CD 2 Single
1. Caught In A Moment (Album Version) - 4:26
2. Conversation's Over (AOL Session) - 4:08
3. Hole In The Head (AOL Session) - 3:34

## Personnel

* Arranged By [Strings], Conductor – Guy Farley
* Bass – Marius De Vries
* Contractor [Orchestra] – Cool Music
* Engineer [Additional Vocal Engineering & Protools] – Jonathan Shakhovsky
* Engineer [Additional] – Richard Wilkinson
* Engineer [Assistant] – Dave Clarke
* Engineer, Recorded By [Vocals] – Pete Craigie, Tom Elmhirst
* Guitar – Shawn Lee
* Leader – Marcia Crayford
* Mixed By – Jony Rockstar, Tom Elmhirst
* Percussion – Pete Lockett
* Percussion [Beats] – Jony Rockstar
* Piano – Chris Elliott
* Producer – Jony Rockstar
* Recorded By [Strings] – Mike Ross Trevor
* Written-By – Heidi Range, Jony Lipsey, Karen Poole, Keisha Buchanan, Marius De Vries, Mutya Buena

## Music video

The music video for "Caught In A Moment" was directed by Howard Greenhalgh and filmed in July 2004. It was reported that during the filming, Buena, Buchanan and Range were experiencing conflicts, refused to speak with each other and would only communicate through intermediaries. According to British newspaper the Daily Star, "the frosty silence between Mutya, Heidi and Keisha, made for a difficult afternoon's work". The video is black-and-white,and features Buena and Range in dresses, and Buchanan in a two-piece outfit. It was later included on the group's DVD release, Overloaded: The Videos Collection.

During the video, the group's members undress and kiss a man behind a large screen. The clips show them seated both individually and as a group, and surrounded by large lights which flash several times. At the time of its release, the video was considered one of the group's most sexually suggestive videos; Sky News described it as "their most explicit yet with scenes showing the girls writhing, stripping and kissing in silhouette behind giant screens". A critic from the Daily Record was favourable of the video and wrote that it "sums up the classy appeal" of the song. It debuted and peaked at number 12 on the UK TV airplay chart.

## Remixes

A remix from D-Bop is the only released remix for "Caught In A Moment".

## References

1. ↑ CD 1 - Caught In A Moment. Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/1623118-Sugababes-Caught-In-A-Moment
2. ↑ CD 2 - Caught In A Moment. Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/1907794-Sugababes-Caught-In-A-Moment
3. ↑ Three. Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/582787-Sugababes-Three

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