Get Sexy

## **Get Sexy**Single by Sugababes

**Get Sexy** is the first single and track taken from the Sugababes' seventh studio album, *Sweet 7*. Released on 30 August 2009, the song was written by Fred Fairbrass, Richard Fairbrass, Rob Manzoli, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars and produced by the latter three under their stage name The Smeezingtons.

It is an uptempo electropop song with influences of dance, techno and R&B and features an interpolation of Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy". It is the last single to feature founding member Keisha Buchanan.

## Background

In April 2009, Sugababes travelled to the United States to work on their seventh studio album, Sweet 7 They signed a contract with Jay Z's record label, Roc Nation, resulting in working with high-profile producers. Working with The Smeezingtons was described by group member Amelle Berrabah as an "amazing" and "great opportunity". Berrabah also stated in an interview with Bang Showbiz that the song "doesn't sound like anything we have ever done before".

### Release

"Get Sexy" was digitally released on 30 August 2009, while the CD single was made available the following day. Between the release of "Get Sexy" and "About a Girl", Buchanan left the group. As a result, "Get Sexy" was re-recorded along with a number of other tracks to feature the vocals of new member Jade Ewen in place of Buchanan for the release of Sweet 7 in 2010.

The song premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 7 July 2009 in a show presented by Scott Mills In an interview for Digital Spy, Keisha Buchanan said that the response to the song was great, saying: "From the beginning there's been a real buzz about the track. It's had a great response from so many people, even if they say, 'Forget about the rest of them, this one I love'.

Later, on 27 September 2013, Buchanan said of the song, "I just didn't feel like that was a representation of who we were as a band but we didn't, at that point, have a lot of say." However, she also said she enjoyed working with Mars and would like to collaborate on a new song with him and founding Sugababes members Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy.

### Reception

"Get Sexy" garnered mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian described the song as a "grinding, fiercely catchy R&B number". David Balls of Digital Spy gave the song a four out of five star rating, saying: "'Get Sexy' is a dancefloor stomper that nestles somewhere between 'Boom Boom Pow' and 'Bonkers' in its blend of electropop, techno and R&B sounds. It may not be massively original, nor an instant classic to rival 'About You Now' or 'Push the Button', but with a Right Said Fred-sampling hook, a thundering chorus and plenty of attitude – most noticeably from Amelle – it returns Sugababes right to the forefront of the pop landscape.'

Popjustice positively reviewed "Get Sexy", saying "'Get Sexy' is a punchy, explosive pop single which while not being quite as adventurous as it thinks it could never be described as a pedestrian". Fraser McAlpine of BBC gave the single a mainly negative review, calling it a "mess" which has "not bothered to make it rhyme" in the way the original, 'I'm Too Sexy' did. McAlpine went on to say: "the 'shut up and watch me walk' bit is pilfered from the Ting Tings. [Amelle's 'silly boys' bit – which is brilliant, by the way – may have more than a passing acquaintance with 'My Humps'. [...] the chorus is desperate for someone to scream 'will.i.am drop the beat now'.

### Performance

During the first week of its release, "Get Sexy" was ahead of its nearest competitor, "Run This Town", by Jay-Z featuring Rihanna and Kanye West, at number one. Eventually, "Get Sexy" debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, selling 55,707 copies in its first week of release. The song spent 9 weeks inside the UK Singles Chart. "Get Sexy" has sold 165,000 copies in the UK, making it their eighth best-selling single in that country. The single debuted and peaked at number three on the Irish Singles Chart, becoming the band's highest-charting single in Ireland since "About You Now". It remained on the chart in the country for seven weeks.

"Get Sexy" peaked at number 42 on the singles chart in Sweden, becoming the group's first single since "About You Now" to chart in the country. The song peaked at number 41 on the German Singles Chart and number 72 on the Austrian Singles Chart. It also charted on the singles charts in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, both at number 48. The song also impacted the charts in Belgium, peaking at numbers 21 and 37 on the Flanders and Wallonia charts, respectively. "Get Sexy" also became the group's first single since "About You Now" to chart in Australia when it debuted at number 76 on the Australian Singles Chart. The following week, it rose to its peak of number 75.

## Track listing

CD Single
1. Get Sexy - 3:15
2. Get Sexy (Max Sanna & Steve Pitron Remix) - 7:11
3. Get Sexy (Bitrocka Remix) - 6:02
4. Get Sexy (Superbass Vocal Mix) - 5:22

Digital release
1. Get Sexy - 3:14
2. Get Sexy (Max Sanna & Steve Pitron Remix) - 7:12
3. Get Sexy (Bitrocka Remix) - 6:03
4. Get Sexy (Superbass Vocal Mix) - 5:23
5. Get Sexy (Hadouken! Dub Remix) - 4:56

## Personnel

* Mixed By [Additional Vocal Mixing By Assisted By] – Richard Edgeler
* Mixed By [Additional Vocal Mixing By] – Jeremy Wheatley
* Mixed By, Recorded By – Ari Levine
* Music By [All Music By], Instruments [All Instruments Played By] – Ari Levine, Bruno Mars
* Producer – The Smeezingtons
* Producer [Additional Vocal Production By] – Marcus Byrne, Mike Stevens
* Written-By – A. Levine, B. Mars, F. Fairbrass, P. Lawrence, R. Fairbrass, R. Manzoli
* Written-By [“I’m Too Sexy” Interpolation Written By] – Fred Fairbrass, Richard Fairbrass, Rob Manzoli

Get Sexy (Max Sanna & Steve Pitron Remix)
* Producer [Additional Production By] – Max Sanna & Steve Pitron

Get Sexy (Bitrocka Remix)
* Keyboards [Additional Keyboards], Producer [Additional Production] – Bitrocka

Get Sexy (Superbass Vocal Mix)
* Keyboards [All Additional Keyboards By], Programmed By [All Additional Programming By] – Julian Peake, Paul Harris
* Remix [All Additional Remix By], Producer [All Additional Production By] – Julian Peake, Paul Harris

## Music video

"Get Sexy"'s music video premiered on 1 August 2009 on More4. Popjustice praised the video, saying that it "seems to feature Sugababes 3.0 as 'the full package', and makes sense of this lineup, for the first time. This is a good thing."

### Video plot

The video features Berrabah in a bird cage, Buchanan posing on a couch and Heidi Range in a house of mirrors shot at by intense light beams. During the chorus, all three members are seen standing together with chains around their waists and arms, tying them together. The video ends with the Sugababes in a room covered in graffiti.

## Mixes and Remixes

"Get Sexy" has four official remixes released in the single, namely from duo Max Sanna and Steve Pitron, Bitrocka, and the Superbass mix. The Hadouken remix is found in the digital edition. There are two vocal mixes released officially, with Buchanan's vocals found in the single and Ewen's vocals on the studio album.

## Trivia

* "Get Sexy" is the last song that featured Sugababes' founding member Keisha Buchanan.
* The single initially posted on digital stores was titled "Get Sexy (DO NOT USE)".
* The song was one of the first successful productions of The Smeezingtons, before their US hit "Nothin' on You".

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Get Sexy CD Single. Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/1924632-Sugababes-Get-Sexy
2. ↑ Get Sexy (Digital content/iTunes). Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/11989283-Sugababes-Get-Sexy
3. ↑ Sweet 7. Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/2184380-Sugababes-Sweet-7
4. ↑ BBC Radio 1 Xtra Live in Sheffield 2009. BBC. Archive
5. ↑ Get Sexy. Qobuz. https://www.qobuz.com/se-en/album/get-sexy-sugababes/0060252717920
6. ↑ "Ari Levine & The Smeezingtons: Producing Bruno Mars". Sound on Sound. https://www.soundonsound.com/people/ari-levine-smeezingtons-producing-bruno-mars

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