Three

## 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: 6 February 2004

4. "Caught In A Moment"
Released: 10 August 2004

***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, while the album itself debuted at number three in the UK Albums Chart.

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).

## Background

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.

### Release and reception

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.

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".

### Performance

Three debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart with 52,905 copies sold in its first week. 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). The release was subsequently cancelled. In the UK, the album is certified two times Platinum by the BPI. The album also received a Platinum Europe Award by the IFPI in recognition of European sales in excess of 1 million copies.

## Singles

### Hole in The Head

    "Hole In The Head" is the first single and track of the album released on 13 October 2003. Produced by Xenomania, the single garnered the group their third number-one single in the United Kingdom and Denmark. It also entered the US radio where it charted at number ninety-six on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart

### Too Lost in You

    "Too Lost In You" is the second single from the album released on 15 December 2003. The song is written by Dianne Warren, who rewrote it as an english rendition to the 1997 French song "Quand j'ai peur de tout" by Patricia Kaas. It reached top twenty in UK and Norway, while it entered top forty in Australia. The song was featured on the soundtrack of the 2003 film "Love Actually".

### In the Middle

    "In The Middle" is the third single from the album released on 22 March 2004. The dance-pop and funk-influenced song is produced by Xenomania and samples German DJ Moguai's song "U Know Y". While it garnered rave reviews from critics, the record went top ten in the UK, top twenty in Ireland and top forty in Europe and Australia.

### Caught in a Moment

    "Caught In A Moment is the fourth and final single released on 23 August 2004. While the reviews were mixed towards the ballad, it 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.

## Trivia

* "Three" was planned to be released in the spring of 2004 in the United States, until Interscope Records cancelled the release. Tracks "Caught In A Moment" and "We Could Have It All" were removed and replaced with three additional tracks: "Freak Like Me", "Stronger" and "Round Round", from the album *Angels with Dirty Faces*.

## Gallery

### Product covers

* UK CD Special Edition
* International Edition
* Unreleased US Edition

CoverBack coverLiner group photoKeisha artHeidi artMutya artLiner messages from the Sugababes

International edition front coverInternational edition back cover

U.S. edition unreleased front coverU.S. edition unreleased back cover
*Images provided from Discogs. Photography By Matthew Donaldson. Art Direction by Gerard Saint, Mat Maitland.*

## References

1. ↑ Three (14-track). Qobuz. https://www.qobuz.com/ie-en/album/three-sugababes/0060249865854
2. ↑ Three. Last FM. https://www.last.fm/music/Sugababes/Three
3. ↑ Three - UK CD Special Edition. Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/582787-Sugababes-Three
4. ↑ Three - US (unreleased). Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/452999-Sugababes-Three

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