The original Sugababes always seemed like the coolest girls in school showing off in the playground, and their emotional O2 homecoming retained this happy, scrappy air for an audience of thousands. It was a stunning reminder of the chemistry between Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy and the way their voices meld perfectly into each other’s – and a stunning reminder of the sheer breadth of the band’s bangers.
The Sugababes have had a tumultuous time of it. Aside from the snide misogyny they faced in the press as famous young women in the early ’00s, Donaghy left the group in 2001. A rotating cast of members took over before eventually none of the original members remained. In 2012, they reunited as MKS but faced a long legal battle to regain the Sugababes name, which they finally did in 2019. This one-off show was presented as a thank you to the fans who have stuck by them throughout, culminating in an emotional and celebratory arrangement of About You Now as confetti rained down.
