Sugababes on “unexpected” new single ‘Jungle’ and being “ghosted” by ex-label: “We’re standing behind art we’re proud of”

nme.com:

Sugababes have spoken to NME about ‘Jungle’, their first single since 2023, and revealed that fans won’t have to wait long for more music as they usher in a new chapter.

Listen to the song and read the full interview below.The iconic pop trio – comprising Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy – released their 2023 track ‘When The Rain Comes’ on major label BMG, but have confirmed that they’re now an independent act again.“This is basically how we’ve done it since 2011,” Buchanan told NME, referring to the year in which she and her bandmates – the long-running girl-group’s original line-up – reunited using the name Mutya Keisha Siobhan (MKS).Two years later, MKS dropped their well-received comeback single ‘Flatline’, written with Dev Hynes aka Blood Orange, during a brief stint on major label Polydor.“Even when we were signed to a major for about three months, we invested our own money into the project – we put £30,000 into ‘Flatline’ because we had no [label] support,” Buchanan added. “We actually get more out of doing it this way: self-investing and standing behind art that we’re proud of.”The trio won back the rights to the Sugababes name in 2019.

Since then, they’ve re-established themselves as a major live draw both in the UK and internationally. When they played London’s Eventim Apollo in November 2022, NME gave them five stars for supplying a night of “harmony-drenched pop nirvana”.In April, they’ll embark on their biggest-ever UK and European tour, which includes a headline show at London’s 20,000-capacity The O2.

However, they’ve reassured fans that this won’t get in the way of releasing new material, as Sugababes embrace the freedom of going it alone.“I don’t know how much we’re allowed to say, but.