"Ugly"
Single by Sugababes
from the album Taller in More Ways
B-side
Released5 December 2005
Recorded
  • DARP (Atlanta)
  • Home Recordings (London)
Genre
Length3:50
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)Dallas Austin
Producer(s)Dallas Austin
Sugababes singles chronology
"Push the Button"
(2005)		 "Ugly"
(2005)		 "Red Dress"
(2006)

"Ugly" is a song by British girl group Sugababes from their fourth studio album, Taller in More Ways (2005). Written and produced by Dallas Austin, inspiration for the song was conceptualised in the midst of reading negative comments about members of the band. The song released on 5 December 2005 in the United Kingdom as the second single from the album. "Ugly" is a midtempo pop rock and R&B ballad that contains lyrics about personality and body-image issues. It received comparisons to "Unpretty" by girl group TLC and "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera. "Ugly" is the band's final single released under the second line up of Sugababes, after original member Mutya Buena departed the group on 21 December 2005.

"Ugly" garnered positive reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the emotional and empowering concept behind it. The song peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. It achieved international commercial success, where it reached the top five in Denmark and New Zealand, and the top-ten the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway. The song's accompanying music video is set in a warehouse in New York City, and features people of different ages and races showcasing their talents. The Sugababes have performed the song at the V Festival in both 2006 and 2008, and at the Indig02 in London, all of which received positive reviews from critics. "Ugly" has been used in schools within Wales to promote diversity and eliminate prejudice.

Background and development

"Ugly" was written and produced by Dallas Austin for the Sugababes' fourth studio album, Taller in More Ways.[1] Paul Sheehy, Doug Harms, Graham Marsh and Ian Rossiter served as the assistant recording engineers for the song.[1] "Ugly" was mixed by Jeremy Wheatley for 365 Artists at TwentyOne Studio, London.[1] Tony Reyes provided the accompanying guitar and bass guitar for the track, while the drums and keys were provided by Austin.[1] "Ugly" was recorded at DARP Studios, at Atlanta & Home Recordings, London.[1]

During an interview with Jess Cartner-Morley of The Guardian, the Sugababes revealed that Austin wrote the song after reading "the cuttings file he was sent about the band".[2] Keisha Buchanan, one of the group's members, elaborated upon this: "All the rubbish and nasty stuff that's been written about us, calling us the Sugalumps, that sort of thing."[2] The title of the song's parent album, Taller in More Ways, was inspired by a line in "Ugly", which reads: "I grew taller than them in more ways / But there'll always be one who will say / Something bad to make them feel great".[2]

Composition and theme

"Ugly" is a midtempo pop rock[3] and R&B ballad that has a length of three minutes and fifty-three seconds.[4][5] The song was composed in the key of C major using common time with a tempo of 117 beats per minute.[6] The Sugababes' vocal range on the song span from the lower note of G3 to the higher note of E5.[6] Instrumentation consists of a guitar, bass guitar, drums and keys.[1] Nick Southall of Stylus Magazine noted that the song incorporates acoustic guitars "buoyed by peripheral detail".[7]

K. Ross Hoffman of Allmusic described "Ugly" as a "towering ballad" with romantic and body-image issues.[8] The song received numerous comparisons to "Unpretty" by American girl group TLC, another track composed by Austin.[3][9] Group member Heidi Range compared the song's lyrics to "Beautiful", a song performed by American recording artist Christina Aguilera.[2] Harry Rubenstein of The Jerusalem Post also noted that the song is reminiscent of both "Unpretty" and "Beautiful".[10] The lyrical content makes reference to feeling ugly from having different eyes and hair, in addition to being shorter than other people.[11]

Release and response

"Ugly" received comparisons to "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera.

"Ugly" was released as a CD single in the United Kingdom on 5 December 2005,[5] containing the radio edit of the song, and "Come Together".[12] The extended play version of "Ugly" was released on the same day and contains the album version of the song, a B-side titled "Future Shokk!", a Desert Eagle Discs remix, and a Suga Shaker Vocal Mix. On 9 December 2005, "Ugly" was released as a CD single in Germany, which contains the same tracks on the extended play release, in addition to the single's music video.[13] In Australia, Island Records released the song as a CD single on 16 January 2006.[14]

"Ugly" garnered generally positive reviews from music critics. Phil Udell of Hot Press regarded it as a "classy, catchy pop tune with a human heart".[3] Peter Robinson of The Observer felt that the track was one of the album's standouts, stating that it "immediately hits on the Sugababes' core values", which according to him are "cool, but so unswervingly radio-friendly that it would hardly be out of place as this year's Children in Need single".[9] Talia Kraines of BBC described "Ugly" as a "ballad full of true Sugababes attitude".[15] K. Ross Hoffman of AllMusic considered the track as an "aptly pitched inspirational mini-epic",[8] and a writer for The Liverpool Daily Post & Echo characterised it as an "empowering anthem".[16] Nick Southall of Stylus Magazine called it "vastly superior self-help pop" and "lovingly produced".[7] However, Ben Hogwood of musicOMH thought the song was unconvincing,[17] while Alex Roginski of Sydney Morning Herald criticized the songwriting as "flat".[18]

Chart performance

"Ugly" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three on 11 December 2005 ― for the week ending dated 17 December 2005 ― with sales of 21,107,[19] becoming the Sugababes' second consecutive top-three single and their tenth top ten hit overall.[20] The song spent four weeks in the chart's top-ten and 20 weeks on the chart overall.[21] "Ugly" had sold 170,000 copies in the UK and ranks as the group's seventh best-selling single in the country as of 2010, and has since been certified silver for sales of over 200,000 units.[22] "Ugly" debuted and peaked at number seven on the Irish Singles Chart, becoming the Sugababes' sixth top ten single in Ireland.[23] The song peaked at number four in Denmark, becoming the Sugababes' fourth top-five single in the country.[24] "Ugly" also reached number seven in Hungary and the Netherlands, earning the Sugababes their fourth top ten hit in the former and their seventh one in the latter respectively.[25][26]

"Ugly" also became a commercial success in many other European countries. The single number eight in the Czech Republic[27] and Finland,[28] and number nine in Norway.[29] In Belgium, the song reached numbers eight and 13 on the Wallonia Ultratip and Flanders Ultratop charts, respectively.[30][31] "Ugly" attained top-twenty positions in Austria,[32] Sweden[33] and Switzerland;[34] it charted at number 26 in Germany[35] and number 68 in Slovakia.[36] "Ugly" also achieved success outside of Europe. In New Zealand, it entered the chart at number seven and peaked at number five two weeks later, becoming the Sugababes' second consecutive top-five single in the country and their fourth one overall.[37] It remained in the chart for 16 weeks.[37] In Australia, "Ugly" debuted at number 16 and peaked at number 13 on its fourth week on the chart, becoming their second-best performing single in the country.[38]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Ugly" was directed by Toby Tremlett and filmed on 1 November 2005.[39] It is set in a warehouse in New York City that is used for people who are taking part in an audition.[40] It begins with a yellow taxi driving on a New York City road with apartment complexes.[40] As the song begins, Buena sings her verse while looking into a mirror, and other people in the warehouse begin to hold up signs of the song's lyrics.[40] During the chorus, they begin to showcase their talents such as dancing and juggling.[40] Buchanan's chorus features her sitting on a staircase; during this part, a child holds up a sign reading "short" while a woman carries a sign saying "loneliness".[40] As Range sings the bridge, she is leaning on a wall in the warehouse while more people begin dancing.[40] When Sugababes sing the chorus again, they dance with the people who also begin to show other talents, including instrumentation and magic tricks.[40] As the video ends, a row of people hold up signs containing one word from the song's lyrics, "people are all the same", and then another message "don't be afraid to be you", with Buchanan, Buena and Range holding each letter of the last word.[40]

Live performances and school usage

Sugababes performed "Ugly" at the V Festival in 2006 as part of a set list, which included "Hole in the Head", "Red Dress" and "Push the Button". In 2008, they performed the song at the same event in the JJB Champion Arena, as part of a set list which included Push the Button and About You Now.[41] The performance received positive reviews, with a reviewer from MTV UK calling it "a highlight of our festival in the JJB Arena".[41] In August 2007, former group member Mutya Buena, who left the band shortly following the single's release, performed the song at the V Festival in Chelmsford.[42] On 18 September 2007, Sugababes performed an acoustic version of "Ugly" at the Indig02 as part of a set list, which included such songs as "Freak Like Me", "Round Round", "In the Middle", "Red Dress" and "Too Lost In You". Nick Levine of Digital Spy felt the performance "proves that no member's a slacker in the trilling department".[43]

In March 2006, it was announced by The Commission for Racial Equality Croeso initiative that the Sugababes would take part in supporting diversity and opposing injustice in Wales.[44] The group allowed all schools located in Wales to use "Ugly" as part of an assembly, in which the schools can use the same resources provided by the Croeso initiative.[44]

Track listings and formats

Credits and personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Ugly"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[61] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Ugly"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 5 December 2005 Island
Germany 9 December 2005 Maxi CD Universal Music
16 December 2005 CD
Australia 16 January 2006 Maxi CD

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Taller in More Ways (liner notes). Sugababes. Universal Island Records. 2005.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 Cartner-Morley, Jess (16 September 2005). "Jess Cartner-Morley meets the Sugababes". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Udell, Phil (30 November 2005). "Ugly". Hot Press. Niall Stokes. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  4. ↑ Mace-Tessler, Isaac (20 December 2013). "SINGLE REVIEW: Little Mix – 'Little Me'". Pop Scoop. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "iTunes - Music - Ugly - EP by Sugababes". iTunes (UK). Apple. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Sugababes - Ugly Sheet Music (Digital Download)". Musicnotes.com. Peer International Music Publishing. 2005. MN0068245 (Product Number). {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  7. 1 2 Southall, Nick (20 October 2005). "Sugababes - Taller in More Ways - Review - Stylus Magazine". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Taller in More Ways - Sugababes". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  9. 1 2 "The first ten: 2, Sugababes, Taller in More Ways". The Guardian. 18 September 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  10. ↑ Rubenstein, Harry (31 January 2006). "Disk Reviews". The Jerusalem Post. Mirkaei Tikshoret. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2006. (subscription required)
  11. ↑ Britten, Anna (11 October 2005). "Sugababes - Taller in More Ways". Yahoo! Music. Yahoo! UK & Ireland. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  12. 1 2 "iTunes - Music - Ugly - Single by Sugababes". iTunes (UK). Apple. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  13. 1 2 "Ugly (Single)". Amazon (DE). Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  14. 1 2 "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 16th January 2006" (PDF). ARIA. 16 January 2006. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2006. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  15. ↑ "Sugababes Taller in More Ways Review". BBC. 23 September 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  16. ↑ "Back to form with full-throttle rock". Liverpool Daily Post & Echo. Trinity Mirror. 7 October 2005. Retrieved 13 September 2012. (subscription required)
  17. ↑ "Sugababes - Taller in More Ways (Island)". musicOMH. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  18. ↑ Roginski, Alex (23 January 2006). "Taller in Many Ways". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  19. ↑ "Eminem and Now! 62 lead albums sales". Music Week. Intent Media. 12 December 2005. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  20. 1 2 "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  21. ↑ "The Official Charts Company - Ugly by Sugababes Search". The Official Charts Company. 6 May 2013.
  22. ↑ "Sugababes Official Top 20 Best Selling Singles". MTV UK. MTV Networks. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  23. 1 2 "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Ugly". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  24. 1 2 "Sugababes – Ugly". Tracklisten. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  25. 1 2 "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  26. 1 2 "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 52, 2005" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  27. 1 2 "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200615 into search. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  28. ↑ "Sugababes - Angels With Dirty Faces". Finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  29. 1 2 "Sugababes – Ugly". VG-lista. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  30. ↑ "Sugababes - Angels With Dirty Faces". Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
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  32. 1 2 "Sugababes – Ugly" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  33. 1 2 "Sugababes – Ugly". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  34. 1 2 "Sugababes – Ugly". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  35. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline". Musicline.de. Media Control. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  36. 1 2 "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200637 into search. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  37. 1 2 3 "Sugababes – Ugly". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  38. ↑ "Sugababes - Red Dress (CD, Maxi, Enh)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  39. ↑ Overloaded: The Singles Collection (DVD liner notes). Island Records. November 2006.
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Sugababes - Ugly". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  41. 1 2 "V Festival Review". MTV UK. MTV Networks. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  42. ↑ "Mutya Buena plays Sugababes song at V Festival". NME. IPC Media. 19 August 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  43. ↑ Levine, Nick (18 September 2007). "Sugababes @ IndigO2, September 14". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  44. 1 2 "Pop group backs schools on racial harmony". News Wales. 15 March 2006. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  45. ↑ "Sugababes – Ugly". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  46. ↑ "Sugababes – Ugly" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  47. ↑ "Sugababes – Ugly" (in Danish). Tracklisten. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  48. ↑ "Hits of the World – Eurocharts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 52. 24 December 2005. p. 67. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  49. ↑ "Sugababes: Ugly" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  50. 1 2 "Sugababes – Ugly" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  51. ↑ "Ελληνικό Chart". Archived from the original on 4 February 2006. Retrieved 4 February 2006.
  52. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  53. ↑ "Sugababes – Ugly" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  54. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  55. ↑ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2005". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  56. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2006". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  57. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2006". Ultratop. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  58. ↑ "European Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  59. ↑ "Rádiós Top 100 – hallgatottsági adatok alapján – 2006" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  60. ↑ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2006". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  61. ↑ "British single certifications – Sugababes – Ugly". British Phonographic Industry.
  62. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 3 December 2005. p. 29. Retrieved 2 July 2023 – via World Radio History.
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