Sugababes have reclaimed their legacy – and the Attitude Awards are celebrating it

Pop music isn’t exactly known for being kind to women, especially older female artists. Usually, there’s an expiry date: you’re either remembered as you were in your twenties or brought back years later for a nostalgia tour. That’s what makes seeing Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy on stage now so satisfying. They look completely at home up there, performing to huge crowds and looking like three women who know exactly who they are.

When the original trio appeared in 2000 with ‘Overload’, they were teenagers who somehow seemed much older than their years. While other girl groups were delivering perfectly rehearsed routines and classic pop choreography, Sugababes felt different.

There was something effortlessly cool about them, and they didn’t seem particularly interested in playing the usual girl-group game. They didn’t smile for the cameras on demand, nor did they pretend to fit a pre-packaged archetype. They looked like real girls you might see walking around London rather than a group who had been created in a boardroom.

After Keisha departed in 2009, the three women who had started it all were left watching from the outside

Their first album, One Touch, had a dark, moody sound, mixing pop with R&B and UK garage. They attracted some serious admirers, with George Michael and the then Prince Charles reported to be fans of the trio.

What happened next became one of the most complicated stories in British pop. Members came and went, and Sugababes continued without the original three. Siobhán left first, followed by Mutya. For years, the group continued with various lineups. After Keisha – the only original member still in the group – departed in 2009, the three women who had started it all were left watching from the outside.

It could easily have ended there. Instead, the original trio eventually found their way back to each other. They initially reunited as MKS in 2011, performing together again in intimate spaces while also fighting to regain control of the name Sugababes. After years of legal battles, they eventually got it back in 2019.

[Sugababes] use their platform to its fullest with their LGBTQ+ allyship, which extends far beyond festival stages into direct activist fundraising

In 2022, their legendary, capacity-shattering set on Glastonbury’s Avalon stage forced organisers to shut down entry due to safety concerns. With their subsequent triumph on the West Holts stage in 2024, the scale of their impact became impossible to ignore.

They use their platform to its fullest with their LGBTQ+ allyship, which extends far beyond festival stages into direct activist fundraising. When hostility towards transgender people escalated across UK public discourse, the trio put themselves on the line. Joining forces with Olly Alexander and Mighty Hoopla, Sugababes signed on as marquee performers for Trans Mission, an all-star charity concert aimed at fighting discrimination which took place in March at Wembley Arena. The initiative raised critical funds for trans-led advocacy groups, including Not A Phase and the Good Law Project, with Mutya and Siobhán both opening up about having transgender loved ones and personal connections to the trans community.

And perhaps that’s what makes the Sugababes story so remarkable. This isn’t simply a group being brought back because people remember their old songs. The trio have had to fight to reclaim something that was taken away from them, and they’ve come back stronger because of it.

For Mutya, Keisha and Siobhán, The Music Award, supported by M&S, at the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards 2026, in partnership with M&S and electrified by Polestar, honours something far more rare: complete ownership of their artistry. They survived the machine, fought to regain the rights to their legacy and emerged at the absolute height of their vocal and artistic powers.  

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The Attitude Awards 2026 issue is available for pre-order here.