Overload (Sugababes song)

"Overload"
Single by Sugababes
from the album One Touch
B-side	"Lush Life"
Released	11 September 2000 (see release history)
Format	7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, CD single, digital download, maxi-single
Genre	R&B, hip hop soul
Length	4:35
Label	London
Writer(s)	Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena, Siobhán Donaghy, Felix Howard, Cameron McVey, Jony Rockstar, Paul Simm
Producer	Cameron McVey, Jony Rockstar, Paul Simm
Sugababes singles chronology
"Overload" (2000) "New Year" (2000)
Overloaded: The Singles Collection track listing "Shape" (6) "Overload" (7) Good to Be Gone (8) Audio sample file info · help

"Overload" is the debut single of English girl group the Sugababes. It was released on 11 September 2000 through London Records on CD and vinyl format and is the lead single from the Sugababes' debut studio album One Touch, which was released the following year. At the time, the group consisted of Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. It was co-produced and co-written by British songwriters/producers Paul Simm, Felix Howard, Jony Rockstar and Cameron McVey.

It received an overwhelmingly positive reception from music critics. The general theme of the song involves a teenage girl's crush towards a boy and her finding the situation difficult to manage. The song features on the soundtrack to the 2002 film 40 Days and 40 Nights, directed by Michael Lehmann. The song was nominated for "Best British Single" at the 2001 BRIT Awards^[1] and later inspired the title of the group's greatest hits compilation Overloaded: The Singles Collection. Controversy also surrounded American recording artist Christina Aguilera's song "Make Over" for "borrowing" the sound and concept of "Overload" - both tracks being co-penned and co-produced by Paul Simm. Later pressings of Stripped included credits for Buchanan, Buena, Donaghy, Jonathan Lipsey, Felix Howard, Cameron McVey, and Paul Simm.

The single is also the only top ten single to be lifted from the One Touch era. It peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart and so far has sold over 156,000 copies to-date in the United Kingdom.^[2] The single also had considerable success globally, reaching the Top 40 in nine other countries, including top five peaks in New Zealand, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Background

"Overload" was co-written by Sugababes group members together with the song's co-producers Cameron McVey (who also worked the group on their Taller in More Ways), Paul Simm (also well-known for his work on the group's third single, "Run for Cover") and long-time Sugababes producer/songwriter, Jony Rockstar. The track fuses together styles of electronica, hip-hop and R&B and features contributions of numerous instruments, including: drum, bass, keyboard, electric guitar and horns.

The song's hook lies in its two line-repeated chorus:

Train comes I don't know its destination, it's a one-way ticket to a madman's situation^[3]

The song's lyrical concept basically has to do with a girl's frustration with the boy that she's in a relationship with and the song's lyrics use various other comparisons to convey this. With the first verse lyric "I'm on overload" inspiring the song title of the track. The song begins with a sixteen-second long vocalless intro that consists of a drum and bass backing accompanied by a repetitive breeze synthesiser, which develops louder in sound with soft guitar chords becoming hearable as the song progresses into its first verse. The first verse is 45 seconds long and is sung entirely by Siobhán, who leads the song into its 30 second-long chorus which features vocals from all group members, with Siobhán's voice being the most prominent of the three. The second verse is collaboration of all the girls' vocals. An electric guitar tune is introduced before the bridge of the song, which can be characterised with the traditional rock genre. The track's bridge is sung by Mutya, and as its backing the prominent drum and base/synth combination mutes with a repeated keyboard key and more prominent drum rhythm taking its place before a growing breeze synth leads into the after-bridge chorus. Keisha and Mutya then take the role of featuring as response vocals in the final choruses and the song ends with Mutya singing the line "Got me feeling sad" and two dragged-out breeze synths.

The single's B-side, entitled "Lush Life" is a track featured on the group's debut album, One Touch, and it was written by Tom and Macintosh - who are credited on other tracks featured on the album as well.^[4] As part of the single's promotion, the group performed "Overload" on the BBC music television show "Top of the Pops" on 22 September 2000.^[5]

In 2009, the song was covered by British electropop artist, Little Boots.^[6]

Critical reception

"Overload" received a generally positive response from music critics. A review by Aidin Vaziri from Rolling Stone called the song "a pulsating, cool-headed R&B concoction" and praised the group for their mature sound which made "other girl groups...look utterly lightweight in comparison".^[7]

Debbie Guirand, in a review for ManHunt.com, called the song "catchy" and was impressed by the Sugababes' ability to write their own lyrics as they had done for "Overload".^[8]

Although The Portland Mercury was not impressed by the Sugababes' debut album, giving it only two and a half stars out of five, the online entertainment website did give "Overload" positive reviews. The website called the song "joyously overwhelming" and gave it four out of five stars.^[9] IndieLondon.co.uk described the single as "A genuine funky performer that should effortlessly get you grooving"^[10] whilst it also made NME's Year End Top 10 Singles for the year of 2000.^[11]

Globaldance.com positively reviewed the song:

"Overload" features simple vocals and a "live" electronica coffee house sounding backing band. The hook is very memorable and compliments the strong melody.^[12]

Pitchfork included it at #432 on their Top 500 Tracks of the Decade list in 2009.^[13] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 51 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".^[14]

Music video

Mutya Buena & Keisha Buchanan in the music video for "Overload"

The music video for "Overload" was directed by Phil Poynter and filmed in London, England in August 2000. The video has no plot and is known for its fresh and simplistic style, a theme that they would continue in their early videos. It features the group in a variety of ever-changing outfits, singing the song in front of a plain white background, either by themselves or together as a group.

Chart performance

On 23 September 2000, "Overload" debuted and peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart. The following week it dropped three places to number nine, where it stayed for two consecutive weeks. On 14 October, the song then slipped six places to number fifteen before dropping a further six places to number twenty-one on 21 October 2000. The single then had two consecutive seven place falls before dropping out the top forty on 11 November to number fifty-three - its final charting. Accumalitively the single has spent a total of eight weeks charting within the top seventy-five, seven of these weeks being within the top forty.^[15]

In Holland, "Overload" debuted at number eighty-five on 14 October 2000. It later went on to peak at number twenty on 2 December 2000 before dropping out the chart on 10 February 2001 - spending a total of sixteen weeks on the chart.^[16]

On 2 November 2000, the single became a hit in Sweden. It debuted at number twenty-six before reaching a peak of number twenty-one two weeks later on 14 November. It then spent a total of seventeen weeks charting, dropping out on 29 February 2001.^[17]

The single was a great success in Switzerland, it debuted at number eighty on the country's singles chart on 19 November 2000. It then peaked at number five a few months later on 18 February 2001. It spent a total of four weeks within the chart's top ten before dropping out the chart on 3 June 2001 after twenty-seven weeks on the chart. The single then reappeared twice on the chart: 10 June 2001 at number fifty-three and 24 June 2001 at number eighty-two. Altogether spending a total of twenty-nine weeks on the chart.^[18]

Outside of Europe, the track enjoyed its highest success in New Zealand where it debuted at number sixteen on 17 December 2000. The following week it climbed five places to number eleven and it then entered the chart's top ten on 14 January 2001 at number eight before reaching a peak of number two on 28 January - the single's best peak to-date. It spent a total of seventeen weeks on this chart, five of these within the chart's top ten.^[19]

European success continued in Norway, where the song debuted at number seventeen in week number fifty-two in 2000 of the chart, where it stayed for three consecutive weeks before peaking at number twelve in week two of 2001 and then dropping out in week five of 2001, spending six weeks on the chart.^[20]

In Austria, the single debuted at number thirty-four on 21 January 2001. It climbed twenty-four places to number ten the following week before spending seven weeks within the top ten and two consecutive weeks at its peak of number three. On 29 April 2001 it dropped out the chart after fourteen weeks.^[21]

On 25 February 2001, "Overload" debuted at number forty-two on the Australian Singles Chart. It climbed twelve places over a span of five weeks before peaking at number twenty-seven of 8 April. It then slipped a place to number twenty-eight before re-peaking at number twenty-seven on 22 April. The song dropped out the chart on 20 May 2001, spending a total of twelve weeks charting.^[22]

"Overload" also reached peaks of number three in Germany, number fifteen in Ireland and number thirty-two in Belgium.

Tracklisting

UK CD Single

1. "Overload" (Original Edit) - 4:35
2. "Lush Life" - 4:41°
3. "Overload" (Instrumental) - 4:19

European 2-Track Single"

1. "Overload" (Original Edit) - 4:35
2. "Lush Life" - 4:41°

European 4-Track Single

1. "Overload" (Original Edit) - 4:35
2. "Lush Life" - 4:41°
3. "Overload" (Capoeira Remix - Vocal Version) - 8:06
4. "Overload" (Instrumental) - 4:19

Charts and certifications

Charts Chart (2000) Peak position Dutch Top 40[23] 20 German Singles Chart[24] 3 Irish Singles Chart[25] 15 Swedish Singles Chart[23] 21 UK Singles Chart[26] 6 Chart (2001) Peak position Australian Singles Chart[23] 27 Austrian Singles Chart[23] 3 Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[23] 38 Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)[23] 32 New Zealand Singles Chart[23] 2 Norwegian Singles Chart[23] 12 Swiss Singles Chart[23] 5

Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Germany (BVMI)[27] Gold 250,000^ ^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
United Kingdom	11 September 2000[28]	7 inch vinyl, 12 inch vinyl, CD single	London
International	5 October 2000[22]	CD single, maxi-single
International	26 February 2006[29]	Digital download	Island

Personnel

The following people were involved in the creation and development of "Overload":^{[30] [31]}

• Engineer: Jake Davies, Goetz B (Mix Engineer)
• Guitar: Felix Howard (Rhythm)
• Horns: Kick Horns
• Vocals: Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena, Siobhán Donaghy
• Writers: Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena, Siobhàn Donaghy, Felix Howard, Cameron McVey, Jony Rockstar, Paul Simm
• Keyboards: Cameron McVey, Paul Simm
• Programmers: Cameron McVey, Jony Rockstar, Paul Simm
• Additional beats and Turntables: Silvio Pacini ( Skilz One )
• Mixers: Cameron McVey, Jony Rockstar, Paul Simm
• Bass: Jony Rockstar
• Photography: John Spinks
• Management: Z Management
• Video Director: Phil Poynter

References

1. ^ http://www.sugababesunlimited.info/Pages/
2. ^ http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=516
3. ^ "The Sugababes - Overload Lyrics". Lyrics007.com. http://www.lyrics007.com/The%20Sugababes%20Lyrics/Overload%20Lyrics.html. Retrieved 16 November 2009. 
4. ^ "Who wrote Lush Life by Sugababes?". Popjustice. http://www.popjustice.com/forum/index.php?topic=19227.msg700376. Retrieved 16 November 2009. 
5. ^ "YouTube - 22 October 2000 - Sugababes - Overload (Live @ TOTP-NL)". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_IjEGQZB84. Retrieved 15 November 2009. 
6. ^ "Little Boots Covers ‘Overload’ By Sugababes". popdirt.com. http://popdirt.com/little-boots-covers-overload-by-sugababes/73226/. Retrieved 15 November 2009. 
7. ^ Rolling Stone Review of One Touch; Retrieved 20 May 2006
8. ^ ManHunt.com. Review of Overload; Retrieved 20 May 2006
9. ^ The Portland Mercury Review of One Touch; Retrieved 20 May 2006
10. ^ "IndieLondon: Sugababes - Overloaded: The Singles Collection - Your London Reviews". IndieLondon.co.uk. http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/sugababes-overloaded-the-singles-collection. Retrieved 11 November 2009. 
11. ^ "Sugababes - Angels With Dirty Faces - Review - Stylus Magazine". Stylus Magazine. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/sugababes/angels-with-dirty-faces.htm. Retrieved 11 November 2009. 
12. ^ "NAJM Dance Music Reviews - Sugababes - Overload". Globaldance.com. http://www.globaldance.com/ReviewSugababesOverload.htm. Retrieved 11 November 2009. 
13. ^ http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7685-the-top-500-tracks-of-the-2000s-500-201/2/
14. ^ http://www.nme.com/list/150-best-tracks-of-the-past-15-years/248648/page/10
15. ^ "Chart Stats - Sugababes - Overload". Chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=28507. Retrieved 8 November 2009. 
16. ^ "dutchcharts.nl - Sugababes - Overload". dutchcharts.nl. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Sugababes&titel=Overload&cat=s. Retrieved 8 November 2009. 
17. ^ "swedishcharts.com - Sugababes - Overload". swedishcharts.com. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Sugababes&titel=Overload&cat=s. Retrieved 8 November 2009. 
18. ^ "Sugababes - Overload - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Sugababes&titel=Overload&cat=s. Retrieved 8 November 2009. 
19. ^ "charts.org.nz - Sugababes - Overload". charts.org.nz. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Sugababes&titel=Overload&cat=s. Retrieved 8 November 2009. 
20. ^ "norwegiancharts.com - Sugababes - Overload". norwegiancharts.com. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Sugababes&titel=Overload&cat=s. Retrieved 8 November 2009. 
21. ^ "Sugababes - Overload - austriancharts.at". austriancharts.at. http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Sugababes&titel=Overload&cat=s. Retrieved 8 November 2009. 
22. ^ ^{a b} "australian-charts.com - Sugababes - Overload". australian-charts.com. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Sugababes&titel=Overload&cat=s. Retrieved 8 November 2009. 
23. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} ""SUGABABES - OVERLOAD (SONG)"". Swisscharts.com. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Sugababes&titel=Overload&cat=s. Retrieved 14 June 2008. 
24. ^ ""Overload (Original Edit)"". Musicline. http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/title/Sugababes/Overload+%28original+Edit%29/single. Retrieved 14 June 2008. 
25. ^ "The Irish Charts". Irishcharts.ie. http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 29 April 2007. 
26. ^ "UK Top 40 Hit Database". everyHit.com. http://www.everyhit.com/. Retrieved 15 June 2008. 
27. ^ "German single certifications – Sugababes – Overload" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Overload&strInterpret=Sugababes&strTtArt=single&strAwards=checked. 
28. ^ "Surge > Music > Artists > Sugababes". Surge Radio. http://www.surgeradio.co.uk/music/artists/dfa715ac-b536-44df-af43-570d3ea3edec.html. Retrieved 8 November 2009. 
29. ^ "Sugababes - Overload [Single"]. Sun Online. http://www.sunonline.ca/music/albums/1037979. Retrieved 8 November 2009. ^{[dead link]}
30. ^ "Sugababes - Overload at Discogs". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/Sugababes-Overload/release/933950. Retrieved 8 November 2009. 
31. ^ "Sugababes - Overloaded - The Singles Collection (CD, Comp) at Discogs". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/Sugababes-Overloaded-The-Singles-Collection/release/1372979. Retrieved 8 November 2009.