New Year (song)

Background and release

British girl group the Sugababes were formed in 1998 by Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. Donaghy and Buena first met during an a cappella gig, where they heard each other sing and later performed a duet. The duo decided to work together on a new song, and while they were in the studio, Buchanan came to visit her friend Buena. Donaghy's manager, Ron Tom, concluded that the trio were to join together as a band, known as the Sugababes. They later signed to London Records and began writing songs for their debut album One Touch.

"New Year" was written by the group's members in collaboration with Cameron McVey, Jony Lipsey, Matt Rowe and Felix Howard. The song was produced by McVey, Lipsey and Paul Simm. It was recorded and engineered by Goetz Botzenhardt at Bear Studios, and mixed by its producers at Metropolis Studios. London Records released "New Year" in the United Kingdom on 18 December 2000 as the second single from One Touch. Two B-sides were featured on the first CD single: "Forever" and "Sugababes on the Run". On the second CD, a B-side titled "Little Lady Love" was included. "New Year" was omitted from the group's greatest hits album Overloaded: The Singles Collection.

Composition and lyrics

"New Year" is a midtempo pop and R&B ballad with influences of soul and alternative rock. It contains acoustic instrumentation in the form of beats, bass, strings, guitar and keys, and features tight production juxtaposed with the group's harmonious vocals. Writers for the BBC characterised the song as having "a melodic swagger" reminiscent of All Saints' earlier work, and a "classy arrangement [...] boosted by an infectiously splashy drumbeat and stabs of acoustic guitar". "New Year" features a seasonal theme, focussing on the holiday of Christmas, which is referenced in the song's lyrics. It is about the experience of a breakup on Christmas Day. According to Betty Clarke of The Guardian, "New Year" "tells [a tale] of festive fumblings to Last Christmas", and through lines such as "I'm older than my years, drowning in my tears" the Sugababes are shown singing with insight.

Critical

The song was raved by critics. A journalist from the BBC wrote that the single as "lives up to the hype" and praised the inclusion of lyrics about Christmas as "without sounding remotely contrived". According to the Daily Mail, the Sugababes avoid sounding "mushy" on the album's ballads including "New Year". The Sunday Herald's Samuel McGuire interpreted "New Year" as a "mellow [and] dewy-eyed" song that will "undoubtedly cement [the Sugababes'] 'new All Saints' tag early in 2001". Eva Simpson of the Daily Mirror gave a positive review, writing: "Taken from outstanding debut album One Touch, this soulful track is head and shoulders above other festive releases. A must for Christmas stockings." Yahoo Music's Andy Strickland stated that while "New Year" is not as "wired or skewed" as the group's debut single "Overload", it is a representation of the group members' vocal abilities. Hot Press writer Stephen Robinson praised the song as "a shameless attempt at a January hit", while Peter Robinson called it the group's best ballad. In December 2012 Bernadette McNulty of The Daily Telegraph picked it out as one of the newspaper's favourite Christmas songs:

A relentless tearjerker from the pouty North London teenagers off their debut album. Sneakily giving the song a title that makes it last throughout the festive season, this updates old school girl-group harmonies from Christmas classics by the likes of the Ronettes with a clunky drum beat.

Commercial

Because of its release around Christmas time, media outlets considered "New Year" to be a contender for the 2000 Christmas number one. In the issue dated 30 December 2000 the song debuted and peaked at number twelve on the UK Singles Chart, where it charted for nine weeks. By early 2010, it had sold approximately 85,000 copies in the United Kingdom and was the group's eighteenth highest-selling single there. "New Year" reached number twenty-five on the Irish Singles Chart, where it appeared for five weeks.

Music video

To promote "New Year", a music video was directed by Alex Hamming and filmed in London, England. It was included on the song's CD release. The video is mainly black-and-white, but also features shades of pink and blue. During the video, the group's members sing in front of a white background, while computer graphics such as snow, letters and butterflies appear throughout. Other features in the video include a bird cage, stars and a calendar. Donaghy, Buena and Buchanan are shown both individually and collectively in the video; in some clips they are seated on chairs and against walls. The Daily Telegraph's Bernadette McNulty described their appearance in the clips, writing: "The original trio sulk their way through the video in boot-cut jeans and smudged eyeliner".

Live performance

In 2001, Donaghy left the band and was replaced by former Atomic Kitten member Heidi Range. Buena departed from the group in 2005 for "personal reasons", and was replaced by Amelle Berrabah. In 2009, it was revealed that after eleven years, Buchanan was no longer part of the band and had been replaced by former Eurovision contestant Jade Ewen. In October 2011, news outlets began to report that the original members of the Sugababes would reform. In July 2012, it was officially confirmed that they had reformed under the name Mutya Keisha Siobhan. The trio played their first gig together in over ten years on 31 December 2012 at a New Year's Eve party held in London. "New Year" was the second song on the set list, which also included their songs "Overload" and "Freak like Me", and a cover version of Rihanna's single "Diamonds".

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of One Touch, courtesy of London Records.