Recorded 2006–2007 Length 51:17 | Genre R&B, dance, soul Label Island | |
Released 4 June 2007 (2007-06-04) Producer Eg White, Matt Ward, Dean Gillard, Groove Armada, Jony Rockstar, Felix Howard, Guz Lally, Guy Sigsworth, Salaam Remi, Johnny Douglas, Wayne Wilkins, RedEye | ||
Real Girl is the debut solo album by British recording artist Mutya Buena. It was released on 4 June 2007 via Universal Records, following her departure from UK girl group the Sugababes in December 2005.
Contents
Singles
"Real Girl" was the album's lead single and it was digitally released on 14 May 2007. The single was produced by Full Phatt, a London-based production company. It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Buena's most successful single to date. It also reached the top ten in Finland, Slovakia and the Netherlands. The second single from the album was "Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)" and it was released on 27 July 2007. The song was a collaboration with electronic music duo Groove Armada. It peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, becoming her second top ten solo single. "Song 4 Mutya" received heavy airplay in Australia, where it peaked at number twenty-four in the country. It also managed to chart in other countries including Ireland, the Netherlands and Finland where it peaked at number twelve on the Finnish Singles Chart. "Just a Little Bit" was chosen to be the third single, and was released in late October in the United Kingdom. The single peaked at number sixty-five on the UK Singles Chart. The fourth and final single from the album was "B Boy Baby", and featured Amy Winehouse; it was released in late December and peaked at number seventy-three on the UK Singles Chart.
One track on the album, "Strung Out", was written by Buena's replacement in the Sugababes, Amelle Berrabah. Buena was reportedly unhappy upon finding this out, but record company executives pushed for the song's inclusion on the album.
Chart performance
Real Girl peaked at number ten on the UK Albums Chart, selling 100,000 copies in the country, where it was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry. In Ireland, the album charted at number twenty-five. It also managed to chart on the Netherlands and Switzerland albums charts, at number thirty-three and thirty-six, respectively.
In February 2008, Buena was dropped by her label Universal Music group due to the album's disappointing sales in the United Kingdom.