Keisha Kerreece Fayeanne Buchanan was born on 30 September 1984 in Westminster, London, and first met and befriended future Sugababes member Mutya Buena in primary school. In May 1998, Siobhán Donaghy and Mutya Buena, both aged just 13, had been signed as solo artists, but decided to work together after performing at the same showcase. While working in the studio, Buena invited her best friend Keisha Buchanan to watch them, and their manager Tom decided the three girls would make a good trio, likening their different appearances to the United Colors of Benetton campaign. Originally dubbed the Sugababies, the group's name was tweaked to Sugababes when they were signed by London Records, and their debut single, 'Overload', peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart in 2000, and was nominated for a BRIT Award for Best Single. The band's debut album, 'One Touch', was released later that year, and it peaked at number 26 on the UK Albums Chart, but despite the album producing three more top 40 hits, the sales of 'One Touch' did not meet London Records' expectations, and so they dropped the group in 2001.
During a Japanese promotional tour in August 2001, Donaghy left the group, citing disagreement and in-fighting amongst the group's members, and she was replaced former Atomic Kitten member Heidi Range. Having already started work on a second album with new member Range, the trio looked for a new record label, eventually signing to Island Records, and their first single for them, 'Freak Like Me', scored the group their first UK number 1. On the back of this success, the group's second album, 'Angels With Dirty Faces', debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and was later certified triple platinum. The group's third album, 'Three', was released in late 2003 and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart, earning the group a BRIT Award nomination for Best Album, while the lead single 'Hole In The Head', became their third UK number 1. 2004 was a difficult year for the group, with alleged backstage catfights, and continuous rumours of in-fighting within the group and constant split reports. After a hiatus, Sugababes released their thirteenth single, 'Push The Button' in October 2005, and it was another number 1 hit for them in the UK, while its parent album 'Taller In More Ways' became the group's first UK number 1 album.
Following an apparent illness that prevented Buena from promoting follow-up single 'Ugly', it was announced on 21 December 2005 that she had left the group, and Amelle Berrabah joined in late December. After a Greatest Hits Tour, Sugababes released 'Change', their fifth studio album, and the first to feature Berrabah on all tracks. 'About You Now' was released as the album's lead single in September 2007, and on its release it became their sixth UK number one hit, and first Hungarian chart-topper. In October 2007, 'Change' became the group's second UK number 1 album, and following the Change Tour, the band returned to the studio to write and record tracks for their sixth studio album, the provocatively titled 'Catfights And Spotlights'. After the release of the single 'No Can Do', the group announced that there would be no 2009 tour in support of 'Catfights And Spotlights', as they wanted to focus on writing and recording material for their seventh studio album, 'Sweet 7'. They travelled to the United States to work on the record, and in April 2009 they signed a contract with Jay-Z's label Roc Nation, which gave them access to high profile producers. However, in September 2009 it was officially announced that Buchanan had left the group, being replaced by former Eurovision entrant Jade Ewen.
Buchanan revealed on Twitter that it was not her decision to leave, resulting in some journalists describing her as having been "sacked", but public opinion was mostly positive for her, with Digital Spy running an article titled "Keisha Buchanan, We Salute You", in which they thanked her for her contribution to "incredible pop songs". Her first recording after leaving the group was a feature on Jay Sean's single 'Far Away', after which she began work on her debut solo album. She later revealed that she had recorded 50 tracks for the album as of August 2011, but considering that only a handful have leaked I think this was somewhat of an exaggeration. The album was initially supposed to be released in 2011, however according to Buchanan, "every time we lock down there's always someone else who wants to work with me", and so it has suffered constant delays, and is still yet to appear. Despite the fact that there are supposed to be around 50 songs recorded, only three have ever surfaced, and so in order to make up an album's worth of music I've added a few of those collaborations, plus the five tracks from Sugababes 'Sweet 7' album which featured her lead vocals, and which were wiped and re-recorded by Ewen when Buchanan left the group.
Track listing
01 Under Control
02 No More You
03 Gimme Pressure
04 Whatever Makes You Happy
05 Dreamin' (feat. Political Peak)
06 About A Girl
07 Fearless
08 Wear My Kiss
09 Give It Up (feat. Asher D)
10 Wait For You
11 Anything's Possible (feat. Wayne Williams & J Gunn)
12 Miss Everything
Tracks 2, 6, 8, 10 & 12 are songs from Sugababes 'Sweet 7' album with Buchanan on lead vocals
