Denial (Sugababes song)

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"Denial"
Single by Sugababes
from the album Change
B-side"Hey There Delilah"
Released10 March 2008 (2008-03-10)
Genre
Length3:29
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Flex Turner
  • Elliot Malloy
Sugababes singles chronology
"Change"
(2007) 		"Denial"
(2008) 		"She's like a Star"
(2008)

"Denial" is a song by English

the Gossip
.

The song received mixed reviews from critics, who were ambivalent towards its composition, but became a commercial success throughout Europe, where it peaked at number one on the

Oxegen Festival
, and during their Change Tour.

Development and release

V V Brown composed the song while on London Underground's Victoria line.

English singer and songwriter V V Brown wrote "Denial" while she was on London Underground's Victoria line.[2] Brown told Metro that songs she writes for enjoyment come spontaneously to her.[2] She composed "Denial" specifically for the Sugababes, and attempted to "get into their mindsets" in the process.[1] The song was submitted to the group and received by their management;[1] the band enjoyed the song and subsequently recorded it for their fifth studio album Change.[1] Brown described its transferral to the band as "validation that I'd truly found who I am in both territories as a song writer, as a producer, as a writer and as an artist".[3]

The Sugababes and the song's producers and

mixed by Jeremy Wheatley at Twenty One Studios, London, with assistance from Richard Edgeler.[4] The song's instruments were provided by Pete Boxsta Martin and Wheatley.[4] When Metro questioned Brown about her feelings towards the group's ownership of the song, she responded: "When you write songs for other people you’ve got to let it go, it becomes their property, they have to interpret it in the way they feel. You can’t be too precious about it otherwise you wouldn’t have given it away in the first place."[2]

"Denial" was confirmed for release in January 2008 as the fourth and final single from Change, and the Sugababes' 21st single overall.

B-side to "Denial".[7] "Denial" was remixed by American disc jockey Ian Carey.[11]

Composition

"Denial" is a

middle eight performed by group member Heidi Range, and is opened with the line "I see the way the wind blows like open minds for us".[14] "Denial" explores themes of unrequited love, as noted by Peter Murphy from Hot Press.[20]

Reception

Critical response

Alexis Petridis of The Guardian classified "Denial" as a "beautifully-crafted bulletproof pop song",[21] while Manchester Evening News' Sarah Walters described the track as "a steamy, disco hit".[6] Levine from Digital Spy rated the song four out of five stars; he regarded it as "brilliantly addictive", and "bouncier than a Labrador puppy on Ritalin, but classy too".[15] Birmingham Mail critic Sean Coleman commended the Sugababes' emotion and harmonious vocal performance on the song, which he considered the standout from Change.[22] Fraser McAlpine of BBC gave "Denial" a full five-star rating, and highlighted the Sugababes' vocal performance accompanied by the "raw, brittle emotion" in the song.[17] The BBC's ChartBlog team listed the song on their "2008's finest five" list, describing the chorus as "the cherry on the cake".[23] Andreas Borcholte from German news magazine Der Spiegel positively highlighted it in comparison to the album's filler tracks.[24]

The song also received negative responses. A journalist from the Stornoway Gazette called it "disposable" despite the "undeniably lovely" harmonies, and stated that the song would have no impact on the quality of Change if it did not appear on the album.[25] Tom Young of BBC wrote that the track "stumbles awkwardly" owing to the sample of "Standing in the Way of Control".[26] A writer from The Scotsman criticised it as substandard, noting its "clunking sexual imagery" and "bewildering observation" in the middle eight.[14] Entertainment Ireland critic Lauren Murphy dismissed the song as "garden-variety pop" and wrote that it suggests the Sugababes "may be losing their magic touch".[27]

Commercial performance

"Denial" debuted on the

Czech Singles Chart, where it first appeared at number 92, and, eighteen weeks after its debut, peaked at number one for two consecutive weeks.[33] Overall, the single spent 62 non-consecutive weeks in the chart.[33]

"Denial" entered the

Mega Single Top 100 chart it reached number 61.[41]

Music video

The Sugababes' performing during their Change Tour in 2008.

The

Vogue.[43] The video was filmed on 3 December 2007 and it premiered on the Sugababes' official website on 7 January 2008.[44]

Brown stated that he wanted to "redefine" the group and conceptualise a new image that would represent his perception of their personas.[42] He described the band as "extremely style-savvy" and motivated them to be bold, uninhibited and experimental.[42] The video takes influences from styles of fashion editorial and features the Sugababes in various costumes and guises.[43] Their outfits were created with many fabrics, in addition to newspapers, plastic bin bags and florist's cellophane.[42] Overall, there were 13 costume changes.[44] Scenes for the video were shot in a wide range of environments and locations, including a fire escape, loading bay, and storage cupboard.[42]

"I shot the video like [a] fashion editorial, using every inch of the studio, including the fire escape, the gantry and the loading bay. I even did a couple of shots with the girls in the storage cupboard where the studio lighting stands were kept. And whilst I was shooting one outfit on one girl, I would be getting the next outfit and set ready."

— —Harvey B-Brown on the video's development.[42]

London Evening Standard, the group managed to adopt a more sophisticated and mature style with the assistance from various stylists.[48]

Live performances

"Denial" was one of three songs from Change that the Sugababes performed at London's

indig02 on 14 September 2007.[19] The performance was part of a gig to promote the release of the album's lead single "About You Now".[19] They performed "Denial" in March 2008 on the eighth season of the British television show Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.[49] The song was included on the set list for the group's 2008 Change Tour.[50] Their performance at the Newcastle City Hall attracted a positive response from Kat Keogh of The Journal, who wrote that the song "slotted in neatly" amongst the group's more well-known songs.[51] The Sugababes performed "Denial" at the 2008 Oxegen festival as part of a set list, which included their number-one singles such as "Freak like Me", "Round Round", "Hole in the Head" and "Push the Button", in addition to other tracks from Change.[52] Midway through the gig, technical difficulties with their microphones arose and the trio were forced to delay their performance while the issue was fixed.[52] The band performed "Denial" in July 2009 at the Riverside Cricket Ground, County Durham as part of a set list.[53]

Formats and track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Change.[4]

Charts

References

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