Mutya Buena, founding member of the multi-million selling Sugababes, follows last year’s duet with George Michael with the hugely anticipated release on May 14th – digital, May 28th – physical, of her debut solo single ”Real Girl”. The single, which features a sample from Lenny Kravitz’s global chart-topper “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over”, is taken from Mutya’s debut album also entitled “Real Girl”, which will be released on June 4th via the recently re-activated 4th & Broadway label. In addition Mutya, with full band, has confirmed a one-off London date at The Borderline on April 4th. Further dates will be announced shortly. When the 22-year-old from Kingsbury, north-west London left the Sugababes, she was leaving more than a Triple Platinum pop group with an international fanbase and a healthy haul of awards. She was leaving a life she had known, in one form or another, since she’d been eleven years old. ‘I wanted a change. I had my daughter Tahlia, and found it pretty unfair to give birth to a baby that I was not gonna be able to look after. I didn’t want anyone else bringing up my child.”“Real Girl”, is a collection of songs that unveil the R&B heart that always lay beneath Ms. Buena’s Sugababes’ contributions, but never abandons the joy of pure pop. Its supporting cast of composers, producers and artists - including Amy Winehouse, Groove Armada and George Michael - all keep the quality effortlessly high without distracting from the strength of Mutya’s voice and personality. There is a certain rawness, an edge, present throughout the recording and it was Mutya’s idea to keep the sound flawed and spontaneous, to show off the humanity, as well as the technique, of her vocals. “Real Girl” already contains a hit single, Mutya’s duet with George Michael, “This Is Not Real Love”, which hit the charts last November and introduced Planet Pop to Mutya the solo artiste. Recording with George gained Mutya entry to a very select and exclusive group of female singers that George has worked with throughout his long and hugely successful career, the other three artistes being Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Mary J Blige. It was during the recording that they both realised they had attended the same school, Kingsbury High, and had the same music teacher. The pair hit it off so well that George invited Mutya to be the only guest on his tour! Another potential single is the Salaam Remi-produced “B Boy Baby” which features Amy Winehouse, another artist who chooses very carefully who she works with. Based around The Ronettes’s classic “Be My Baby”, “B Boy Baby” is transformed, in the hands and voices of Mutya and Amy, into a slyly dirty tribute to a hip hop-loving boyfriend. Other standout cuts include “Out Of Control”, an ‘80s dance pop- influenced collaboration with Groove Armada, the trio of powerfully sung R&B scorchers “Just A Little Bit”, “Suffer For Love” and “Wonderful” and the dark, distressed “Strung Out”. ‘Its about drugs,’ Mutya confirms. ‘Its sung from the perspective of a friend standing there watching someone kill themselves. It’s a wake-up call. I’m no saint, and I try not to judge, but I know right from wrong.”“I love it so much. I put a lot of emotion into singing it.’ “It’s Not Easy” brings it all back to the reason this album exists: Mutya’s daughter Tahlia. Mutya reunited with Felix Howard, Paul Simm and Sam Frank (producers and writers of “Overload” from the Sugababe’s debut “One Touch”) pays tribute to her daughter. Like most of the album “It’s Not Easy’s” lyrics are sharp and concise enough to ensure Mutya won’t be misunderstood. ‘During the Sugababes people did misunderstand me. But you’ve got to remember that I started when I was fourteen. When you’re that young you don’t know much and you’re not really gonna be sitting there taking in the media training ‘cos you’re not concerned. I grew up in north-west London and I didn’t know any better!”

If “Real Girl” presents her soul credentials for inspection, it’s also a varied set, with its twelve songs giving approving nods to all manner of rock, pop and urban stylings. Blame her mum, her dad and her seven music-loving siblings. As well as the likes of Mariah, Whitney and TLC, Mutya also fell in love with her dad’s T.Rex and Black Sabbath records. “I had a brother into hip hop, another into jungle, another into garage and me into R&B and funky house. That’s why I can jump into different types of music.’Mutya Buena

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