The power of 3 girls

Pinoys should take more than a cursory interest in the career developments of the British trio Sugababes. This is because one of its members, Mutya Buena is part Filipino. Although bred in London, Mutya’s father is Pinoy through and through and it is generally believed that her morena charm contributes a lot to the group’s appeal. Truth to tell, the racial diversity is seen as an important factor in the popularity of these babes. Mutya is Asian, Keisha Buchanan is African and Heidi Range is an English blonde.

Their being blonde, black and brown has no bearing at all in the music these girls make. Unlike other girl groups, Sugababes puts superior songwriting and flawless singing over glamour. Aside from that, their music is characterized with its lack of vocal and technological embellishments. While other girl groups rush to make use of the tools of the trade to impress, Sugababes is pretty forthright by mesmerizing listeners with the simple, but expressive and well-blended quality of their singing. In this day and age when Mariah and Beyonce and others often junk melody to show off their range and other abilities, Sugababes spells a refreshing change.

Proofs of these are hits like Angels with Dirty Faces, Round Round and Shape of My Heart where they perform with Sting. If you want more, then there is Three, the girls’ latest album where the tough-talking but sweetly-sung Hole in the Head is the single choice. The song pretty much speaks for the integrity of the entire album, which is filled with engaging R&B originals co-written by the girls. Other picks in the album are Caught in a Moment, Too Lost in You and Maya.

Still on threes: Atomic Kitten is also from the UK and also made up of three lovely girls, Lis McClarnon, Natasha Hamilton and Jenny Frost. Many doubtless remember them for their glamorous music videos and photo shoots including one where they are seen pinning their logos on Prince Charles’ chest. For hits, they are best known for their covers of ’70s favorites like Eternal Flame and The Tide is High plus originals like See Ya and Whole Again.

Ladies Night, Atomic Kitten’s latest release once more channels the disco era of the ’70s. In fact, the title track has the girls with their sugared vocals performing with the vastly popular group of the period, KC & the Sunshine Band. Remember them for That’s the Way I Like It? The entire album keeps up with disco flavor with tunes like Be with You, which could have come from Giorgio Moroder, the funky Don’t Go Breaking My Heart and the teeny-bopper flavored Believer.

And still on the three girls: Although a non-singing group, these girls are as much a part of the pop music scene as Sugababes or Atomic Kitten because of their hit TV show and the recently released soundtrack album. The girls are Alyssa Milano, Rose McGowan and Holly Marie Combs of Charmed. The stylish drama is about three sisters with witching powers that they use to fight evil powers. The tagline "The power of three will set you free" is used in the Charmed plugs. So week in and week out they find themselves in the usual melodramatic conflicts involving romance, family and the battle with the dark forces.

Charmed, the soundtrack is a hip collection of pop tunes with some supernatural flavor. It is made up of music used in various episodes of the show led of course by the opening credits song How Soon is Now by Love Spit Love. You will also like Hot by Smash Mouth; Danger by Third Eye Blind; Maybe Tomorrow by Stereophonics; Rinse by Vanessa Carlton; Rainbow in the Sky by Ziggy Marley and others.

Corrections

Got this e-mail from Jason Riveral regarding errors I made in the piece I did on Mark Bautista. He says: "Names of the American Idol and Pop Idol finalists were misspelled." Correct spellings are Clay Aiken instead of Clay Akin of American Idol and Garreth Gates instead of Garreth Hayes of Pop Idol. I am so sorry. So, I start writing "I promise to make sure I check spellings all the time. I promise to make sure I check spellings all the time. I promise…up to 100 times.