Mutya Buena

Mutya Buena first gained worldwide recognition at 15 through her initial chart success as a member of the British pop group Sugababes, although her emergence as an independent solo performer did not occur until 2007. Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena entered the world on May 21, 1985, in London’s Kingsbury district and grew up within a multicultural household whose mother traced her roots to Ireland and whose father originated in the Philippines, fostering an early passion for music. At the age of eight she formed a close bond with Keisha Buchanan, united by their mutual enthusiasm for singing. In 1998 the pair, then 13, sought to assemble a vocal group and were introduced by a manager to Siobhan Donaghy, completing the lineup that took the name Sugababes. Their debut album, One Touch, appeared in 2000 and yielded the single “Overload,” which climbed into the British Top Ten. After parting ways with their British label because One Touch fell short of the summit and after Heidi Range stepped in for Donaghy, the reconfigured trio achieved major success with the follow-up, Angels with Dirty Faces, which earned triple-platinum status, spawned four U.K. hits, and reached number one with both “Freak Like Me” and “Round Round.” Comparable acclaim greeted their third release, Three, in 2003, yet Taller in More Ways marked the end of Buena’s tenure; she had welcomed her daughter, Tahlia-Maya Buena, in March 2005 and left the group in December of that year to devote greater attention to the child. The band quickly enlisted Amelle Berrabah, who supplied new vocals for the subsequent single release of “Red Dress” from Taller in More Ways. During 2006 Buena began uploading demos to her MySpace page, scored a hit duet with George Michael titled “This Is Not Real Love,” and contributed guest vocals to Groove Armada’s Soundboy Rock. June 2007 brought the long-awaited arrival of her first solo album, Real Girl.