Explained: The really messy drama going down between Sugababes and ex-member Heidi

Sugababes are one of the UK’s greatest girl group of all time – and their outstanding music legacy speaks for itself on that front. They also gained a lot of fame for the drama that surrounded them and their changing members – with the final lineup of the Babes being completely different to the initial. The OG three – Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena and Siobhan Donaghy – have reformed in recent years to big festival success and critical acclaim. Heidi Range, who joined the band for album two after Siobhan left and was present for Sugababes’ real chart impact, has been out of the picture but has wished the girls well. But after Sugababes accepted a MOBO award for achievement last week, the Heidi drama has kicked off all over again. Here’s everything going down right now.

Sugababes accepted MOBO award last week

Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan accepted an award last week at the MOBO Awards for achievement, a legacy award celebrating their contribution to music.

Drama seemed to arise when the visual of the Sugababes’ albums only featured the current lineup – with ones featuring Heidi Range or other replacement members Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen blurred out at the peripheral. To me, this just looks like the recent and current lineup are front and centre because they’re the ones working and touring as Sugababes right now.

Heidi Range posts on Instagram

Heidi Range posted on Instagram with a picture of herself in front of all her accolades – a move which many saw as a petty dig towards the girls for not mentioning her in accepting their award.

To add fuel to the fire, Heidi’s mum is commenting on the post and arguing with fans. Karen Range said “all the songs you wrote and made hits, you can’t rewrite history or the facts no matter how much you pretend.”

She then replied to a comment on Instagram saying “I just can’t believe the cheek of it. Sugababes didn’t have a hit til Heidi joined, six number one singles and multi platinum albums. It is so false and disrespectful the way they are carrying on. Shame on them.”

There was previously no bad blood between the girls. Heidi told The Mirror last year that her rejoining or getting on stage with the Sugababes again was “not likely to happen”.

Keisha Buchanan addresses the drama on Twitter / X

On 16th Feb, Keisha addressed the saga via two tweets posting on social media.

“Imagine feeling nervous and overwhelmed on a big night where you and your girls make a speech with good intentions, but accidentally forget to mention key people including your parents. Imagine not seeing / approving the final edit of the VT. Imagine being human and genuinely making a mistake.

“If it hasn’t been made clear enough, the impact of what each Sugababes member has brought to the table has been valuable and felt worldwide, and continues to do so. That should be the focus and celebrated, not division. Shame on YOU for not using the moment to bring us all together.”

Recommended stories by this writer:

• All 27 Sugababes singles ranked definitively from worst to best

• All 23 Girls Aloud singles, ranked definitively from worst to best

• Every Cheryl single ranked from great to greatest

Featured image via Shutterstock / @hrange29