Following its release on 12 August 2002, "Round Round" peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the group's second number-one single domestically. In August 2022, it was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). "Round Round" also reached the top 10 in Austria, Ireland, Italy, and New Zealand, among other countries. In 2003, it became the group's first single to chart in the United States, peaking at number seven on the BillboardDance Singles Sales chart. Alongside "Sound of the Underground" by Girls Aloud, this song has been credited in reshaping British pop music for the 2000s.[1]
Background
"Round Round" was written by Brian Higgins, Miranda Cooper, Lisa Cowling, Tim Powell, Nick Coler, Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena, and Heidi Range.[2] Due to the inclusion of a sample from "Tango Forte" by Dublex Inc., Florian Pflueger, Felix Stecher, Robin Hofmann, and Rino Spadavecchia are also credited as songwriters.[2] In turn, "Tango Forte" is based around an uncredited sample from "Whatever Lola Wants" performed by American composer Les Baxter.[2] Production on "Round Round" was helmed by Kevin Bacon and Jonathan Quarmby for Manna Productions based on an original track Higgins and Powell had created for Xenomania Records, while Jeremy Wheatley provided additional production and handled the mixing.[2]Guitar recording and programming were overseen by Yoad Nevo for 247 Arists.[2]
Musically, "Round Round" was actually built up of a number of different songs.[3] On the BBC2 series Secrets of the Pop Song, Brian Higgins described the genesis of the song: "We had a drum track which was just stunning and so I sat down with Miranda [Cooper] on the one day we had the Sugababes in the studio and said 'Right, you know, this is a hit, this piece of music is a hit. I haven't got anything on it, we don't have any song attached to it. So what are we gonna do about that? You've got three hours to come up with something'."[3] Subsequently, Cooper went through her catalogue of unused tracks that she had written over the last two or three years and sung the chorus of every single song against Higgins' piece of drumming.[3] Three hours later, she sang the lyrics 'round round baby round round' to Higgins, who said "that's it, that's amazing."[3]
Chart performance
"Round Round" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart and remained at the top spot for a week, giving the Sugababes their second consecutive UK number one single following "Freak like Me".[4] The song was eventually certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) denoting units of 400,000 sales and streams, and as of August 2020, the song had sold 277,000 pure copies in the UK.[5][6] "Round Round" was also a success worldwide, reaching number two in Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand.[7][8][9] The song also reached number three in Denmark and number four in Norway, Romania, and Switzerland.[10][11] In Australia, "Round Round" debuted at number 21 and rose to a peak of number 13, giving the group their first Australian top-20 hit.[12] It was certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), making it the Sugababes' best-selling Australian single up until the release of their 2005 single "Push the Button", which reached number three and was certified Platinum.[12][13][14]
Music video
The Sugababes featured as a band performing on a rotating platform in the video for "Round Round".
The music video for "Round Round" was directed by Phil Griffin.[15] It has the group performing on a rotating platform, while being surrounded by a tornado with dust and rubble accumulating in it. There is a rusty caged wall with an audience watching, a pair of sunglasses and a ring get sucked into the tornado from them. When Heidi's verse comes up, everything moves in slow-motion, including the tornado, before speeding up again. The girls slowly walk around three male dancers in the middle, and for the end chorus it appears the tornado has dissipated.
Cover versions
The song was covered by Hong Kong singer Emme Wong in Cantonese in 2003. It was Wong's first single after her record label Universal Music modified her image for a sexier direction. The song quickly became a hit, due to its sexually explicit lyrics and dance moves, as well as the TV-banned video. The song reached the top of several music charts across Southeast China. In the year end, it won a number of awards, including "Best Covered Song", "Best Dance Record", and "Best Stage Performance".
^Round Round (Japanese CD single liner notes). Sugababes. Island Records. 2003. UICI-5010.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Round Round (UK CD2 liner notes). Sugababes. Island Records. 2002. CIDX804, 063963-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Round Round (UK cassette single sleeve). Sugababes. Island Records. 2002. CIS 804, 063963-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Round Round (European CD single liner notes). Sugababes. Island Records. 2002. CIDT 804, 063 952-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Round Round (Australian CD single liner notes). Sugababes. Island Records. 2002. 0638302.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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