Round Round
Encyclopedia
"Round Round" is a song performed by British
girl group Sugababes
, released on 12 August 2002 through Island Records
. It was written by band members Mutya Buena
, Keisha Buchanan
and Heidi Range
, as well as Miranda Cooper
, Niara Scarlett, Brian Higgins
, Tim Powell, Nick Coler, Shawn Lee
, and Lisa Cowling for the group's second studio album
Angels with Dirty Faces (2002). Produced by Kevin Bacon
and Jonathan Quarmby
, the song is based around an uncredited sample of "Tango Forte" by Dublex Inc.
Following its release, "Round Round" peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart
, becoming the group's second number-one single domestically. It was eventually certified Silver by the BPI
. "Round Round" also managed to reach the top ten in Ireland, Austria, New Zealand and Italy among other countries. It is also an original soundtrack of the movie The Guru.
's Brian Higgins
described the genesis of the song:
with dust and rubble accumlating 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 comes to a stand still (including the tornado). The girls slowly walk around 3 male dancers in the middle. In the end chorus it appears the tornado has disappeared.
. "Round Round" was also a success worldwide, reaching number 2 in Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The song also reached number 15 in Germany and number 8 in Austria. In Australia, "Round Round" debuted at number 21 and rose to a peak of #13, giving the group their first Australian top twenty hit. It was certified Gold by ARIA, making it the Sugababes' best selling Australian single up until the release of their 2005 single "Push the Button", which reached number 3 and was certified Platinum.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
girl group Sugababes
Sugababes
The Sugababes are an English pop girl group based in London, consisting of members Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen. The Sugababes were formed in 1998 with founding members Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. Their debut album, One Touch, was released in 2000 under London...
, released on 12 August 2002 through Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
. It was written by band members Mutya Buena
Mutya Buena
Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena is an English recording artist who rose to fame as a member of girl group the Sugababes. With the Sugababes, Buena had four UK number one singles, an additional six top-ten hits and three multi-platinum albums. After leaving the group in December 2005, she released her...
, Keisha Buchanan
Keisha Buchanan
Keisha Kerreece Fayeanne Buchanan is an English singer-songwriter and was a founding member of the BRIT Award-winning girl group the Sugababes. With the Sugababes, Buchanan had six number one singles and two number one studio albums, making the Sugababes one of the most successful British pop acts...
and Heidi Range
Heidi Range
Heidi India Range is an English singer, songwriter and member of the Sugababes. Range was an original member of girl group Atomic Kitten, although she left the group after two years of its formation with no album released...
, as well as Miranda Cooper
Miranda Cooper
Miranda Eleanor De Fonbrune Cooper has been on the UK charts longer than any other female songwriter in the country. In 2007 Harper's Bazaar wrote of her: ‘If it's a hit you want, you'd better talk to Cooper...
, Niara Scarlett, Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins (producer)
Brian Thomas Higgins is a British music producer who has written and produced albums and tracks for several highly successful pop music singers and groups, most notably Girls Aloud, through his Xenomania production group...
, Tim Powell, Nick Coler, Shawn Lee
Shawn Lee
Shawn Lee , born Lee Chuang Rui, is a Singaporean actor. He first came into prominence for his award-winning performance alongside his friend and co-star Joshua Ang in the box office hit I Not Stupid.-Background and career:...
, and Lisa Cowling for the group's second studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
Angels with Dirty Faces (2002). Produced by Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon (producer)
Kevin Bacon is a British musician and record producer best known for his work with fellow brit Jonathan Quarmby under the moniker 'Bacon & Quarmby', as well as being bass player in his band The Comsat Angels....
and Jonathan Quarmby
Jonathan Quarmby
Jonathan Quarmby is a British record producer best known for his work with fellow brit Kevin Bacon under the moniker 'Bacon & Quarmby'.-Production:*The Longpigs - The Sun Is Often Out *The Longpigs - Mobile Home...
, the song is based around an uncredited sample of "Tango Forte" by Dublex Inc.
Following its release, "Round Round" peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, becoming the group's second number-one single domestically. It was eventually certified Silver by the BPI
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
. "Round Round" also managed to reach the top ten in Ireland, Austria, New Zealand and Italy among other countries. It is also an original soundtrack of the movie The Guru.
Writing
In the BBC 2 series Secrets of the Pop Song XenomaniaXenomania
Xenomania is a British songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed after Higgins met Miranda Cooper, Xenomania has written and produced for renowned artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, and Sugababes...
's Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes the southern two-thirds of Buffalo proper, most of that city's eastern and southern suburbs, and all of Chautauqua County.-Early life, education and career:A native of...
described the genesis of the song:
"We had a drum track which was just stunning and so I sat down with MirandaMiranda CooperMiranda Eleanor De Fonbrune Cooper has been on the UK charts longer than any other female songwriter in the country. In 2007 Harper's Bazaar wrote of her: ‘If it's a hit you want, you'd better talk to Cooper...
[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.' So I came back to her three hours later ..and what Miranda had very cleverly done is she'd gone back through all the songs that she'd written over the last two or three years and sung the chorus of every single song against this particular piece of drumming and sang to me 'round round baby round round'. I said that's it, that's amazing."
Music video
The music video for "Round Round" has the group performing on a rotating platform, while being surrounded by a stationary tornadoTornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
with dust and rubble accumlating 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 comes to a stand still (including the tornado). The girls slowly walk around 3 male dancers in the middle. In the end chorus it appears the tornado has disappeared.
Chart performance
"Round Round" debuted at number one on the UK singles chart and remained at the top spot for a week, giving the group their second consecutive UK number one single. The song was certified Silver by the BPIBritish Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
. "Round Round" was also a success worldwide, reaching number 2 in Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The song also reached number 15 in Germany and number 8 in Austria. In Australia, "Round Round" debuted at number 21 and rose to a peak of #13, giving the group their first Australian top twenty hit. It was certified Gold by ARIA, making it the Sugababes' best selling Australian single up until the release of their 2005 single "Push the Button", which reached number 3 and was certified Platinum.
Track listings and formats
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Round Round".| # | Title | Time |
|---|---|---|
| CD1 | ||
| 1. | "Round Round" | 3:57 |
| 2. | "Groove Is Going On" | 4:04 |
| 3. | "Freak Like Me" [Girls On Top Dancehall Mix] | 3:30 |
| CD2 | ||
| 1. | "Round Round" | 3:57 |
| 2. | "Round Round" [Craigie & Crichton Mix] | 5:00 |
| 3. | "Round Round" [Soulwax Mix] | 4:12 |
| 4. | "Round Round" [Seani B Mix] | 4:25 |
| Australian CD single | ||
| 1. | "Round Round" | 3:57 |
| 2. | "Round Round" [Craigie & Crichton Mix] | 5:00 |
| 3. | "Round Round" [Soulwax Mix] | 4:12 |
| 4. | "Groove Is Going On" | 4:04 |
| 5. | "Freak Like Me" [Girls On Top Dancehall Mix] | 3:30 |
Charts
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
13 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 8 |
| Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart | 16 |
| Danish Singles Chart | 3 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
2 |
| French Singles Chart | 71 |
| German Singles Chart | 15 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
2 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 7 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 2 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Romanian Top 100 Romanian Top 100 The Romanian Top 100 is the national airplay-based singles chart of Romania. It is weekly and it started running in 1996. It is recognized as an official chart by the European division of Billboard, Music & Media.... |
4 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 11 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 4 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
1 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... ) |
85 |
Official Versions and Appearances
| Version | Release appearance |
|---|---|
| Album Version | "Round Round" single, Overloaded: The Singles Collection Overloaded: The Singles Collection Overloaded: The Singles Collection is a compilation album by British girl group the Sugababes. It was released by Island Records on 13 November 2006 in the United Kingdom. The main version of the album was a 15-track collection of 13 Sugababes singles and two new tracks... , The Guru - OST, Angels with Dirty Faces, Change Change (Sugababes album) Change is the fifth studio album by English girl group Sugababes, released through Island Records during October 2007 in most European territories. The album features production by Dr... [French Version] |
| Craigie & Crichton Mix | "Round Round" single |
| Soulwax Mix | |
| Seani B Mix | |
| Alternative Mix | Angels with Dirty Faces |
| Video | Overloaded: The Videos Collection |
| M.A.N.D.Y. Radio Mix | Overloaded: The Remix Collection |
| Sessions at AOL | Overloaded: The Live Collection |