Freak like Me (Sugababes song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Freak Like Me"

Single by Sugababes
from the album Angels with Dirty Faces
B-side(s)	"Breathe Easy"
Released	April 22, 2002
Format	CD single, Vinyl single
Recorded	London, England
Genre	Pop
Length	4:30
Label	Island Records
Writer(s)	Eugene Hanes Marc Valentine Loren Hill William Collins George Clinton Gary Numan
Producer(s)	Richard X
Chart positions
#1 (UK) #2 (Ireland) #4 (Norway) #10 (Belgium)
Sugababes singles chronology
"Soul Sound" (2001)	"Freak Like Me" (2002)	"Round Round" (2002)

"Freak like Me" is a pop song written by Eugene Hanes, Marc Valentine, Loren Hill, William Collins, George Clinton and Gary Numan for the Sugababes' second studio album Angels with Dirty Faces. The song was produced by Richard X and received a mixed reception from music critics. It was released as the first single from the album in the spring of 2002 and reached number one in the UK (where it sold 235,000 copies), number two in Ireland, and number 4 in Norway. "Freak like Me" is the first single to feature vocals by Heidi Range, after the departure of Siobhán Donaghy in 2001.

1 Song information
2 Music video
3 Track Listing and Formats
4 Chart performance
5 Charts
- 5.1 Chart trajectories
6 References

[edit] Song information

The track is based on a sample of Gary Numan and Tubeway Army's 1979 number one single "Are Friends Electric?", and lyrically is a cover of Adina Howard's 1995 R&B song "Freak Like Me". It was originally a bootleg mashup titled "We Don't Give a Damn About Our Friends", created by producer Richard X. The producer had created the mashup without the permission of the copyright holders of the songs, but it became a successful underground dance track. After failing to gain permission to use Adina Howard's vocals for a commercial release, the Sugababes were chosen by Richard X to record them instead.

The sound effect featured at the beginning of the song is the coin-insert tone from the popular 1981 video game Frogger. (The sound was also used to begin the song "Froggy's Lament," about the video game itself, on Buckner and Garcia's Pac-Man Fever album.)

[edit] Music video

Mutya Buena and Heidi Range in the video for "Freak like Me" (2002).

The music video for "Freak like Me" was directed by Shadforth and Sophie Muller and was filmed in London, England. The video acts as an introduction for the recent addition of Heidi Range, following Siobhan Donaghy's departure the previous year. The video begins with Keisha Buchanan and Mutya Buena entering a club, where Range is dancing and flirting with a group of guys, much to the disgust of Buchanan and Buena. Buchanan starts a fight with Range, but falls to the ground. Then Buchanan bites Range so she becomes one of them. A man tries to help her up, but Buena pushes him up against a wall.

Meanwhile, Buchanan starts a fight with one of the guys and takes him outside, where she pushes him against a wall in a dark alley. The music video ends with Buchanan and Buena accepting Range into the group, and dancing into the night.

[edit] Track Listing and Formats

#	Title	Length
UK CD single 1
1.	"Freal like Me"	3:17
2.	"Freak Like Me" [We Don't Give A Damn Mix]	3:38
3.	"Breathe Easy"
4.	"Freak Like Me" [Video]	3:38
UK Vinyl single 2
1.	"Freak Like Me" [Different Gear Mix]
2.	"Freak Like Me" [We Don't Give A Damn Mix]
3.	"Soul Sound" [Capoeira Twins Mix]
4.	"Run for Cover" [Jameson Mix]

[edit] Chart performance

On April 22, 2002, "Freak Like Me" was released in the United Kingdom. The song became Sugababes' first number one single when it debuted at number one on the singles chart, remaining in the top ten for four weeks. The single remains one of the best selling singles released by the group, selling 235,000 copies since its release.

Outside of the UK, the song was also successful. While it reached the top ten in Ireland, Norway and Belgium, the song entered the top 30 of most of the charts it appeared on.

In Australia, "Freak Like Me" became the fourth single by Sugababes to make the singles chart, reaching number forty-four. It would be their lowest-charting single in Australia until the release of "Shape" in 2003.