Mutya Buena - Real Girl

Another potential single is the Salaam Remi-produced "B Boy Baby" which features Amy Winehouse, another artist who chooses very carefully who she works with. Based around The Ronettes's classic "Be My Baby", "B Boy Baby" is transformed, in the hands and voices of Mutya and Amy, into a slyly dirty tribute to a hip hop-loving boyfriend. Other standout cuts include "Out Of Control", an '80s dance pop- influenced collaboration with Groove Armada, the trio of powerfully sung R&B scorchers "Just A Little Bit", "Suffer For Love" and "Wonderful" and the dark, distressed "Strung Out". 'Its about drugs,' Mutya confirms. 'Its sung from the perspective of a friend standing there watching someone kill themselves. It's a wake-up call. I'm no saint, and I try not to judge, but I know right from wrong."

"I love it so much. I put a lot of emotion into singing it.' "It's Not Easy" brings it all back to the reason this album exists: Mutya's daughter Tahlia. Mutya reunited with Felix Howard, Paul Simm and Sam Frank (producers and writers of "Overload" from the Sugababe's debut "One Touch") pays tribute to her daughter. Like most of the album "It's Not Easy's" lyrics are sharp and concise enough to ensure Mutya won't be misunderstood. 'During the Sugababes people did misunderstand me. But you've got to remember that I started when I was fourteen. When you're that young you don't know much and you're not really gonna be sitting there taking in the media training 'cos you're not concerned. I grew up in north-west London and I didn't know any better!"

If "Real Girl" presents her soul credentials for inspection, it's also a varied set, with its twelve songs giving approving nods to all manner of rock, pop and urban stylings. Blame her mum, her dad and her seven music-loving siblings. As well as the likes of Mariah, Whitney and TLC, Mutya also fell in love with her dad's T.Rex and Black Sabbath records. "I had a brother into hip hop, another into jungle, another into garage and me into R&B and funky house. That's why I can jump into different types of music.'page << 1 2 3 >>