Amelle Berrabah (born 22 April 1984) is an English singer of Morrocan descent and a member of the girl group, Sugababes. She replaced Mutya Buena in December 2005, the group has attained two UK number one singles, "About You Now" and "Walk This Way", and number one album, Change, during Berrabah's tenure. Berrabah achieved a solo number one in 2009 after featuring on Tinchy Stryder's single "Never Leave You".

Biography

Early life

Berrabah was born in Aldershot, Hampshire to a Morrocan migrant parents and was brought up as a Muslim. She has two sisters, younger sister Samiya and older sister Zakiya, and a brother. Her family owned a kebab shop in Aldershot. She attended Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford on the merit of a scholarship because her family could not afford to send her. It was then that she met her managers and formed the band Boo2, with her sister, Samiya and began looking for record contract opportunities. She had also won Top of the Pops magazine’s Star Search in 2003 that would have given her chance to be the lead singer of a new band and had performed at Party in the Park as well.

Sugababes

Following Mutya Buena's departure, Berrabah was quickly roped in as a replacement by the Sugababes' management. The Sugababes' manager had seen Boo2 at an American showcase a few years prior and Amelle had made an impression. As soon as Buena left, he gave Berrabah a call about the opportunity and got her to record three songs to audition for remaining members Keisha Buchanan and Heidi Range. They liked what they heard and Berrabah was called in for a meeting with them and was announced as the newest member of the band. The first single to feature Berrabah's vocals was a re-recorded version of the song "Red Dress". It gave the Sugababes a third consecutive top five UK hit from the album, entering the chart at number four.

Taller In More Ways was re-packaged and re-released on 27 February 2006 with re-recorded vocals by Berrabah and a new song that Berrabah co-wrote, "Now You're Gone". Because of the hastiness of the replacement and other time constraints, Berrabah could only re-record vocals to replace Buena's for half the album. "Follow Me Home" was the next single from Taller In More Ways, it peaked at number thirty two in the UK. The Sugababes were also a supporting act for Take That on the boyband's summer 2006 stadium dates. This led to a war of words between the Sugababes and Take That member Gary Barlow who reportedly snubbed Berrabah backstage on one of the dates.

The Sugababes recorded two new tracks for their greatest hits collection, Overloaded: The Singles Collection. The lead single from the compilation, "Easy" peaked at number eight in the UK. The album was released in November 2006, peaking at number three on the albums chart. The Sugababes were also involved in the 2007 Comic Relief single with fellow UK girl group Girls Aloud. A cover of the hit "Walk This Way", the single went to number one.

With the release of first single from their album "Change", "About You Now", the Sugababes became the first all female group to top the UK Singles Chart on downloads alone, the song remained at number one for four weeks. In October 2007, Change became the group's second UK number-one album, giving the group the top positions on the singles and albums charts simultaneously. The next single, "Change" peaked at number thirteen in the UK, while the third and final single, "Denial" reached number fifteen. From March to May 2008, the Sugababes travelled the UK on the thirty-date Change Tour.

Sugababes immediately went back into the studio after their Change Tour despite initial plans to take the year off to write and work on their sixth studio album, Catfights and Spotlights. The lead single from Catfights and Spotlights was "Girls", it peaked at number three in the UK. The album reached number eight in the UK Albums Chart, the second and final single, "No Can Do" peaked at number twenty-three in the UK. The album ended up being their lowest selling effort to date.

The Sugababes had signed a contract with Jay-Z's label Roc Nation for the release of their seventh studio album, Sweet 7. The lead single from the album "Get Sexy", was released and charted at number two in the UK. Prior to shooting the video for the second single, "About a Girl", Berrabah was rumored to have left the group. She had missed two engagements promoting the album. It was later revealed that in fact Buchanan had been booted and replaced by Eurovision singer Jade Ewen. Berrabah and Range said that they could not work with Buchanan anymore and that the situation had persisted for months. Following the string of events, Berrabah checked into a European health clinic for a three week stay, citing "severe nervous exhaustion" induced by the stressful events of the months before. She has since returned to promotional activities. "About a Girl" debuted at number eight in the UK.

Legal troubles

On 28 April 2007, Berrabah was arrested over allegations that she had assaulted an eighteen year-old girl on the dancefloor in the Bar Med club in Surrey. No charges were brought. Berrabah was arrested again on 10 January 2008 on suspicion of causing criminal damage and a public order offence. The arrest was made in connection with an alleged attack on a car in her hometown of Aldershot on 9 January 2008. The charges were quickly dropped when it was revealed that she was not even in town at the time.

Discography

Featured singles

References

External links