Background and Development
"Ugly" was written and produced by Dallas Austin for the Sugababes' fourth studio album, Taller in More Ways. Paul Sheehy, Doug Harms, Graham Marsh and Ian Rossiter served as the assistant recording engineers for the song. "Ugly" was mixed by Jeremy Wheatley for 365 Artists at TwentyOne Studio, London. Tony Reyes provided the accompanying guitar and bass guitar for the track, while the drums and keys were provided by Austin. "Ugly" was recorded at DARP Studios, at Atlanta & Home Recordings, London.
During an interview with Jess Cartner-Morley of The Guardian, the Sugababes revaled that Austin wrote the song after reading "the cuttings file he was sent about the band". Keisha Buchanan, one of the group's members, elaborated upon this: "All the rubbish and nasty stuff that's been written about us, calling us the Sugalumps, that sort of thing." The title of the song's parent album, Taller in More Ways, was inspired by a line in "Ugly", which reads: "I grew taller than them in more ways / But there'll always be one who will say / Something bad to make them feel great".
Read more about this topic: Ugly (Sugababes Song)
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