‘The Sugababes isn’t a band – it’s a brand’

The news that Keisha Buchanan has quit the Sugababes - the pop trio she founded 11 years ago - has led to calls for the group to be disbanded once and for all. But by keeping the band going, their label, Island, are simply following a business model conceived in Latin America over 30 years ago.

The Sugababes were formed in 1998 when Buchanan and her friend Mutya Buena met Siobhan Donaghy at a party. But it would be three years - and one change of personnel - before they got their breakthrough. In 2001, Heidi Range replaced Donaghy and the following year the Sugababes scored two number one singles. When Mutya Buena left in 2005, the band's management moved swiftly to draft in Amelle Berrabah before any questions could be raised about whether Buena's powerful vocals would be missed.

Now even more swiftly, Buchanan has been replaced with Britain's 2009 Eurovision loser Jade Ewen.

Some angry fans have called for the Sugababes to be put down once and for all. On one fansite, SugababesUK.com, there were calls to bring back Mutya Buena: "This is fucking stupid! There are only 2 options left now: 1. Duo 2. Bring back Mutya," said 'Aidan'. While 'BusterBoy' said: "If this is true, they should definitely quit."

Meanwhile, over at the Guardian, Peter Robinson admitted that Ewen, Berrabah and Range make a good three-piece, but says they need a new name. The band is "a total laughing stock... Sugababes died when Buchanan left."

But calmer heads have suggested that maybe the days of big pop break-ups are over and the British music press just doesn't realise it. They should look overseas. Menudo is a five-piece Mexican boy band that between 1977 and 2009 had 18 members. The idea of the band's founder Edgardo Diaz was to replace each teenage idol as they reached their 16th birthday. The band enjoyed several hits and made two feature films.

Meanwhile in Japan, girl band Morning Musume has nine current and 16 former members. Musume is the primary group in the Hello! Project, a pop hydra of Japanese girl bands run by a producer known simply as Tsunku. Each year there is an audition for new members to join the bands and Tsunku has been known to shuffle members and form new groups at will. Musume holds the distinction of having the highest overall single sales of any female group in the Japanese pop chart.

A music industry insider told The First Post she thought this was the way the Sugababes ought to go. "Pop is a disposable art form and the same is true of the artists. The Sugababes isn't a band - it's a brand. Maybe now Island should take it to its natural conclusion and turn it into a franchise."

At last - a beast that might challenge Simon Cowell's perennial grip on the Christmas number 1 spot. ·