"Caught in a Moment" is a song by English
girl group Sugababes
Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011.
Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...
from their third studio album ''
Three
3 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
3, three, or III may also refer to:
* AD 3, the third year of the AD era
* 3 BC, the third year before the AD era
* March, the third month
Books
* '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...
'' (2003). It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 August 2004 as the album's fourth and final single. The song was written by the group's members in collaboration with
Karen Poole
Karen Ann Poole (born 8 January 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. Poole has had over 35 Top 20 UK hits as a songwriter.
Biography
Karen was born in Chadwell Heath, London, England, and is the daughter of 1960s vocalist Brian Poole, le ...
,
Marius De Vries
Marius de Vries (born 1961) is an English music producer and composer. He has won a Grammy Award from four nominations, two BAFTA Awards, and an Ivor Novello Award.
Education
Marius de Vries was educated at St Paul's Cathedral School, Bedfor ...
and its producer Jony Rockstar. "Caught in a Moment" is a
downtempo
Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may b ...
R&B and
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
backed by an
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
l musical arrangement, and contains emotive lyrics that explore concepts of melancholy and hopefulness. The track received mixed reviews from critics who were ambivalent towards its balladry.
Following its release, the song became the group's fourth consecutive top-ten hit on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, while internationally it peaked within the top forty on the singles charts of Ireland, Hungary and the Netherlands. The music video, which is
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
, was directed by
Howard Greenhalgh
Howard Douglas Greenhalgh (born 19 February 1963) is a British director of music videos and advertising.
Biography
Greenhalgh was born in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire and studied at the Royal College of Art, setting up the firm Why No ...
and features the Sugababes' silhouettes behind a large screen. To promote "Caught in a Moment", the trio performed it at the
Bristol International Balloon Fiesta
The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is an annual four day free festival of hot air ballooning in Bristol, England. Teams from the UK and other parts of the world bring their hot air balloons to the site and participate in mass ascents where ...
and as part of the
set list
A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance.
A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...
s for their tours in support of ''
Taller in More Ways
''Taller in More Ways'' is the fourth studio album by British girl group Sugababes, released by Island Records on 10 October 2005. It was primarily produced by Dallas Austin and Jony Rockstar, with additional production from Cameron McVey, Xen ...
'' (2005), ''
Overloaded: The Singles Collection'' (2006) and ''
Change
Change or Changing may refer to:
Alteration
* Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time
* Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period
* Metamorphosis, or change, ...
'' (2007).
Background and composition
In 2003, the Sugababes began to work on songs for their third studio album ''
Three
3 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
3, three, or III may also refer to:
* AD 3, the third year of the AD era
* 3 BC, the third year before the AD era
* March, the third month
Books
* '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...
'' (2003).
They wrote and recorded material in various countries around the world as they performed at festivals such as the
Liverpool Summer Pops
The Liverpool Summer Pops is a summer music event in Liverpool. Now being branded as "Liverpool Summer Pops Festival", the event features performances by bands and artists in one venue over consecutive nights, as well as some events in other 'fr ...
.
[ ] "Caught in a Moment" was written by the Sugababes—consisting of
Keisha Buchanan
Keisha Kerreece Fayeanne Buchanan (; born 30 September 1984) is an English singer and a founding member of the girl group Sugababes alongside Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy. With the Sugababes, she had six number one singles and two number ...
,
Mutya Buena
Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena (born 21 May 1985) is an English singer and songwriter who rose to fame as a member of girl group the Sugababes. With the Sugababes, Buena had four UK number one singles, an additional six top-ten hits and three multi-p ...
and
Heidi Range
Heidi India Partakis ( Range; born 23 May 1983) is an English singer, best known as a former member of the girl group Sugababes. She was an original member of girl group Atomic Kitten, although she left the group before they released any mater ...
—in collaboration with
Karen Poole
Karen Ann Poole (born 8 January 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. Poole has had over 35 Top 20 UK hits as a songwriter.
Biography
Karen was born in Chadwell Heath, London, England, and is the daughter of 1960s vocalist Brian Poole, le ...
,
Marius De Vries
Marius de Vries (born 1961) is an English music producer and composer. He has won a Grammy Award from four nominations, two BAFTA Awards, and an Ivor Novello Award.
Education
Marius de Vries was educated at St Paul's Cathedral School, Bedfor ...
and its producer, Jony Rockstar.
Pete Craigie recorded the group's vocals while Tom Elmhirst
mixed the song; both musicians
engineered it.
"Caught in a Moment" is the album's fourth and final single, and was released as a CD single in the United Kingdom on 23 August 2004.
It appears on the soundtrack to the 2004 film ''
Wimbledon'', and is included on the group's 2006
greatest hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
album ''
Overloaded: The Singles Collection''.
"Caught in a Moment" is a
downtempo
Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may b ...
R&B and
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
, with similar production to the Sugababes' older ballads "
Stronger" and "
Too Lost in You
"Too Lost in You" is a song by English girl group Sugababes from their third studio album, ''Three'' (2003). It was written by American songwriter Diane Warren as an English rendition of the song "Quand j'ai peur de tout" ("When I'm Afraid of E ...
".
[ ] It was composed in the
key of
E minor
E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major.
The E natural minor scale is:
:
Changes needed ...
using
common time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note val ...
at a
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...
of 72
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ...
, and follows the
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
of Em—A—D.
The song's
instrumentation
Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making.
Instrumentation can refer to ...
is provided by bass, guitar, percussion, piano, beats, strings, violins, cello and double bass.
The strings are
high-pitched and the song is supported by an
electronica-infused ambience.
[ ] "Caught in a Moment" contains emotive lyrics that explore concepts of melancholy and hopefulness.
It was compared to the works of girl band
All Saints, and English musical group
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall.
The debut Massive Attack album '' Blue Lines'' was releas ...
.
Reception
Critical response
"Caught in a Moment" received mixed reviews from critics. K. Ross Hoffman of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
described the song as "a stirring, string-laden monolith of melody" and commended it as the standout ballad from ''Three''. Dorian Lynskey of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' praised the song as terrific and highlighted its "deep-pile swoon". Dan Gennoe of
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds o ...
wrote that "Caught in a Moment" and "Too Lost in You" are reminders that the Sugababes "handle trip-hop melancholy with the same devastating confidence as their seething club stomps".
According to a critic from
Entertainment Ireland, "Caught in a Moment" is one of three tracks from the album that displays the group's "funky vocals and brattish attitude". A writer for ''
Daily Record'' described it as a "slow, thoughtful number" with sophisticated sounds.
''
Hot Press
''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes.
History
''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...
'' magazine's Phil Udell called the song an elegant ballad, while Shane Murray of
RTÉ.ie
RTÉ.ie is the brand name and home of Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ)'s online activities, located at the URL https://www.rte.ie/. The site began publishing on 26 May 1996. According to RTÉ, it operates on an entirely com ...
described it as atmospheric.
The song's balladry was also a focal point for criticism. Writers from the ''
London Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' wrote that "instead of sweeping you up all misty-eyed" like their previously released ballad "Too Lost in You", "Caught in a Moment" "drifts by a bit inconsequentially". ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
''s
Kitty Empire
Kitty Empire is the pen name of a British writer and music critic, currently writing for ''The Observer''.
Early life
Empire says that she was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britain ...
was unfavourable of the sound and mature nature of the song, questioning: "Who wants Sugababes to grow up gracefully, into the mini-
Gabrielle poses of songs like 'Caught in a Moment'?" A writer from
Virgin Media
Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ventu ...
criticised the song's "trudging" balladry and its orchestral backdrop as bland, elaborating: "For a band who've previously put out some genuinely edgy and confident pop, this is inexcusably forgettable".
A critic from ''
The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...
'' regarded "Caught in a Moment" as a mediocre filler track,
[ ] while ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
''s Simon Price considered it insipid. Anna Britten of Yahoo! Music rated the song five out of ten stars and wrote that it "has all the standard features of your average
MOR lady ballad".
Chart performance
The song's first chart appearance was on the 26 August 2004 issue of the
Irish Singles Chart, where it debuted and peaked at number 28.
It subsequently became the group's second lowest-charting single in Ireland to date.
"Caught in a Moment" was most successful on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, where it debuted at number eight with sales of 11,633 copies, and became the Sugababes' fourth consecutive top-ten hit in the United Kingdom.
The song spent seven weeks on the chart.
In the Netherlands, "Caught in a Moment" debuted on the
Dutch Top 40 chart at number 32 and later peaked at number 30,
while on the
Mega Single Top 100
The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the ...
chart, it reached number 46.
The ballad reached number 38 on the
Hungarian Dance Chart,
and number 56 on the Austrian and Swiss charts.
The song spent nine weeks on the
German Singles Chart
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...
, where it charted at number 71.
Music video
![Sugababes GWR Bristol](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Sugababes_GWR_Bristol.jpg)
The music video for "Caught in a Moment" was directed by Howard Greenhalgh and filmed in July 2004.
It was reported that during the filming, Buena, Buchanan and Range were experiencing conflicts, refused to speak with each other and would only communicate through intermediaries.
According to British newspaper the ''
Daily Star'', "the frosty silence between Mutya, Heidi and Keisha, made for a difficult afternoon's work".
The video is
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
,
and features Buena and Range in dresses, and Buchanan in a two-piece outfit.
It was later included on the group's DVD release, ''Overloaded: The Videos Collection''.
During the video, the group's members undress and kiss a man behind a large screen.
The clips show them seated both individually and as a group, and surrounded by large lights which flash several times.
At the time of its release, the video was considered one of the group's most sexually suggestive videos;
Sky News described it as "their most explicit yet with scenes showing the girls writhing, stripping and kissing in silhouette behind giant screens".
A critic from the ''Daily Record'' was favourable of the video and wrote that it "sums up the classy appeal" of the song.
It debuted and peaked at number 12 on the UK TV airplay chart.
Live performances
The Sugababes performed "Caught in a Moment" on 12 August 2004 at the
Bristol International Balloon Fiesta
The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is an annual four day free festival of hot air ballooning in Bristol, England. Teams from the UK and other parts of the world bring their hot air balloons to the site and participate in mass ascents where ...
, which is one of Europe's biggest balloon festivals. The third-line up of the band, consisting of Buchanan, Range and
Amelle Berrabah
Amelle Berrabah (born 22 April 1984), also known as Amelle, is a British singer, best known for being a former member of the girl group the Sugababes, replacing founding member Mutya Buena, who left the group in December 2005. She achieved a so ...
, performed "Caught in a Moment" at the
Sheffield City Hall
Sheffield City Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Sheffield, England in Barker's Pool, one of the city's central squares. It was built and is owned by Sheffield City Council but is now managed by the Sheffield City Trust, under a 99-year l ...
in March 2006 as part of their tour in support of ''
Taller in More Ways
''Taller in More Ways'' is the fourth studio album by British girl group Sugababes, released by Island Records on 10 October 2005. It was primarily produced by Dallas Austin and Jony Rockstar, with additional production from Cameron McVey, Xen ...
'' (2005).
According to Dave Simpson of ''The Guardian'', the performance suggested that Berrabah "could trigger an unlikely shift into soul" for the group.
The trio performed "Caught in a Moment" at the
100 Club, London on 3 October 2006 as part of a gig, which was in promotion of ''Overloaded: The Singles Collection''. They performed the song as part of the ''Overloaded'' tour, and were seated on stools in the centre of the stage. With regard to their performance on 13 April 2007 at the
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-s ...
, London, Ben Rawson-Jones of
Digital Spy commented: "Their epiphanic beauty was fully realised with the fragile, emotive nature of Heidi's voice and Keisha's powerful singing".
"Caught in a Moment" appeared in the set list for the group's 2008
Change Tour
The Change Tour is the fourth concert tour by British girl group Sugababes. It supported their fifth studio album, ''Change''. The tour began with 2 nights in Brentwood on 12 March and 13 March 2008, with the final show on 1 May 2008 in Der ...
.
According to ''
The Journal''s Kat Keogh, their performance at the
Newcastle City Hall
The Newcastle City Hall (currently known as O2 City Hall Newcastle for sponsorship reasons) is a concert hall located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has hosted many popular music and classical artists throughout the years, as well as stan ...
"displayed a confident shift from moody pop princesses to sassy
Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...
-style harmony".
Track listings
Notes
*
denotes additional producer
Credits and personnel
Credits are taken from the liner notes of ''
Overloaded: The Singles Collection''.
Recording
* Recorded in Mayfair, Strongroom and Metropolis
Personnel
*
Songwriting
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
– Jony Rockstar,
Karen Poole
Karen Ann Poole (born 8 January 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. Poole has had over 35 Top 20 UK hits as a songwriter.
Biography
Karen was born in Chadwell Heath, London, England, and is the daughter of 1960s vocalist Brian Poole, le ...
,
Marius De Vries
Marius de Vries (born 1961) is an English music producer and composer. He has won a Grammy Award from four nominations, two BAFTA Awards, and an Ivor Novello Award.
Education
Marius de Vries was educated at St Paul's Cathedral School, Bedfor ...
,
Keisha Buchanan
Keisha Kerreece Fayeanne Buchanan (; born 30 September 1984) is an English singer and a founding member of the girl group Sugababes alongside Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy. With the Sugababes, she had six number one singles and two number ...
,
Mutya Buena
Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena (born 21 May 1985) is an English singer and songwriter who rose to fame as a member of girl group the Sugababes. With the Sugababes, Buena had four UK number one singles, an additional six top-ten hits and three multi-p ...
,
Heidi Range
Heidi India Partakis ( Range; born 23 May 1983) is an English singer, best known as a former member of the girl group Sugababes. She was an original member of girl group Atomic Kitten, although she left the group before they released any mater ...
* Production – Jony Rockstar
*
Mixing – Tom Elmhirst at Metrapolis
* Vocal recording – Pete Craigie
*
Engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
– Pete Craigie
* Additional vocal engineering – Jonathan Shakhovskoy
* Pro Tools – Jonathan Shakhovskoy
* Additional engineering – Richard Wilkinson
* Bass – Marius de Vries
* Guitar – Shawn Lee
* Percussion – Pete Lockett
* Piano – Chris Elliot
* Beats – Jony Rockstar
* Strings arranged and conducted by
Guy Farley
* Strings recorded by Mike Ross Trevor at Sony Studios, Whitfield Street
* Assistant engineer – Dave Clarke
* Violin – Marcia Crayford, David Juritz, Darrell Kolk, Thomas Bowes, Martin Burgess, Alison Kelly, Jan Schmolck, Gaby Lester, Philippe Hanoré, Fenella Barton, Ralph De Souza, Simon Smith, Steve Morris, Sophie Barber, Celia Sheen, Liz Edwards, Douglas Mackie, Manon Derome, Jo Godden, Sue Briscoe
* Viola – Roger Benedict, Vicci Wardmen, Tim Grant, Fiona Bonds, Jonathan Barritt, Ivo Van Der Werff
* Cello – Caroline Dale, Nick Roberts, Jonathan Williams, Melissa Phelps, Caroline Dearnley, Lional Handy
* Double bass – Dominic Seldis, Steve Williams, Lynda Houghton, Steve Mair
Charts
References
{{authority control
2000s ballads
2003 songs
2004 singles
Island Records singles
Music videos directed by Howard Greenhalgh
Songs written by Heidi Range
Songs written by Jony Rockstar
Songs written by Karen Poole
Songs written by Keisha Buchanan
Songs written by Marius de Vries
Songs written by Mutya Buena
Soul ballads
Sugababes songs