"Hole in the Head" is a song performed by British 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 ...

, released on 13 October 2003 as the lead single 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 ...

''. It was written by

Brian Higgins Brian Michael Higgins (born October 6, 1959) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for , serving since 2005. The district, numbered as the 27th district from 2005 to 2013 but as the 26th since 2013, includes Buffalo and Ni ...

Miranda Cooper Miranda Eleanor De Fonbrune Cooper (born 1975) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and television presenter. Miranda Cooper has worked in the music industry since 1996 when she gained her first recording contract. She wor ...

, Tim Powell, Nick Coler, Niara Scarlett,

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 on ...

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-pl ...

, 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 materi ...

, and co-produced by Higgins and Jeremy Wheatley. The song was met with acclaim from critics and was a commercial success, entering at the top of 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 ...

. Outside the United Kingdom, the single peaked within the top ten of the charts in ten other countries. It became their second single to chart in the United States after "

Round Round "Round Round" is a song performed by British girl group Sugababes. It was written by group members Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena, and Heidi Range, as well as Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Tim Powell, Nick Coler, and Lisa Cowling. Produced by ...

", peaking at number ninety-six on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topping the ''Billboard''

Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart.

Background and development

"Hole in the Head" was written by

, Tim Powell, Nick Coler and Niara Scarlett, in collaboration with the Sugababes' members—

and

, for the group's third studio album, ''

''. Higgins and Jeremy Wheatley produced the song in conjunction with the songwriting and production team

Xenomania Xenomania is an English songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed by Higgins with his Creative Director Miranda Cooper and Business Director Sarah Stennett of First Access Entertainment, Xenoman ...

, which was founded by Higgins himself. Wheatley also completed the song's mixing process at the

Townhouse Studios The Town House (also known as Townhouse Studios) was a recording studio located at 150 Goldhawk Road, Shepherd's Bush in London, built in 1978 under the direction of Richard Branson for Virgin Records. The studios changed ownership and eventuall ...

in London.

Composition

"Hole in the Head" is an

uptempo A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...

pop song, with influences of R&B. 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 databas ...

described it as "a slice of bouncy, slightly off-kilter up-tempo pop". According to the digital

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

published by

EMI Music Publishing EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by parent company Sony Corporation of America. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending ...

, "Hole in the Head" was composed in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

F-sharp minor F-sharp minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative major is A major and its parallel major is F-sharp major (or enharmonically G-flat major). T ...

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 (often ...

of 125

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 ( ...

.". The Sugababes' vocal range in the song spans from the lower note of F₃ to the higher note of D₅. It 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 ...

Bm—F♯m—A—E. "Hole in the Head" draws musical influences from German

vocal group A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s. Types Vocal groups can come in se ...

Boney M. Boney M. was a German-Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's o ...

and the "swagger rock" of American recording artist

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

. The song incorporates dance beats, guitars and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

effects. "Hole in the Head" is reminiscent of the Sugababes' previous single "

", which was also produced by Xenomania.

Critical reception

"Hole in the Head" received critical acclaim from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. K. Ross Hoffman of Allmusic compared the song to the Sugababes' previous number one single "

Freak like Me "Freak Like Me" is the debut single of American R&B singer Adina Howard. It was released on January 25, 1995, as the lead single from her debut album, ''Do You Wanna Ride?''. It reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks, a ...

" and called it "no less enjoyable" than the latter. A writer from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' wrote that "Hole in the Head" showcases the Sugababes' "twin strengths", and applauded their vocal performance in the song. ''

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 ...

s Dorian Lynskey praised Xenomania's production of "Hole in the Head", as well as the song's "sling-yer-hook skank". Peter Robinson of the same publication described the song as an "incendiary" lead single. Alan Braidwood of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

regarded the song as "quality pop" in conjunction with several other tracks from the album. Al Fox, also from the BBC, described the song's hook as "instantaneous splendour". Fiona Shepherd of ''

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 par ...

'' and a writer from ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'' both praised "Hole in the Head" for its catchiness. Nick Southall of ''

Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

'' noted that the Sugababes utilised "irresistible" harmonies in the song. Dan Gennoe of ''Yahoo''! Music called the track "seductive", while Alex Fletcher from

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

noted the song's "spiky attitude". Pat Blashill of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' wrote that "Hole in the Head" "clip-clops along like

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

diet soda Diet or light beverages (also marketed as sugar-free, zero-calorie, low-calorie, zero-sugar or zero) are generally sugar-free, artificially sweetened beverages with few or no calories. They are marketed for diabetics and other people who want t ...

Commercial performance

"Hole in the Head" gained popular radio and television airplay after its release in the UK and was in close competition with " Turn Me On" by

Kevin Lyttle Lescott Kevin Lyttle Coombs (born 14 September 1976) is a Vincentian soca artist, who had a worldwide hit with " Turn Me On" in 2003, recorded with the dancehall artist Spragga Benz. Career Lyttle was encouraged by his family to pursue music ...

for the number one position on the

. The song eventually debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart with sales of 58,452 copies, ending the

Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo (rapper), Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie (singer ...

' six-week run at the top with their single "

Where Is the Love? "Where Is the Love?" is a song by American hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas. It was released on May 12, 2003, as the lead single from their third album, ''Elephunk''. The song was written by will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, Justin Timberlake, Print ...

". "Hole in the Head" spent thirteen weeks on the chart, and sold 185,000 copies in the UK by April 2010, ranking as their sixth highest-selling single in the country. It was placed 76th on the UK's list of most popular radio songs of the 2000s. "Hole in the Head" debuted and peaked at number two on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

, a position it held for two consecutive weeks. It was barred from the pole position by the Black Eyed Peas' "Where Is The Love?". The song debuted at number nine on the

Danish Singles Chart Hitlisten, also known as Tracklisten, is a Danish top 40 record chart that is updated every Thursday midnight on the website hitlisten.nu. The weekly Danish singles chart Track Top-40 combines the 40 best-selling tracks from legal music downloads ...

issue dated 24 October 2003. Two weeks later, it peaked at number one, and in turn became the Sugababes' first and to-date only number-one single in Denmark. "Hole in the Head" entered the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

chart at number 22 and peaked at number two for three non-consecutive weeks. The song spent 12 weeks in the chart's top ten, and was placed 23rd on its 2003 list of best-performing singles. On the

Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart. It is presented weekly in the newspaper '' VG''. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continents around the world. The data are collected by Nie ...

, "Hole in the Head" debuted at number six and peaked at number two for three non-consecutive weeks. It spent a broken fourteen weeks in the chart's top ten. The song reached number five on the

Austrian Singles Chart Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

and became the group's highest-charting single in Austria since " Overload", which peaked at number three in 2001. "Hole in the Head" made its first appearance on the

Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish R ...

on 5 December 2003 at number 17. The song peaked at number seven in the issue dated 23 January 2004 and became the Sugababes' first top-ten entry in Sweden. It peaked at number eight on the

Swiss Singles Chart The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer Hitparade) is Switzerland's main Record chart, music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * ...

for two consecutive weeks, and number nine 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 ...

. "Hole in the Head" became a top-twenty hit on the Belgium (Flanders)

Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization ...

chart,

Finnish Singles Chart The Official Finnish Charts ( fi, Suomen virallinen lista; sv, Finlands officiella lista) are national record charts in Finland compiled and published by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The name ''Suomen virallinen lista/Finlands officiell ...

, and

Hungarian Singles Chart Hungarian Recording Industry Association (Hungarian: ''Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége'', more commonly abbreviated to MAHASZ or Mahasz) is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. MAHASZ issues the Hungarian Music Awards, a ...

. The single debuted and peaked at number 25 on the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, where it charted for 12 weeks. It was more successful on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

, where it peaked at number 11 for two non-consecutive weeks and charted for a total of 15 weeks. Upon its release in the United States, "Hole in the Head" peaked at number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

chart, number 24 on the ''Billboard''

Pop Songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

chart, and number 96 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The song debuted at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 issue dated week ending 12 June 2004 and rose to number 96 the following week, before dropping off the chart.

Music video

The music video for "Hole in the Head" was directed by

Matthew Rolston Matthew Russell Rolston is an American artist, photographer, Music video director, director and creative director, known for his lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design. Rolston has been identified throughout his care ...

and filmed on various locations in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in September 2003. The video shows the girls wearing heavy make up while dressed in gothic-like clothing and accessories and dancing around. They are also shown dating a rock band called ''Erased'' with whom they go to a gig. The girls discover the band getting intimate with other girls during the show. In the end, while the trio is performing in front of the crowd, the girls come out first grabbing the guys and throwing them off the stage and start damaging the instruments. There are 2 other versions of the music video. One is an uncensored version of the video available on the CD single with extra footage. Aside from it being the original explicit version of the song, there is also a scene where Buchanan gives the middle finger to the camera. Second being the US version of the music video with extra scenes of the girls in front of a black background replacing the more 'violent' scenes.

Track listing

* UK CD1 maxi single, European CD maxi single, and Australian CD single # "Hole In The Head" – 3:38 # "Who" – 3:46 # "Hole In The Head" (Full Intention Vocal Mix) – 7:16 # "Hole In The Head" (Video) – 3:35 * UK CD2 maxi single # "Hole In The Head" (Clean Radio Edit) – 3:38 # "This Ain't A Party Thing" – 4:00 # "Hole In The Head" (Gravitas Mix) – 8:27 * European CD single and German mini CD single # "Hole In The Head" (Clean Radio Edit) – 3:38 # "Who" – 3:46 * US CD single # "Hole In The Head" - 3:38 # "Hole In The Head" (Armand Van Helden Remix) - 7:32 * European 12-inch vinyl # "Hole In The Head" (Full Intention Vocal Mix) – 7:16 # "Hole In The Head" (Gravitas Mix) – 8:27

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of '' Overloaded: The Singles Collection''. *

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 ...

–

, Tim Powell, Nick Coler, Niara Scarlett,

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

– Brian Higgins,

, Jeremy Wheatley * Additional vocal production – Yoad Nevo * Mixing – Jeremy Wheatley at the

* Keyboards – Brian Higgins, Tim Powell * Programming – Tim Powell, Nick Coler * Guitars – Nick Coler, Shawn Lee * Vocals – Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena, Heidi Range

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hole In The Head 2003 singles 2003 songs Interscope Records singles Island Records singles Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Scotland Song recordings produced by Xenomania Songs written by Brian Higgins (producer) Songs written by Heidi Range Songs written by Keisha Buchanan Songs written by Miranda Cooper Songs written by Mutya Buena Songs written by Niara Scarlett Songs written by Nick Coler Songs written by Tim Powell (producer) Sugababes songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Universal Records singles