"Overrated" is a song by English singer

Siobhán Donaghy Siobhán Emma Donaghy (born 14 June 1984) is an English-Irish singer and songwriter. She is best known as a founding member of the girl group Sugababes. Donaghy left the Sugababes in 2001 and released her debut solo album, '' Revolution in Me'', ...

, released as the lead single from her debut studio album '' Revolution in Me'' (2003). It was released two years after her controversial departure from

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

the

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 ...

. "Overrated" was written by Donaghy,

Cameron McVey Cameron Andrew McVey (born 11 March 1957) is an English singer, songwriter and music producer. He worked with the bands Massive Attack, Portishead, All Saints, Sugababes/Mutya Keisha Siobhan and his wife Neneh Cherry. He is the father of Ma ...

and

Paul Simm Paul Simm is an English musician, composer and record producer, known for his work with Amy Winehouse, the Sugababes and Neneh Cherry. Biography Paul Simm, discovered the piano aged five and mostly self-taught, by eleven was performing regula ...

, and produced by McVey. It is a guitar-led pop song about the experiences of disappointment and misery. The song received favourable reviews from critics, who praised Donaghy's vocals and McVey's production. The single became her biggest hit to date, reaching the top twenty in the United Kingdom, and achieving chart success in Australia, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

Background and development

Girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

the

were formed in 1998 by Donaghy,

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

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 ...

. The group released their debut studio album, '' One Touch'' in 2000 through

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

. It reached number 26 in the UK and produced the top ten single " Overload", which earned the group a

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

nomination for "Best British Single". However, follow-up singles failed to match the success of "Overload", and the group was subsequently dropped by London in 2001. Donaghy left the Sugababes the same year, and was diagnosed with

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...

amid reports of conflict amongst the other members of the Sugababes. She was eventually replaced by former

Atomic Kitten Atomic Kitten is an English girl group formed in Liverpool in 1998, whose current members are Liz McClarnon, Jenny Frost and Natasha Hamilton. The group was founded by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) members Andy McCluskey and Stuart K ...

member

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 ...

. Two years after her departure from the Sugababes, it was confirmed in May 2003 that Donaghy would release her debut single, "Overrated" in June 2003. "Overrated" was later released in the United Kingdom on 23 June 2003 under London Records, as the lead single from her debut studio album '' Revolution in Me'' (2003). "Overrated" was written by Donaghy in collaboration with

and

, and produced by McVey. McVey also wrote songs for the Sugababes' album ''One Touch''. Musically, "Overrated" is a pop song accompanied by a guitar. The song's lyrical content is an account of disappointment and misery. During the chorus, Donaghy sings "The pain is overrated / The chains so serrated" and makes reference to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

over an

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

Reception

Critical response

"Overrated" received positive reviews from critics. '' Daily Record'' gave it four out of five stars, writing: "Her second stab at success is certain to be more fulfilling for everyone". ''

The Hot Hits Live from LA ''The Hot Hits Live from LA'' was an Australian radio program on the Today Network, Southern Cross Media's Hit Music Stream, Ace Radio Network's Hit Music Stream (except TRFM) and other stations around Australia. History Kyle and Jackie O were ...

'' wrote that the song was reminiscent of those performed by All Saints, and tracks on the Sugababes' debut studio album ''One Touch'', citing McVey's production and writing contribution. Amy Raphael of ''

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 w ...

'' praised "Overrated" as a strong pop song, and noted that it is directed at Buena and Buchanan, the remaining members of the Sugababes. Anne-Louise Foley 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 ...

ironically praised "Overrated" as "under rated". Nadine O Regan from ''

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 ...

'' named "Overrated" one of the stronger tracks on ''Revolution in Me'', and applauded Donaghy's vocal performance on the song.

Commercial performance

"Overrated" became Donaghy's most successful single to date. The song debuted and peaked at number 19 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 ...

for the issue dated 5 July 2003, and was Donaghy's first and only single to reach the top twenty in the UK. The song was A-listed on BBC's

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

radio program. "Overrated" debuted and peaked at number 33 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 ...

, and is Donaghy's only single to chart in Ireland. The song reached number 75 on the Netherlands

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 Dutc ...

chart. "Overrated" peaked at number 15 on the Australian

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

''Hitseekers'' chart.

Track listing

UK CD 1 #"Overrated" (Single Version) - 4:37 #"Those Anythings" - 4:09 #"Instances" - 4:28 UK CD 2 #"Overrated" (Radio Edit) - 3:43 #"Thus Far" - 5:51 #"Overrated" (Video) German & Australian Maxi CD #"Overrated" (Radio Edit) - 3:43 #"Thus Far" - 5:51 #"Those Anythings" - 4:09 #"Instances" - 4:28 #"Overrated" (Single Version) - 4:37

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2003 debut singles Songs written by Paul Simm Songs written by Cameron McVey Siobhán Donaghy songs Songs written by Siobhán Donaghy Song recordings produced by Cameron McVey 2003 songs