"Wear My Kiss" is a song by British

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 ...

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 as the third and final single from their seventh studio album, ''

Sweet 7 ''Sweet 7'' is the seventh studio album by British girl group Sugababes, released on 15 March 2010 by Island Records. Production for the album began in April 2009 and was completed in January 2010. ''Sweet 7'' is the only Sugababes album to feat ...

'' (2010). It also serves as the final official single from the band before they disbanded in 2011. It was written by

Fernando Garibay Fernando Garibay (;) is an American record producer, songwriter, DJ, academic and entrepreneur. Artistic career He was the official musical director of Lady Gaga's Born This Way Ball and the producer of her '' Born This Way'' album. Fernando ...

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...

, Philip Lawrence, and

The Jackie Boyz The Jackie Boyz was an American multi-platinum singer-songwriter duo that consisted of two brothers, Carlos Battey and Steven Battey. The Jackie Boyz were acquired by Universal Music Publishing as songwriters in 2009. History The Jackie Boyz w ...

, and produced by Garibay. The song's development began while the Sugababes travelled to the United States during April 2009, in which they collaborated with various high-profile producers. The song was re-recorded to feature the vocals of

Jade Ewen Jade Louise Ewen (born 24 January 1988) is a British singer, actress and a former member of the girl group Sugababes. She began her singing career in a girl group named Trinity Stone, which signed with Sony BMG in 2005 but disbanded in 2007 wit ...

following the departure 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 on ...

in September 2009. "Wear My Kiss" 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 that references the items which compose a man's outfit. Many critics praised the song as radio-friendly and catchy, although some regarded it as uninspiring and average. The single reached the top ten on the charts in the UK, Ireland and Scotland, and also charted in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Its

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was directed by Martin Weisz in December 2009. The

green screen Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to r ...

effect was used to produce the video's scenes, which include clones of the group's members. Critics commended the video for its futuristic concept. The Sugababes performed "Wear My Kiss" at the Fight Cervical Cancer in Style fundraising event, on '' Eurovision: Your Country Needs You'', and at Chester Rocks in 2011.

Development and composition

The Sugababes travelled

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in April 2009 to work on their seventh studio album ''

'' (2010). They signed a record deal with

Jay Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

's record label

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...

, which resulted in collaborations with high-profile producers including

Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the Stargate (film), film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien E ...

and

RedOne Nadir Khayat ( ar, نادر الخياط; born 9 April 1972), better known by his stage name RedOne, is a Moroccan singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. As a record producer and songwriter, he has worked with many high-profi ...

. "Wear My Kiss" was written by

, Philip Lawrence, Carlos Battey and Steven Battey, the latter two collectively known by their stage name

. Garibay produced the song, recorded the Sugababes' vocals, provided the track's instrumentation, and completed its programming and arrangement. The Jackie Boyz provide background vocals for the song.

Dave Pensado Dave Pensado is a Grammy Award-winning mix engineer. His career began in Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s doing live and studio sound engineering. He has lived in Los Angeles since 1990. He mixes between 200 and 250 songs a year at Larrabee Studios ...

mixed "Wear My Kiss" at Larrabee Sound Studios in

North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North H ...

; AJ Nunez was the assistant. Additional vocal production was provided by Mike Stevens and Marcus Byrne, while additional vocal mixing was completed by Jeremy Wheatley at TwentyOne Studios, London, with assistance from Richard Edgeler. "Wear My Kiss" was recorded and tracked at F2 Studios in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, California. "Wear My Kiss" is an

pop song. David Balls of

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, ...

described it "a fuzzed-up pop thumper". The song is composed of "thick" beats, "sexy" verses and "raunchy" lyrics. The chorus features a chanted 'da-da-da'

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

, which according to Al Fox of

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

is evocative of the group's 2003 single "

Hole in the Head "Hole in the Head" is a song performed by British girl group Sugababes, released on 13 October 2003 as the lead single from their third studio album, ''Three (Sugababes album), Three''. It was written by Brian Higgins (producer), Brian Higgins, ...

". Andy Gill of ''

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 publis ...

'' noted that the song sees the Sugababes "effectively subjugated to the status of accessories"; lyrically, the singers compare themselves to a

tie Tie has two principal meanings: * Tie (draw), a finish to a competition with identical results, particularly sports * Necktie, a long piece of cloth worn around the neck or shoulders Tie or TIE may also refer to: Engineering and technology * Ti ...

watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

and

shoes A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...

of a man's outfit. During the pre-hook, group 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 ...

sings, "I"m just a pretty little thing / That'll make you wanna sing / Make you wanna buy a ring". "Wear My Kiss" is reminiscent of songs performed by British girl group

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...

and American recording artist

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

Release

In September 2009, speculation arose that group member

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 ...

had left the Sugababes following reports of tension with band member

. However, it was announced on 21 September 2009 that Buchanan, the sole original member of the group, had officially left the Sugababes. Buchanan clarified the departure on her official

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account, writing: "I'm sad to say that I am no longer a part of the Sugababes ... Although it was not my choice to leave, it's time to enter a new chapter in my life ... Sometimes a breakdown in communication and lack of trust can result in many different things." Buchanan was replaced by former

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

contestant

. As a result of the line-up change, "Wear My Kiss" was re-recorded for the inclusion of vocals from new member Ewen and the removal of vocals from Buchanan. In October 2009, it was reported that "Wear My Kiss" would be released as the third single from ''Sweet 7'' on 8 February 2010. The song was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 21 February 2010 as a digital download, and as a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

the following day. During an interview with David Balls of Digital Spy, group member

explained the reason for the song's release as the album's third single, saying: "It's had a really good response from radio and our fans on the website. It's also quite appropriate as it comes out around

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

– there's a lot of kissing going on then!" "Wear My Kiss" was

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed by the British music production team 7th Heaven.

Reception

Critical response

"Wear My Kiss" received mixed reviews from critics. BBC Music's Al Fox described it as "a glimmer of brilliance" amongst the album's other tracks. Alice Wyllie of ''The Scotsman'' and David Balls of Digital Spy called the song radio-friendly, while the latter described it as "more comfortably more Sugababes-sounding" than the group's previous two singles, "

Get Sexy "Get Sexy" is a song by British girl group Sugababes, taken from their seventh studio album, ''Sweet 7'' (2010). It was written by Fred Fairbrass, Richard Fairbrass, Rob Manzoli, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars and produced by the latt ...

" and " About a Girl". Balls praised the hook as one that "lodges in your brain like shrapnel". A writer from '' Daily Record'' shared a similar opinion, writing: "The big chanted hook won't go away once it's in your head". Andy Gill of ''The Independent'' regarded "Wear My Kiss" as one of the album's better tracks and noted that it practices "a craven form of extreme self-objectification". Caroline Sullivan 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 ...

'' noted that while the album was significantly

Americanised Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, tech ...

, "Wear My Kiss" had "escaped with some quirky Britishness intact". ''

Khaleej Times ''Khaleej Times'' is a daily English language newspaper published in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched on 16 April 1978, ''Khaleej Times'' is the UAE's longest-running English daily newspaper. History and profile A partnership between the U ...

'' wrote that the song proves the Sugababes are "feisty and seductive as ever" and elaborated, "the cut-glass industrialism of the backing track belies the dedication of the trio to the permanent touchpoints of pop music". Johnny Dee of

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, Cable television, television and Internet access, internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Engla ...

named it one of ''Sweet 7s standout tracks but in contrary felt that "trimmed of their former member's vocals could be by absolutely anyone". Gavin Martin of ''

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 ...

'' called the song a "sweaty but uninspired thumper". A critic from '' The Visitor'' regarded "Wear My Kiss" as "limp" in comparison to the group's older material which he described as "feisty, sassy pop". Fraser McAlpine from

gave the song a two-out-of-five star rating, and criticised the lack of cohesiveness between the group's vocals, as well as the formulaic nature of the song.

Commercial performance

"Wear My Kiss" debuted and peaked at number seven 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 6 March 2010, with sales of 38,209. It became the group's third consecutive top ten single and eighteenth top ten single overall. ''Sweet 7'' also became the first Sugababes album since ''

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, Xenom ...

'' (2005) to produce three top ten singles. The song debuted and peaked at number nine 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 ...

, becoming the Sugababes' ninth top ten single in Ireland. "Wear My Kiss" debuted at number four on the

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

for the issue dated 6 March 2010. The song debuted and peaked at number 47 on the

Czech Singles Chart Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

, where it charted for eight weeks. It was less successful on the

Slovakian Singles Chart Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arkan ...

and peaked at number 73. The song's commercial performance throughout Europe allowed it to appear on the

European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and '' Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

chart, where it peaked at number 27.

Music video

The

for "Wear My Kiss" was directed by Martin Weisz during December 2009. Weisz also directed the music video for the group's previous single "About a Girl". The video for "Wear My Kiss" was expected to premiere in early January 2010, although a preview was released on 11 January 2010 instead. The video was released on the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

on 12 March 2010. The

was used to produce it, in which the Sugababes stood in front of a projection of their computer-generated images. All three members wore similar blue, pink and red dresses. It primarily focuses on Sugababes dancing in front of a crowd of clones of themselves. Ewen discussed the experiences while filming the music video with ''

First News ''First News'' is a UK newspaper for young readers. It is published in a full colour tabloid format every Friday, and aims to present current events and politics in a child-friendly format, alongside news on entertainment, sport and computer g ...

'', saying: The music video begins with Amelle Berrabah singing the first verse, in which objects appear in the background in reference to the lyrics, including a gold tie and silver watch. When Range sings the lines "make you wanna buy a ring" a diamond appears in the background. During the chorus, clones of members of the band appear as they are dancing. During Ewen's verse, her reference to shoes prompts a pair of green

high heels High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels, are a type of shoe with an angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the wearer appear taller, and accentuate the ...

to emerge in the background. The group begins dancing together in the chorus while clones of them appear again. The video ends with Sugababes dancing while making hand gesture to represent a "kiss". Ann Lee of ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'' described the video as "futuristic". Nick Levine from Digital Spy praised the video as an "absolute cracker".

Live performances

The Sugababes promoted "Wear My Kiss" on 26 January 2010 with three appearances on television. The following day, the trio performed it at the Fight Cervical Cancer in Style concert. A writer from ''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...

'' described their performance as "highly energetic". Fight Cervical Cancer in Style, a charity fundraising event, was held at

Koko Koko or KOKO may refer to: Animals *Koko (gorilla) (1971–2018), a gorilla trained to communicate in American Sign Language *Koko (dog) (2005–2012), the Australian kelpie in the 2011 film ''Red Dog'' *Koko (horse), an Irish racehorse that won ...

in London by Jo's Trust to raise awareness about the prevalence of

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

among women. Berrabah spoke about the importance of this health issue on stage: The band performed "Wear My Kiss" during a gig in March 2010 at the Supperclub, London. They performed the song on BBC's '' Eurovision: Your Country Needs You'' on 12 March 2010. The song was performed immediately prior to the winner of the show being announced. The Sugababes performed "Wear My Kiss" at Chester Rocks on 2 July 2011 as part of a

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 ...

, which included their number one singles "

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 " Push the Button".

Track listing

*CD single # "Wear My Kiss" – 3:44 # "Wear My Kiss" (7th Heaven Remix) – 7:04 # "Wear My Kiss" (WAWA Remix) – 5:20 *Digital download # "Wear My Kiss" (Edit) – 3:06 # "Wear My Kiss" (7th Heaven Radio Edit) – 3:35 *Extended play # "Wear My Kiss" (7th Heaven Club Mix) – 7:03 # "Wear My Kiss" (Wawa Remix) – 5:18

Credits and personnel

;Recording *Recorded and tracked at F2 Studios,

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

;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 ...

–

, Philip Lawrence, Carlos Battey, Steven Battey *

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 ...

– Fernando Garibay *Vocal recording – Fernando Garibay *Instrumentation – Fernando Garibay *Programming – Fernando Garibay *Arrangement – Fernando Garibay *Background vocals – Carlos Battey, Steven Battey * Mixing –

at Larrabee Sound Studios,

*Mixing (assistant) – AJ Nunez *Additional vocal production – Mike Stevens and Marcus Byrne *Additional vocal mixing – Jeremy Wheatley at TwentyOne Studios,

London, England 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 major s ...

*Assistant – Richard Edgeler Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Sweet 7'',

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Sugababes 2009 songs 2010 singles Island Records singles Music videos directed by Martin Weisz Roc Nation singles Song recordings produced by Fernando Garibay Songs about kissing Songs written by Bruno Mars Songs written by Carlos Battey Songs written by Fernando Garibay Songs written by Philip Lawrence (songwriter) Songs written by Steven Battey Sugababes songs