Mutya Buena
Mutya Buena in the music video for Real Girl
Background information
Birth name	Rosa Isabel Buena
Born	May 21, 1985 (1985-05-21) (age 22)
Origin	London, England
Genre(s)	Pop, Dance-Pop, Soul, R&B
Years active	1998-2005 (group); 2005-present (solo)
Label(s)	Universal Records
Associated acts	Sugababes
Website	MutyaMusic.com

Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena, (born 21 May 1985 in Kingsbury, London), known professionally as Mutya Buena, is an English singer and songwriter, who rose to fame as a member of the pop band Sugababes.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Personal life 1.2 Sugababes 1.3 Solo career 2 Discography 3 References 4 External links

Biography

Personal life

The Buena family currently lives in Kingsbury, North West London. Mutya was raised by her Irish mother and Filipino father. She attended Kingsbury High School. Her name "Mutya" means "muse" or "beautiful gem" in Tagalog, the regional dialect on which Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, is based. She has five brothers (Bayani, Charlie, Chris, Danny and Roberto) and two younger sisters, Ligaya and Dalisay; another sister, Maya, died in 2002, and the song "Maya" on the album Three is dedicated to her. On March 23, 2005, Mutya gave birth to 5lb 10oz Tahlia-Maya Buena, her first child with boyfriend Jay, which was rumoured to be one of the reasons she left the Sugababes. She named her child Tahlia-Maya in memory of her sister, Maya.

Sugababes

Main article: Sugababes

Buena began her music career as the leadsinger of the multi-platinum selling girl band the Sugababes, during which time they released such hits as "Freak Like Me", "Hole in the Head", and "Push the Button". Buena later left the band to begin a solo career and was replaced by Amelle Berrabah.

Buena officially left the band on December 21, 2005, with an announcement appearing on the Sugababes official website stating that "Mutya's decision is based purely on personal reasons and she will continue to remain the best of friends with both Keisha and Heidi."

Solo career

After leaving the Sugababes in December 2005, Buena began working on material for a solo career. Her MySpace page appeared on 25 April and has been used to chat with fans, friends and colleagues. It also features demo tracks, which were rumoured to be on her upcoming album, such as "Love Story", "2 the Limit", "Wonderful", "Darkside", "Suffer for Love", "Sunshine" and "Addiction", however only 'Wonderful' and 'Suffer For Love' made it onto the album.

Whilst solo, Buena has collaborated with numerous artists including Tah Mac, MC Viper, George Michael and Groove Armada. "This Is Not Real Love", a sultry ballad with alternating verses between George Michael and Buena, was released in November 2006, and reached number 15 in the UK charts. It also appeared on George Michael's Greatest Hits album, Twenty Five. In 2006, she toured with Michael on the London and Manchester leg of his 25 Live tour to perform the song live with him. The song is also being released as a track on Mutya's solo album. Most recently she has featured on a track on Groove Armada's album, Soundboy Rock. "Out Of Control (Song 4 Mutya)" was highly praised by leading music journalist and Popjustice creator, Peter Robinson. It also features on her album and was released as a single by Groove Armada. Buena later featured on Tah Mac's album track "Give Back", although it is unknown if it will become a single.

After leaving the Sugababes, Buena co-signed with her previous label Universal Island Records and 4th & Broadway. Her debut album Real Girl was released on 4 June 2007, and includes collaborations with Johnny Douglas, Amy Winehouse, George Michael and Groove Armada.

The first single, the album's title track "Real Girl" entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 11 on downloads alone, climbing to No.2 after its physical release date. The song samples Lenny Kravitz's "It Ain't Over 'Till It's Over" and is produced by London based production company, Full Phatt.

Real Girl the album entered the Uk album chart at No.10 amid mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. The Album remained in the top 40 for three weeks and was released two weeks before ex band mate Siobhan Donaghy's second album Ghosts. The next single to be lifted from the Real Girl album was Song 4 Mutya a joint single with dance act Groove Armada released on 23rd July 2007. Other songs rumoured to be future singles are the Mutya & Amy Winehouse track B Boy Baby a reworking of the track Be My Baby by The Ronettes though this is yet to be announced.

Buena will be performing at V Festival on August 18 and 19 at Hylands Park, Chelmsford and Western Park, Staffordshire. She has also been added to the line-up for T4 On The Beach 2007 on Sunday July 22.

Discography

Main article: Mutya Buena discography

With Sugababes

• One Touch, London Records

• Angels with Dirty Faces, Universal Island Records

• Three, Universal Island Records

• Taller In More Ways, Universal Island Records / Taller In More Ways (re-released), Universal Island Records. (Buena's vocals still featured in a re-released version of Taller In More Ways with new member Amelle Berrabah contributing to re-recorded songs).

• Overloaded: The Singles Collection, Universal Island Records. (Buena's vocals featured on the Sugababes greatest hits collection).

Solo Albums

• Real Girl, Universal Island Records & 4th & Broadway

References

1. Popjustice's review of "Song 4 Mutya (Out Of Control)"

External links

• Mutya's Official Website
• Mutya Buena at MySpace
• Mutya on IMDB
• Interview with The Independent