It was only as recently as last year’s Eurovision song contest that Jade Ewen rose to prominence. Coming fifth she then began work on her solo record, but with that almost complete, fate intervened and before she could say “Push the Button” she was a Sugababe after founding member Keisha Buchanan acrimoniously left the girl band late.

“I believed in my music but joining the Sugababes was like winning the Lottery,” says Jade. “I’m sure if I want to go solo again in the future I’ll be able to but I wanted to join the Sugababes – it’s better than I could have done on my own. I’d recorded 90 per cent of my album and my single came out two days after I joined the group so the solo stuff was well under way. Never mind.”

The 22 year old says her feet have hardly touched the ground since and it took until the ‘Babes album launch party for, Sweet 7, out today, for the reality of the situation to really come home. “I was just so busy working,” says Jade. “It didn’t really sink in until I saw the posters and the hard copy of the album with my picture on it. It was a weird feeling.”

However it seems there have been a few anxious moments along the way, too.
“When I first joined we did a show in Leeds,” recalls Jade. “Amelle was in Austria so it was just me and Heidi. I was terrified about how the fans would react. They turned out to be really nice. I thought they’d shout abuse but they didn’t. Heidi did a little speech about the line-up change and why Amelle couldn’t be there and she suddenly started crying. I didn’t know her that well at this point and didn’t know what to do, if I should just stand there and keep smiling. I went over, hugged her and said: ‘It’ll all be all right.’ No matter what’s happened, Heidi and Keisha had eight years together in the group so it was like a break-up, it was still quite raw.”

As for rumours circulating about the band’s original line-up claiming the rights to the Sugababes name, Jade is suitably philosophical, and is optimistic about the future of the group as the new record hits the shops.

“As far as I know the label owns the name, it’s not down to us or the previous line-up.

“I didn’t join for it to be over in five minutes. As long as we keep putting out good music I don’t see why it couldn’t last for another five or ten years.”