The original trio turn a ghosting story into a full funeral procession
Sugababes hit the graveyard to see some “Ghost” in their latest — and maybe visually best — video to date. Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy go full gothic for a nighttime funeral procession that feels perfectly timed for Halloween without turning into novelty-pop camp.
And is that Big Freedia we hear lurking in the back? Our ears went there immediately. The little background burst has that bounce-flavored feel, subtle but wildly effective in the production. However, the official track credits do not list Big Freedia, so for now we’re keeping that as an INYIM ear-catch rather than calling it a confirmed feature.
What is confirmed is even better: the track and visual have a serious creative team behind them, and “Ghost” arrives as the trio prepare their self-titled Sugababes album for February 12, 2027 — their first full studio album together as the original lineup since One Touch in 2000.
music
Sugababes Go Gothic
“Ghost” pairs the trio’s unmistakable harmonies with Jon Shave’s dark-edged production and a full funeral-procession visual directed by Thomas James.
Some links may be affiliate links. INYIM may earn from qualifying purchases.
Who Produced “Ghost”? Jon Shave Is Behind the Track
Jon Shave produced “Ghost” and also served as recording engineer, programmer and keyboard player. The song was written by Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena, Siobhán Donaghy, Jon Shave and Wayne Hector, while Dylan Cooper contributed additional programming and keyboards.
And here’s the detail we love: Keisha, Mutya and Siobhán are all credited as vocal producers. That matters on a Sugababes record because those three voices are not just the decoration on top of the production — the way they stack, answer and rub against one another has always been part of the actual architecture of the sound.
Anya Jones is credited as associate producer, Geoff Swan mixed the track with Matt Cahill assisting, and Chris Gehringer handled mastering.
Siobhán Donaghy Turned a Real-Life Ghosting Into the Song
The title is not just a spooky-season excuse. Siobhán told British Vogue that the song grew out of what happened with her first love, who effectively ghosted her before “ghosting” was even part of the dating vocabulary.
She described the strange grief of someone still being alive and out there while disappearing from your life. That emotional idea makes the funeral imagery click: the video turns the end of a relationship into something that looks and moves like an actual burial.
Thomas James Directed the Funeral-Ready “Ghost” Video
The video was directed by Thomas James, and the darker-than-usual pairing works almost suspiciously well. The trio are pulled into a nighttime funeral procession and graveyard world that feels more cinematic and surreal than most of their previous visuals — though longtime fans may catch a little spiritual DNA from the vampy darkness of “Freak Like Me.”
Zoe Gunn produced the video for ArtClass Content, with Sam Holmes serving as executive producer. Morgan K Spencer was director of photography, Fin Sullivan handled production design, and Alexander Green choreographed the dancers.
Post-production kept the mood just as considered: Thomas Hill edited at White House Post, Nathaniel Skeels handled the colour grade at The Shop, and Ikki Dhesi delivered the VFX.
Even the Styling Was Split by Sugababe
The official video credits also break the wardrobe team out member by member: Neil Stuart styled Siobhán, Leah Abbott styled Keisha and Lucy James styled Mutya, with James also styling the dancers. That level of individual styling makes sense for a group whose visual identity works best when the women look connected without being dressed like matching dolls.
Images: Sugababes / YouTube.
“Ghost” Opens the Door to the New Sugababes Album
The bigger story is where all of this is heading. The trio’s self-titled Sugababes arrives February 12, 2027 through Sacred Three/The Orchard, with 12 tracks spanning the kind of stylistic territory that has always made this lineup difficult to box in.
British Vogue reports that the album moves through garage, amapiano, R&B and other textures, while the group themselves have stressed that they deliberately refused to rush the record. Even the album artwork reconnects the present to the beginning: photographer Liz Collins, who shot the original One Touch cover, returned to photograph the new self-titled era.
“Ghost” feels like exactly the right bridge. It is unmistakably Sugababes without sounding trapped in 2000, and the rawer production lets those three voices do what they have always done best: sound completely different from one another until the harmonies hit and suddenly nobody else could make that sound.
Got to get this added to INYIM Radio stat!
Watch Sugababes’ “Ghost” Official Music Video
Directed by Thomas James, the official “Ghost” video sends Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy into a dark funeral procession built around the song’s very literal take on being ghosted.
Sources: Sugababes; Apple Music; British Vogue; Promonews.
