Sugababes take to the stage at Isle of Wight Festival as they tackle gender imbalance

All-female group the Sugababes took to the main stage at the Isle of Wight Festival on Friday (16 June), expressing their determination to compensate for the absence of female headline acts at this year's event.

With Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy as its members, the group firmly believes that their performance will help address the gender imbalance in the festival's lineup, which predominantly features male artists such as Robbie Williams, George Ezra, The Chemical Brothers, and Pulp.

“It’s always good to have as much equality and representation as possible, but it is going to be normal for it to fluctuate year to year,” Donaghy told the PA news agency. “We’re here so we’re making up that side and making up the numbers.”

The trio graced the main stage on the festival's opening day, delivering electrifying performances of their hit singles 'Push The Button,' 'About You Now" and 'Too Lost In You.' They enthusiastically shared their enthusiasm for immersing themselves in the festival atmosphere, describing it as one of the most enjoyable aspects of their career.

“I feel like being at a festival you get to be yourself, express however you’re feeling, see all the fans and other artists, so it’s nice,” Buena said. Dognahy added: “We’ve woken up to a beautiful day and we’ve been getting ready and hopping out into the sunshine. There are bubbles outside helping us get into the festival vibe.”

As singer-songwriters, all three members of the band also discussed the growing presence of artificial intelligence (AI) in the music industry.

But they strongly emphasised that crafting songs based on personal experiences and emotions would always have a more profound impact and resonate with audiences on a deeper level, and that music originating from genuine human experiences has the power to cut through and connect with listeners in a way that AI-generated content cannot replicate.

“Something tells me that what a human being writes from their experience I do think will cut through more. I hope that’s the case anyway,” said Donaghy. “I think coming from a person, I think people will feel it and connect more.” Buchanan added: “I think it gets tricky especially when they use the artist’s voice.”

The Isle of Wight Festival is due to come to a close today (18 June), but Sky Arts has once again been covering the event in 2023, broadcasting on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening from 8pm onwards.