(L-R; Una, Victoria, Saffia, Ife & Chloe)
ooc: My very first RP characters from 2011 are back! Had to bulk up and embellish their history with data from the real game and not the forums too so play along :P

Title: Say It Out Loud
Artist: Brown Sugar
Genre: R&B, Soul, Synthpop
Length: 3:38
Written By: I.Wiseman
Produced By: Shayke
Label: Independent
From The Album: TBC

Say It Out Loud is a song recorded by British-Irish girl group, Brown Sugar which serves as their comeback single and possible lead single for a potential fifth studio album. The track was written by group member Ife Wiseman and produced by up and coming British producer, Shayke. The inspiration of the song comes from the breakdown of a relationship between Ife's cousin and her now ex-boyfriend. It is a mid-tempo R&B, soul and synthpop record. Drawing from the sound of their second studio album, the production on Say It Out Loud is more minimal than a lot of the group's latter work. It features a progressive synth line, guitar and rattling percussion instruments. The song was partly recorded in London while Victoria's vocals were laid down in her new home of Los Angeles. Harmonies including all five members of the band were recorded together in London at a later date and the incorporated into the track towards its final stages.

The song was written entirely by Brown Sugar member Ife Wiseman. It is based on the real breakdown of her cousin's relationship with her boyfriend. Ife found herself being the shoulder to cry on and sounding board for her cousin during this time. Naturally, as an artist, she wrote about the situation but never intended for it to be released to the public. After Brown Sugar quietly reformed in January, Ife presented the song to her cousin and asked for her blessing to release it as she didn't want to air out any personal business without permission. The song describes a failing relationship in which the man is cheating and the woman more or less has it all figured out but still has a few questions and loose ends to tie up. She's accepted that he's no longer the man she thought he was and will not be treating him the way she used to. Many clues such as the smell of perfume, new look, sudden interest in fitness and leaving the house at odd hours make it clear that something is going on. Rather than blowing up and airing out his dirty laundry to the world, she is giving him a while to come clean and explain before they part ways. She doesn't want to be the one getting all worked up over this nasty situation. Hearing it out loud not only lays everything to rest, it also means that the man has to verbally say that he's cheated and is having an affair which should immediately riddle him with guilt as shame, as well it should.

The track features prominent vocals from Victoria Black, Una Paige and Ife Wiseman - the latter two especially. Victoria opens up the song and returns to her softer sounding, almost tranquil vocal style that she rarely used after launching a solo career. Black was always known for being the strongest vocalist in the band and outside of the group, she showcases her now famous vocal belts and intentional cracks which is a totally different style of singing to her technique within the group. Victoria has also been noted for having "attitude" in her voice and delivering the aggression when needed and it certainly comes into play here. Ife and Una take on lead vocals in the chorus. While all five girls sing, the husky tones of Wiseman and Paige are more dominant throughout. These two ladies also take on the majority of the song following the chorus. Ife takes on the second verse and pre-chorus, singing an octave higher than Victoria and her husky tones contrast greatly to Victoria's silky first verse. As the song is picking up in terms of production and story within the lyrics, it's only natural that Ife's delivery sounds more urgent than Victoria's. Una takes on the bridge of the song which is far more relaxed in comparison to the rest of the song. The production becomes less demanding and allows Una's sultry vocals glide over some synths. Her half spoken, half sung delivery wrapped up in her golden, husky tone really draws the listeners in and alongside the divine yet minimal production at this point, it almost seems like a form of hypnosis. Saffia and Chloe do not have any solo segments but lead the soft, light harmonies and the hook on the "outro".

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History Lesson

Brown Sugar formed in January 2008 after holding auditions to become a member of the group. The group was put together through the record label Old London Town Records which meant they would have an instant record deal and were signed to Fantazmic Records, a sub-label of Old London Town. The original line-up comprised of Victoria Black (15), Ife Wiseman (17), Una Paige (20), Chloe Byrne (18) and Saffia Saunders (18). The band began to record their debut album while supporting many other British pop acts around the time. The group were set to take over a big gap in the market with a massive push from their label alongside an extensive promotional campaign. A spanner was thrown into the works as a rival label began to launch another British girl group with a similar name, Hard Sugar, with even stronger financial backing. This already created strong competition and comparisons before any material had been released.

The girls released their debut single Don't Wanna Know in mid-2008. It failed to live up to expectations, only entering the chart at #27. Follow up single Moving Up proved more popular, eventually peaking at #5 and became their biggest selling single to date in the UK, although not their highest charting. After releasing two electro-pop tinged uptempo singles, Brown Sugar released a mid-tempo, acoustic pop ballad, Can't Hide It. The single entered the UK charts at #1 and even peaked at #14 in the US following a major push from their label. Their debut album Chasing Rainbows followed one week after and peaked at #8. Two more singles followed; Just Can't Get Enough and Be With Me, which peaked at #4 and #10, respectively.

After experiencing success across the globe, the group quickly recorded a follow-up to their platinum selling debut album. However, the band drew inspiration from urban music this time around rather than the quirky, electro pop found on their debut. Their second studio album, Colonial Masses, was released in late 2009 and narrowly missed out on the top spot, settling for #2. It spawned two singles; Turn Back The Page and Your Ego. Despite being well received by critics, both singles failed to reach the top ten in their homeland, peaking at #16 and #12. After the relative failure of the singles, Brown Sugar hastily released the lead single from their third album before the record was anywhere near completion. The single Miss You receive mixed reviews and was seen as "lazy" in comparison to their previous work. It peaked at #32 in the UK. At this time, tensions were at an all time high in the band and pressure from their label certainly didn't ease the situation. After fears of being dropped, their second single from the record, Take It Higher, managed to debut atop of the UK Singles Chart and restored faith in the band and the project. Their third album Make The Headlines was released in the fall of 2010 and peaked at #3. More singles were planned to be released after the success of Take It Higher and the album but plans were shelves due to infighting.

The press and fans suddenly became aware of a rift inside the group. Public arguments between the band, reports of refusing to work together on set and not turning up for promotional work suddenly tarred Brown Sugar with a very negative public image. The group did not write any of their fourth studio album which many fans and critics found to be disappointing as the girls had always had writing credits on everything beforehand. Producers and possible collaborators also refused to work with the band at this time. This resulted in their fourth studio album, Alive, consisting mainly of tracks rejected by other artists and a sudden shift in sound as the majority of songs were EDM influenced - nothing like their past material. The lead single Bad Girl was a critical and commercial failure, peaking at #44. The album itself became their lowest charting and first to miss the top ten, limping in at #17. Following the disastrous sales and growing tension within Brown Sugar, Saffia and Chloe quit the group and publicly branded Victoria as a "vicious bully". Undeterred, the band quickly brought in new members; Sierrah Summers and Serenity White. The Alive album was re-recorded and re-released. The public reacted negatively to the change in line-up despite the overall morale of the group being lifted. The newly recorded What The Heart Says was released as the second single. It managed to peak at #5 in the UK and is highly regarded as the standout track on the critically panned album. Two more singles followed in the form of Quick and Make Your Move. Both failed to make an impact, peaking at #38 and #65. Following this, Brown Sugar were dropped and then went on an extended hiatus. Despite no official break-up statement, Victoria Black's highly successful solo career and lack of contact between any of the girls more or less confirmed that a reunion was never truly on the cards.

Now, almost five whole years since their last release, Brown Sugar are back in their original line-up of Chloe, Ife, Saffia, Una and Victoria. They briefly returned for a low-key reunion in 2014 and were set to release a new album but nothing materialised. The girls believed that the 2014 reunion felt "forced" whereas everything feels "natural" and "authentic" now. The replacements for Saffia and Chloe, Sierrah and Serenity expressed little to no interest in ever returning to the band. Sierrah has signed a modelling contract while Serenity now lives a life away from the public eye. The original line-up currently have no record deal and are waiting for the right offer to come along. In the meantime, they have no problem with doing it all on their own. There has been no word of an album or tour as of yet. The ladies state that they are taking this all "day by day".

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Say It Out Loud

All
Chloe
Ife
Saffia
Una
Victoria

Heard you crawling back in early this morning
With the night's guilt ridden air still lingering
It almost covers up the scent of her knock-off perfume
Mumbled words and shifty eyes at the breakfast table
Spinning me fairy tale lines but you can't sugar coat betrayal
Phone vibrates and you're gone, left with my worries in an empty room

Can you really tell me where you're coming from?
Can you really tell me all of the things you've seen?
If she's so good then why not shout it from the rooftops?
Let me put a face to the name who keeps appearing on your screen

And in a heartbeat, I'll pull the ripcord
You like playing with danger so let's see if you enjoy the fall
I'm not going to be counting my tears or losing any sleep
Won't be lighting up some torches and heading down her street
I don't need to self medicate or post snaps to call you out
We can save most of the heartache if you just say it out loud
Hmm, say it out loud

Fresh new haircut and many sessions at the gym lately
See you rocking the latest looks, you've never been this trendy
Were never one for shopping, now your spending is a problem
Hot new Jordan's don't stop you from tripping over your own lies
We're already lost at sea, waiting on the moment we capsize
Come clean and jump ship now before what's lurking drags you to the bottom

Can you really tell me what's keeping you from home?
Can you really tell me all of the places that you've been?
Don't worry, this skin is thick and I can breathe on my own
Stop the iced shoulder and talking in codes, I don't know what you mean

And in a heartbeat, I'll pull the ripcord
You like playing with danger so let's see if you enjoy the fall
I'm not going to be counting my tears or losing any sleep
Won't be lighting up some torches and heading down her street
I don't need to self medicate or post snaps to call you out
We can save most of the heartache if you just say it out loud
Hmm, say it out loud

Come on say it to my face, you've done the worst so why hesitate?
Stop wasting time, I can't reclaim the days I've already wasted away
I'll never truly understand, I had everything that you'd ever need
Just give me some closure before I load up the car and leave

(Oh why can't you say it out loud?)
Come on say it to my face, you've done the worst so why hesitate?
(Have you gone all shy now?)
Stop wasting time, I can't reclaim the days I've already wasted away
(Thought that somehow I'd let this one go?)
I'll never truly understand, I had everything that you'd ever need
(Sorry boy, I don't think so!)
Just give me some closure before I load up the car and leave

And in a heartbeat, I'll pull the ripcord
You like playing with danger so let's see if you enjoy the fall
I'm not going to be counting my tears or losing any sleep
Won't be lighting up some torches and heading down her street
I don't need to self medicate or post snaps to call you out
We can save most of the heartache if you just say it out loud
Hmm, say it out loud

Oh why can't you say it out loud?
Have you gone all shy now?
Thought that somehow I'd let this one go?
Sorry boy, I don't think so!

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