Hole in the Head

This article is about the British pop single. For the 1959 film, see A Hole in the Head. For the fish disease, see Head and lateral line erosion.

"Hole in the Head"
Single by Sugababes
from the album Three
B-side	"Who" "This Ain't a Party Thing"
Released	13 October 2003 3 November 2003 26 April 2004
Format	CD single, vinyl single, digital download
Genre	Pop, urban, dance-pop, ska
Length	3:36
Label	Island
Writer(s)	Brian Higgins, Miranda Cooper, Tim Powell, Nick Coler, Niara Scarlett, Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena, Heidi Range
Producer	Brian Higgins, Jeremy Wheatley
Sugababes singles chronology
"Shape" (2003) "Hole in the Head"' (2003) "Too Lost in You" (2003)
Overloaded: The Singles Collection track listing "Run for Cover" (13) "Hole in the Head" (14) "Push the Button" (15) Alternative cover UK CD 2 cover Audio sample file info · help

"Hole in the Head" is a song performed by Sugababes, released in October 2003 as the lead single from their third studio album Three (2003). It was written by Brian Higgins, Miranda Cooper, Tim Powell, Nick Coler, Niara Scarlett, Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena, and Heidi Range, and co-produced by Higgins and Jeremy Wheatley.

The song reached number one in the United Kingdom and Denmark, becoming the group's third domestic number one single and first Danish chart-topper. It also managed to chart in the top ten in Austria, Ireland, Germany, Norway and Switzerland. "Hole in the Head" is the first (and to date only) single by Sugababes to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 96.

Music video

The music video for "Hole in the Head" was directed by Matthew Rolston and filmed on various locations in London in September 2003.

The video shows the girls wearing heavy make up whlie dressed in gothic-like clothing and accessories and dancing around. They are also shown dating a rock band called Erased with whom they go to a gig with. The girls discover the band getting intimate with other girls during the show. In the end, while the band is performing in front of the crowd, the girls come out first grabbing the guys and throwing them off the stage and start damaging the instruments. There is an uncensored version of the video, with extra footage in it. Aside from being the original explicit version of the song, there is also a scene where Buchanan gives the middle finger to the camera.

Reception

"Hole in the Head" received positive reviews from music critics. NME stated that the song was "one of the most satisfying pop phenomenons" and praised the group's upbeat vocals. Peter Robinson of The Guardian described the song as an "incendiary lead single". Alan Braidwood of BBC gave a favorable review by suggesting that the song was "quality pop".

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, the song entered at #1, selling 58,500 copies in its first week of release. It topped the chart for a week, but fell to #5 in its second week. It spent 13 weeks in the top 75. The song has sold 183,598 copies in the UK alone. In the United States, the song is the only one by the Sugababes to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #96. It did, however, top the American Club Play chart and also reach #24 on the country's Mainstream Top 40 Pop Chart.

Track listings and formats

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Hole in the Head."

UK CD single 1

1. "Hole in the Head" - 3:38
2. "Who" - 3:47
3. "Hole in the Head" [Full Intention Vocal Mix] - 7:16
4. "Hole in the Head" [Video] - 3:38

UK CD single 2

1. "Hole in the Head" [Clean Radio Edit] - 3:38
2. "This Ain't A Party Thing" - 4:00
3. "Hole in the Head" [Gravitas Clean Mix] - 8:27

US CD single/US digital single

1. "Hole in the Head" [Clean Radio Edit] - 3:38
2. "Hole in the Head" [Armand Van Helden Remix] - 7:30

US digital EP

1. "Hole in the Head" [Full Intention Vocal Mix] - 7:16
2. "Hole in the Head" [Full Intention Club Mix] - 7:12
3. "Hole in the Head" [Gravitas Dirty Mix] - 8:27
4. "Hole in the Head" - 3:38

Official versions and appearances

These are the official versions and remixes and the release they appear on:

Version	Release appearance
Radio Edit	"Hole in the Head" single
Album Version	Three "Hole in the Head" single Overloaded: The Singles Collection Change [French Version]
Full Intention Vocal Mix	"Hole in the Head" single Overloaded: The Remix Collection
Gravitas Clean Mix	"Hole in the Head" single
Armand Van Helden Remix
Video	"Hole in the Head" single Overloaded: The Videos Collection
Sessions at AOL	"Caught in a Moment" single Overloaded: The Live Collection
Acoustic version	Overloaded: Napster Live Session
Live at V Festival	"Easy" single

Charts

Chart (2003/04)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	25
Austrian Singles Chart	5
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart	20
Danish Singles Chart	1
Dutch Top 40	2
Finnish Singles Chart	11
German Singles Chart	9
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)	17
Irish Singles Chart	2
Italian Singles Chart	23
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	11
Norwegian Singles Chart	2
Romanian Top 100	53
Swedish Singles Chart	7
Swiss Singles Chart	8
UK Singles Chart	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	96
U.S.Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs	1
U.S. Billboard Pop Songs	24

Preceded by "Where Is the Love?" by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Justin Timberlake	UK Singles Chart 19 October 2003 - 26 October 2003	Succeeded by "Be Faithful" by Fatman Scoop featuring The Crooklyn Clan
Preceded by "Guilty" by Blue	Danish Singles Chart 12 November 2003 - 19 November 2003	Succeeded by "Slow" by Kylie Minogue

Cover versions

• Ann & David Blake on Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2
• Sabrina Salerno when she took part in ITV's Hit Me Baby One More Time.