Album: Mutya Buena

Knowing when to leave a successful group is a matter of timing. Leave too early, and you're stranded like Kerry Katona; too late, and nobody notices. But leave at the right time, and in a few years you too could be holed up in your LA mansion, knocking back the prescriptions like Robbie Williams. Former Sugababe Mutya Buena may have got the timing just right, judging by Real Girl, on which she attempts the tricky task of re-branding herself as an R&B diva of diverse tastes, unafraid to tackle "difficult" issues like young motherhood ("It's Not Easy"), suicidal despair ("My Song") and heroin addiction ("Strung Out"). Not all succeed - the latter is sunk by its portentous arrangement and clanging clichés - but they're outweighed by the smooth charm of tracks like "Just a Little Bit" and the single "Real Girl", which blend modern R&B with period Southern Soul stylings, and the Groove Armada collaboration "Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)", whose electropop setting has the winsome charm of classic Human League hits.