"Denial" is a song by English girl group Sugababes from their fifth studio album, Change (2007). Coinciding with the commencement of the group's 2008 Change Tour, it was released on 10 March 2008 as the album's third and final single. V V Brown wrote "Denial" for the band while she was on London Underground's Victoria line, and attempted to "get into their mindsets" in the process. The Sugababes and the song's producers, Flex Turner and Elliot Malloy, co-wrote it. Composed of staccato verses, a harmonious chorus and a solo middle eight, "Denial" is a pop rock and disco song that samples "Standing in the Way of Control" by the Gossip.
The song received mixed reviews from critics, who were ambivalent towards its composition, but became a commercial success throughout Europe, where it peaked at number one on the Czech Singles Chart, number four on the Austrian Singles Chart, and within the top twenty on the charts in Germany, Hungary, Ireland, and Switzerland. It reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. Harvey B-Brown directed the song's music video, which was inspired by Vogue and contains fashion editorial characteristics. The Sugababes performed "Denial" on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, at the 2008 Oxegen Festival, and during their Change Tour.
Development and release
English singer and songwriter V V Brown wrote "Denial" while she was on London Underground's Victoria line. Brown told Metro that songs she writes for enjoyment come spontaneously to her. She composed "Denial" specifically for the Sugababes, and attempted to "get into their mindsets" in the process. The song was submitted to the group and received by their management; the band enjoyed the song and subsequently recorded it for their fifth studio album Change. Brown described its transferral to the band as "validation that I'd truly found who I am in both territories as a song writer, as a producer, as a writer and as an artist".
The Sugababes and the song's producers and programmers, Flex Turner and Elliot Malloy, received co-writing credits on the song. "Denial" was mixed by Jeremy Wheatley at Twenty One Studios, London, with assistance from Richard Edgeler. The song's instruments were provided by Pete Boxsta Martin and Wheatley. When Metro questioned Brown about her feelings towards the group's ownership of the song, she responded: "When you write songs for other people you’ve got to let it go, it becomes their property, they have to interpret it in the way they feel. You can’t be too precious about it otherwise you wouldn’t have given it away in the first place."
"Denial" was confirmed for release in January 2008 as the fourth and final single from Change, and the Sugababes' 21st single overall. Island Records released "Denial" as a digital download in the United Kingdom on 10 March 2008. The CD single was made available on 17 March 2008. Its release coincided with the commencement of the group's Change Tour, which began on 13 March 2008 in Brentwood, Essex. "Denial" was released as a CD single in Germany on 25 April 2008. In October 2007, the Sugababes performed a cover version of "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge as the B-side to "Denial". "Denial" was remixed by American disc jockey Ian Carey.
Composition
"Denial" is a midtempo pop rock and disco song. Its instrumentation is provided by a guitar, a keyboard, drums and synthesizers. The song contains a sample of the bass hook from "Standing in the Way of Control" by The Gossip. "Denial" is composed of soft rock staccato verses, which are proceeded by a melancholic and harmonious pop chorus. Digital Spy's Nick Levine commented upon the song's compositional transition, writing: "'Denial' rides its elastic bassline to a transcendent, melodically-inspired chorus". The group's harmonies are backed by warm synthesizers and 1980s soft rock music. The song contains a solo middle eight performed by group member Heidi Range, and is opened with the line "I see the way the wind blows like open minds for us". "Denial" explores themes of unrequited love, as noted by Peter Murphy from Hot Press.