Sugarland's debut album, Twice the Speed of Life, was released Oct. 26, 2004. Serving as its lead-off single was the song Baby Girl, which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and set a record for the longest chart run since the inception of Nielsen SoundScan in 1990. It was also the highest-peaking debut single for a group in 13 years. The album received Multi-Platinum certification for sales of two million copies. This album produced three more chart singles Something More, Just Might (Make Me Believe), and Down in Mississippi (Up to No Good).
In late 2005, the duo performed with Bon Jovi on Country Music Television's musical fusion show, Crossroads. Nettles sang with Bon Jovi on their single Who Says You Can't Go Home. The song later went on to become a #1 hit on the country charts.
Kristen Hall left the group in late 2005/early 2006. According to a statment released on January 17, 2006 by Nettles and Bush, Hall left the group to "stay home and write songs."
Sugarland was nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy and performed the song Something More at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2006. They also performed at the 2006 CMT Music Awards, where they received multiple nominations including Group/Duo Video of the Year for Just Might (Make Me Believe), Breakthrough Video of the Year for Something More, and Collaborative Video of the Year for "Who Says You Can't Go Home".
On November 7, 2006, the new duo released their second album Enjoy the Ride. It sold 211,000 during its first week and opened at #4 on the US Top 200 and at #2 on the Top Country Albums charts. The first two singles from this album — Want To and Settlin — both reached Number One on the country music charts, while Everyday America and Stay were both Top Ten hits. A limited edition of the CD, sold exclusively at Wal-Mart, was released in late 2007 and included a 5-song Christmas EP. The EP contained one original song - Little Wood Guitar - written by Bush and Ellis Paul.
In 2007, Sugarland performed at multiple award ceremonies, including the 2007 CMT Awards and the 2007 ACM awards. They performed a cover of Beyoncé Knowles' "Irreplaceable" at the American Music Awards, with Knowles herself. They also appeared on the The Tonight Show, and late in the year they headlined their first concert tour: the Change for Change Tour along with opening acts Little Big Town and Jake Owen. At the 41st CMA Awards, the group won the award for Vocal Duo of the Year.
In February 2007 Nettles and Bush began recording Love on the Inside as a follow up to Enjoy the Ride. The album was released in late July. Leading off this album was All I Want to Do. Released on May 19, the song debuted at #27 on the country charts, the highest debut for the duo. It became their third Number One single in August 2008. Already Gone followed in September of the same year and in January 2009 became their fourth Billboard Number One.
The "Deluxe Fan Edition" of Love on the Inside was released on July 22, 2008. The fan edition includes the duo's collaboration with Little Big Town and Jake Owen, a cover of The Dream Academy's 1985 hit "Life in a Northern Town." It also introduces four other bonus tracks, including "Fall Into Me," "Operation: Working Vacation," "Wishing," and a cover of Matt Nathanson's "Come On Get Higher."
The duo is starting the Love on the Inside Tour on September 13 in Asheville, North Carolina and it will conclude after 25 performances on November 16 in Bossier City, Louisiana. They will be joined by special guests Ashton Shepherd and Kellie Pickler. It will be their second headlining tour.
In March 2009, Sugarland toured in Europe starting with performances at military stations in Italy. They were scheduled to perform in France, the Netherlands, Germany, England, Scotland, and Ireland. Later in 2009 they joined Keith Urban in select cities as part of his Escape Together World Tour and joined Kenny Chesney on his Sun City Carnival Tour.
The third single from Love on the Inside, and 11th single overall, "It Happens", was released in February 2009 and became their fifth #1 in May 2009. The album's fourth single, "Joey" is a warning about drunkdriving, encouraging those sober to "take the keys," and thematically is heavily influenced by Concrete Blonde's 1990 single of the same name. It peaked at #17 on the US country charts.
On May 19, 2009, Sugarland received five CMT Award nominations including a nomination for Video of the Year. They were presented the award for Video Duo of the Year at the award show that broadcasted on June 16, 2009. During the awards show, they also performed "Love Shack" with a surprise appearance by the B-52's.
On September 10, 2010, Sugarland appeared on The Today Show and performed "Stuck Like Glue" - the first single from their album The Incredible Machine, which was released on October 19, 2010 in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. The album was released in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2011.
It was announced on January 11, 2011 that Sugarland was the #5 selling country album of 2010 with The Incredible Machine and the #3 selling digital country track of 2010 with their single "Stuck Like Glue".
On April 3, 2011 Sugarland hosted and performed at the first annual ACM Fan Jam during the ACM awards show. Sugarland was nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year and Video of the Year for "Stuck Like Glue", and won for Vocal Duo of the Year at the 46th annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Nettles performed alongside pop star Rihanna at the ceremony, performing "California King Bed".
"Tonight" is the second single released in the U.K. from The Incredible Machine as well as the third country radio single, released April 11.
In April 2011, Sugarland began their own radio station, which was launched by A.P.E. Radio. The station is programmed by Nettles and Bush, and gives fans the opportunity to hear experiences from both singers' lives and from their current musical endeavours.
The duo appeared at the 2011 CMT Music Awards, winning for "Duo Video of the Year" but losing to Taylor Swift's "Mine" for video of the year. They also performed their donation song "Stand Up"
Mean Girls
Sugarland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well, I ain't a mean girl
But I've known a few
They'll make you cry, baby
And then blame it on you
They'll hate you if you're pretty
They'll hate you if you're not
And they'll hate you for what you got
Mean girls, scratchin' and spittin'
Mean girls can't be forgiven
Mean girls make mean women
Mean girls
It starts on the play ground
Pulling your hair
Then in high school
It gets worse from there
You'll see 'em comin'
They travel in packs
Smile to your face
While stabbing your back
If they ain't out a-prowlin'
Creeping down the hall
You'll find them by the lockers, baby
Sharpening their claws
Mean girls, start 'em young
Mean girls, forked tongue
Mean girls, see 'em and run
Mean girls, mean girls
Sugar and spice
And everything nice
Think she's hot, but she's cold as ice
First comes love, then comes marriage
Then comes her mama with another little wanna-be
Mean girls, full of hate
Mean girls, just can't wait
Mean girls, to take your date
Mean girls make stuff up
Mean girls, just bad luck
Mean girls stink
Mean girls, best friends forever
Mean girls, almost never
Mean girls, whatever
Mean girls, hey, mean girls
The song "Mean Girls" by Sugarland speaks about the harsh reality of dealing with mean girls, who make life difficult for others. The lyrics explain how mean girls have a negative impact on others, by hurting them emotionally and blaming them for their own actions. They are envious and will find a reason to hate someone whether they are pretty or not. The mean girls' behavior is compared to animals, scratchin' and spittin', and they are depicted as unforgivable, making them mean women.
The song explains that the behavior of mean girls starts on the playground, with hair pulling, but gets worse in high school when they start stabbing people in the back. They travel in cliques, smiling to people's faces while sharpening their claws behind their backs. The lyrics note that mean girls come from different backgrounds, and even good girls could turn mean. The song acknowledges their negative impacts on relationships, such as ruining dates and friendships.
The song also highlights how mean girls are not just youthful behavior but, at times, create mothers who become mean girls too. The song speaks about how, sometimes, mean behavior doesn't change with age. Inevitably, mean girls' actions are just bad luck for the people they hurt. The series of repeated lyrics in the song makes it memorable and impactful, thus leaving a lasting message that one should stay away from mean girls.
Line by Line Meaning
Mean girls
Beware of the Mean Girls
Well, I ain't a mean girl
I'm not a mean girl myself
But I've known a few
But I have encountered a few of them
They'll make you cry, baby
They can hurt you emotionally
And then blame it on you
And put the blame on you
They'll hate you if you're pretty
They despise you if you are pretty
They'll hate you if you're not
They loathe you even if you're not
They'll hate you for what you lack, baby
They detest you for your flaws or shortcomings
And they'll hate you for what you got
They envy you for what you have
Mean girls, scratchin' and spittin'
Mean Girls act violently and rudely
Mean girls can't be forgiven
They are hard to forgive
Mean girls make mean women
Bullying can shape a person's character
It starts on the play ground
Bullying begins as early as childhood
Pulling your hair
One of the ways they bully others
Then in high school
Bullying progresses in this stage
It gets worse from there
It becomes more intense
You'll see 'em comin'
You can sense it once they are coming
They travel in packs
They usually come in groups
Smile to your face
They pretend to be kind
While stabbing your back
But they betray you behind your back
If they ain't out a-prowlin'
If they are not out bullying
Creeping down the hall
They sneak around in the hallway
You'll find them by the lockers, baby
They commonly hang around the lockers
Sharpening their claws
Prepping up to bully their next target
Mean girls, start 'em young
The act of bullying must be prevented at an early stage
Mean girls, forked tongue
They pretend to be nice with a hidden agenda
Mean girls, see 'em and run
Avoid interacting with mean girls
Mean girls, mean girls
Mind your company and avoid the mean girls
Sugar and spice
An allusion to the old nursery rhyme
And everything nice
They appear to be pleasant
Think she's hot, but she's cold as ice
They are attractive but nasty inside
First comes love, then comes marriage
A progression towards settling down
Then comes her mama with another little wanna-be
The apple does not fall far from the tree
Mean girls, full of hate
Bullying comes from a place of hatred
Mean girls, just can't wait
They are eager to hurt others
Mean girls, to take your date
They don't hesitate to ruin or steal romantic relationships
Mean girls make stuff up
They fabricate things against their targets
Mean girls, just bad luck
It's unfortunate to cross paths with mean girls
Mean girls stink
Their bullying and behavior is unpleasant
Mean girls, best friends forever
They can be loyal to their kind
Mean girls, almost never
Mean people are not true friends
Mean girls, whatever
They treat others with indifference or disdain
Mean girls, hey, mean girls
Addressing the mean girls
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: KRISTIAN BUSH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind