Artist
VS
Why we feature this artist VS: three singles that map a brief British pop chapter Love You Like Mad, Call U Sexy and Make It Hot give VS a clearly defined place in British pop’s 2004 release calendar. The recordings bring sung hooks and more rhythmically direc…
- From
- United Kingdom
- Sound
- R&B, pop
- Active
- 2004–2005
Start with the music
Tracks to explore
The artist, in context
The story of VS
Why we feature this artist
VS: three singles that map a brief British pop chapter
Love You Like Mad, Call U Sexy and Make It Hot give VS a clearly defined place in British pop’s 2004 release calendar. The recordings bring sung hooks and more rhythmically direct vocal passages into polished R&B-pop settings. Call U Sexy is a useful introduction because its clipped instrumental movement leaves the voices enough room to change the pace of the song.
The singles arrive in sequence
Love You Like Mad reached number seven in the UK during the first part of 2004. Call U Sexy followed in the summer, reaching number eleven, and Make It Hot completed the original run in the autumn. All three charted under the same VS credit, giving the group a recognisable sequence rather than an isolated one-song appearance.
That sequence also suggests different ways to organise the vocal group. A refrain can be delivered as a clear shared statement, while a more speech-like passage changes the rhythmic pressure between choruses. The production keeps the instrumental lines short enough for those vocal changes to become the main source of variety.
Call U Sexy leaves space for the groove
The original Virgin single survives as a separately identified release. Its central attraction is the relationship between the recurring melodic hook and the smaller rhythmic details around it. A bass movement or a short accent can keep the backing active without making the vocal work harder to be heard.
Listening across the three singles is more revealing than treating the catalogue as one interchangeable piece of mid-2000s pop. The arrangements differ in weight and pace, but they share an interest in quick recognition and contrasting vocal delivery. VS’s brief original chart chapter is best approached through those actual records, where the group’s musical outline remains clear.
Essential releases
Love You Like Mad
The original UK top-ten single opens the group’s chart sequence.
Call U Sexy
The summer follow-up balances its recurring vocal hook against a clipped R&B-pop arrangement.
Make It Hot
The autumn single completes the group’s original run of three UK chart entries.