Follow Me Home (song)

"Follow Me Home" received mixed reviews from critics. K. Ross Hoffman of AllMusic described it as an "aptly pitched inspirational mini-epic",[8] while Stylus Magazine's Nick Southall complimented the song's "luscious, romantic strings."[16] Talia Kraines of BBC noted the song as having a near-level standard of the group's 2003 single, "Too Lost in You".[17] QX gave the song seven out of ten stars, writing: "With this film themed track they’re staying true to their roots and retain their position as leaders amidst the all-girl band rankings".[18] Stuart Heritage of Hecklerspray wrote that the song "benefits from some lovely strings and gorgeous, sultry vocals", although admitted that the single is not as exciting as the album's previous ones.[7] Daily Record's Rick Fulton described the song as one of the group's more thoughtful tracks, but admitted that it lacks "bite".[6] He applauded the Soul Seekerz Vocal Mix version as "breathing life" into it.[6] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian criticised the song as tedious and stated that it "is every bit as gripping as new parents foisting their baby photos on you".[19] Linda McGee of RTÉ.ie considered it "nothing special".[20]

"Follow Me Home" debuted and peaked at number 32 on the UK Singles Chart in the issue dated 17 June 2006.[21] The following week, the song dropped ten places to number 42, and in its third and last week on the chart, it fell to number 72.[21] It is the group's lowest-charting single in the UK,[21] and one of their lowest-selling singles.[22] The song achieved more success on the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 25 and spent four weeks on the chart.[23] The song debuted at number 88 on the Romanian Top 100 singles chart, and peaked at number 64 the following week.[24] "Follow Me Home" achieved minor success on the Slovakian Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 93.[25] The single's performance throughout Europe allowed it to chart on the European Hot 100 singles chart, peaking at number 91.[26]

The music video for "Follow Me Home" was directed by Toby Tremlett, who collaborated with the group on the video for their single "Ugly".[27] Filming of the video took place in Prague, the Czech Republic,[27] and most scenes were filmed in a large house.[28] It is set in winter time and features the Sugababes wearing winter clothing such as thick coats and scarves.[28] The video was released onto the iTunes Store on 23 May 2006 and is featured on the song's CD release.[14][29] The video opens with a scene of an alcohol bottle and a glass next to it.[28] It then cuts to a scene of Berrabah on a couch, while follow-up scenes show Buchanan against a wall and Range on a bed.[28]

An elderly man is shown by a pool located in the house, while a young girl in a swimsuit is on the other side of it.[28] Another elderly man enters a room in the house where there is another girl.[28] Throughout the video, various scenes of older men and younger women appear.[28] Towards the end of the video, Berrabah, Buchanan and Range are shown standing outside in the dark.[28] A car stops next to the trio and they enter it.[28] In the last scene, an elderly man watches by as the car drives off.[28] Avril Cadden from the Sunday Mail praised the video as "great".[30] Former group member Buena expressed her dissatisfaction with it, saying: "I just saw a bunch of perverted men and paedophile guys".[12] The video reached number eight on the UK TV airplay chart.[31]

The Sugababes performed "Follow Me Home" in October 2005 at the O2 ABC Glasgow, where they played to a crowd of 300 competition winners to promote the release of Taller in More Ways.[32] The song was included in the set list for the group's Taller in More Ways tour.[33] Gurdip Thandi from the Birmingham Mail described their performance at Birmingham's NIA Academy as "polished".[34] In June 2006, following its release as a single, the group performed "Follow Me Home" on Top of the Pops.[35]