It was written by the Sugababes in collaboration with the Xenomania members Brian Higgins, Bob Bradley, Tim Powell and Matthew Del Gray.

"Angels with Dirty Faces" was heavily promoted through Cartoon Network's animated television series The Powerpuff Girls.

[4] "Angels with Dirty Faces" was written by the Sugababes in collaboration with members of the British songwriting and production team Xenomania, including Brian Higgins, Bob Bradley, Tim Powell and Matthew Del Gray.

[9] Phil Udell from Hot Press magazine compared the song to American girl group Destiny Child's music, specifically their 2001 single "Bootylicious".

[14] A critic from the Daily Mirror described "Angels with Dirty Faces", as well as the album track "Virgin Sexy", as "alive with wry palpitations".

[13] Phil Udell from Hot Press admitted that although it is reminiscent of Destiny's Child's music, the song "lacks the American's sense of style".

[18] It appeared in the chart for thirteen weeks,[18] and by April 2010, sold 125,000 copies in the UK, placing it twelfth on the group's best-selling songs list.

[21] The single spent a total of eighteen weeks on the chart, and gave the Sugababes their third consecutive top forty hit in the country.

[21] The Sugababes' record label, Universal Island, heavily promoted "Angels with Dirty Faces" through Cartoon Network's animated television series The Powerpuff Girls, and its 2002 film of the same name.

[11] The label's stint with the series resulted in an animated music video for the song, produced by Cartoon Network Studios.

[24] When Professor Utonium arrives home, the Powerpuff Girls are shown watching the Sugababes on television, although the clip is interrupted with a News Flash that reads "Robot Rain Terrorises Townsville".

When the Sugababes were questioned about their reaction to the video and its animation, group member Keisha Buchanan responded: "It was so funny seeing us like that and the Powerpuff Girls cartoon itself.