Little Mix
Little Mix are a British girl group that formed on the eighth series of The X Factor. They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consists of Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, and previously Jesy Nelson until her departure in 2020. Regarded as the show's most successful winning act, their success led to a girl band renaissance in the UK. Little Mix's vocals and harmonies have garnered critical acclaim and the group have been ranked as one of the best vocal girl groups. They were often dubbed, by some media, as the "biggest girl group in the world", before going on a hiatus in 2022, allowing its members to pursue solo projects.
Little Mix rose to prominence with their debut single "Wings", achieving five number-one singles, and nineteen top ten entries on the UK Singles Chart. Launched into mainstream recognition after the release of "Black Magic", becoming the first song by a girl group since 2008 to spend multiple weeks at number one. In 2023, it became the first music video by a British girl group to surpass one billion streams on YouTube and was ranked by Billboard as one of the "Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time". The group has broken various records during their career, including becoming the first girl group to spend over 100 weeks inside the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, the first to accumulate six top five entries on the UK Albums Chart, and for holding the record for the highest chart entry for a debut album by a UK girl group on the US Billboard 200.
The group achieved moderate success in America and retained a popular following in Europe, South America, Asia and other regions with Forbes naming them as one of the most influential acts in Europe. Little Mix also made appearances on Debrett's list of the most influential people in the UK, the Forbes "30 Under 30", and the Sunday Times "Young Rich List". Their music has amassed over 15 billion streams worldwide, making them one of the most streamed girl groups on Spotify. Since their debut, their music has been cited as gay anthems, girl power anthems, and feminist anthems, while gaining popularity in South Korea, with Pitchfork describing them as "the girl group who has captured K-pop's spirit better than any other western girl group". Little Mix have sold over 3 million concert tickets worldwide, and performed in over 20 countries across their tours, with the Confetti Tour, being their most critically acclaimed.
In 2021, Little Mix became the first girl group in 41 years to win the British Group award at the Brit Awards. Their other accolades include a Madame Tussauds figure, three Brit Awards, seven MTV Europe Music Awards, four Glamour Awards, a iHeartRadio Music Award, two Japanese Gold Disc Awards and three Guinness World Records. They have amassed a following of LGBTQ+ fans winning a British LGBT Award, an Attitude Award, and were named as Glamour's "Women of the Year and Game-changers in music". Often named as one of the best girl groups of all time, Little Mix have sold over an estimated 75 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, and one of Britain's biggest selling acts.
History
2011–2012: Formation and ''The X Factor''
In 2011, Edwards, Thirlwall, Pinnock and Nelson individually auditioned successfully as soloists for the eighth series of the UK version of The X Factor in front of judges Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow, Tulisa and Kelly Rowland, but failed the first challenge of the "bootcamp" section. They were allowed another chance to compete when they were placed in two separate ensembles by the judges during the "group bootcamp" stage, with Edwards and Nelson in four-member group Faux Pas and Thirlwall and Pinnock in three-member group Orion. Both groups failed to make it through to the next stage. A later decision by the judges recalled two members from each group to form the four-piece group Rhythmix, sending them through to the "judges' houses" section. Footage released in November 2022 revealed that Rowland alone was the judge who formed the group.They reached the live shows section and were mentored by Tulisa. During the first live show on 8 October 2011, Rhythmix performed "Super Bass" by American recording artist Nicki Minaj. Their rendition was praised by the judges with Barlow calling them the "best girl band that's ever been on The X Factor." On 26 October 2011, it was announced that they would change their name following a dispute with Rhythmix, a Brighton-based children's music charity of the same name, after the programme tried to trademark "Rhythmix". A spokesman for The X Factor said, "At the request of the charity Rhythmix, the members of the girl group Rhythmix have decided to change their name, a decision which has the support of Syco and TalkbackTHAMES." It was reported that the group decided to make the change, with no legal requirement to do so, to avoid any difficulties for the charity. On 28 October 2011, it was announced that the group's new name would be "Little Mix".
On 20 November 2011, Little Mix became the first girl group in the show's eight-year history to progress past the seventh live show. The previous longest-surviving girl groups were The Conway Sisters and Hope, who had both lasted until week 7. Through the remaining course of the competition the group generally received positive feedback. On 3 December 2011, during the semi-final stage of the show, Little Mix performed The Supremes's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" for their Motown classic as well as Beyoncé's hit "If I Were a Boy" for a song they believed could get them to the final. Their performance of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" received mostly negative feedback from the judges with Walsh stating that they "lost their mojo" and Rowland telling them she had seen them do "better vocal performances." Their second performance of the night, "If I Were a Boy", was generally acclaimed by the judges with Walsh telling them they have "amazing potential" and calling them the "next big girlband." Rowland also told them they could be "incredibly dynamic" and "change the world" when they find the strength within each other. On 4 December 2011, Little Mix made X Factor history by becoming the first girlband ever to make the final of the show. They advanced to the final alongside Marcus Collins and Amelia Lily.
On 11 December 2011, Little Mix were announced as the winners of The X Factor 2011, the first time that a group had won the UK show and the second in the worldwide franchise. Their winner's single was a cover of Damien Rice's song "Cannonball", which was released via digital download on 11 December 2011 and on CD on 14 December 2011. The Xtra Factor: The Winner's Story was shown on ITV2 on 17 December 2011. Their debut single topped the UK Singles Chart on 18 December 2011. They made the Christmas number-one spot on the Irish Singles Chart, beating novelty songs by The Saw Doctors and Ryan Sheridan.
2012–2013: ''DNA'' and international breakthrough
On 25 January 2012, Little Mix made an appearance at the National Television Awards and performed the En Vogue song "Don't Let Go ". They also accompanied fellow judges Gary Barlow and their mentor Tulisa Contostavlos on stage to receive the Best Talent Show award that had been won by The X Factor. In May 2012, Little Mix reportedly signed a deal with Vivid and Bravado to release signature products including dolls, puzzles, accessories and games. Prior to their debut single release, the group covered an a cappella version of Beyoncé's "End of Time" and uploaded it on YouTube; the cover was publicly praised, especially for the group's impressive harmonies. Later in August, they also uploaded another cover, this time an acoustic cover of "We Are Young" by Fun ft. Janelle Monáe which again received positive feedback, generally, for the group's harmonies. On 1 June, a snippet of their debut single "Wings" previewed on chat show Alan Carr: Chatty Man before its later release date in August.Little Mix performed their debut single "Wings" for the first time at the T4 on the Beach concert on 1 July. The single debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart. On 31 August 2012, the group's autobiography, titled Ready to Fly, was released by HarperCollins. In October 2012, the group went on a promotional visit to Australia due to their expanding fan base there, destinations included Melbourne and Sydney. The trip lasted a week and the group visited radio stations to promote the single and debut album. They performed their single "Wings" on Australian The X Factor and on Australian breakfast-television show Sunrise. "Wings" subsequently reached number 2 on the Australian iTunes chart and number 3 on the ARIA charts. Their debut album, DNA, was released in November 2012. Nicola Roberts co-penned a track called "Going Nowhere" on the DNA album. The album reached number 3 in both Ireland and the UK. A second single, "DNA", was released in October, and in January 2013 they signed a record deal with Columbia Records in North America. "Wings" was released as their debut single in America on 5 February 2013. In the US, the single reached number 79 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart while the album reached number 4 on the Billboard 200. On 3 February 2013, they released "Change Your Life" as the album's third single, which charted at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. On 4 March 2013, it was announced that "How Ya Doin'?" would be released as the fourth and final single from their debut album.
On 21 March, they announced that their next single, "How Ya Doin'?", would feature Grammy Award-winning musician Missy Elliott. On 4 April 2013, the group revealed that Schwarzkopf hair dye Live Colour XXL would be promoted through their music video for "How Ya Doin'?" in a new sponsorship deal. "How Ya Doin'?" debuted at number 57 on the UK Singles Chart on 20 April 2013, before ascending to number 23 the week after. In its third week, the song peaked at number 16, marking Little Mix's fifth consecutive UK top 20 hit. It charted for a further seven weeks. "How Ya Doin'?" sold 120,000 copies in the UK. The single debuted at number 55 on the Irish Singles Chart on 11 April 2013. It then climbed the chart to peak at number 26. Consequently, "How Ya Doin'?" became Little Mix's first single to miss the top 20 in Ireland, but spent a total of seven weeks on the chart. The single peaked at number 16 on the Scottish Singles Chart on 11 May 2013, marking the group's fifth consecutive top 20 hit in Scotland.