November is the month of chart topping new music releases and one group climbing to the top is girl group Little Mix. Little Mix is an English girl group consisting of members Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Jade Thirlwall, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock. The group was formed in 2011 on The X Factor, UK edition, and went on to make history as they were the first ever girl group to be crowned X Factor champions. Only a year later did they release their first ever album titled DNA and from that point on, the girls have enjoyed international stardom in over 36 countries. Their 4th studio album, Glory Days, was released Friday, November 18th and it is definitely worth a listen.
It is a hard feat to be taken seriously in the music industry as a pop artists and Little Mix face the same criticisms as many favourites such as Fifth Harmony, Arianna Grande, and even One Direction, before their hiatus. There are plenty of people who claim Little Mix’s music is too sugar pop, however there are several examples one could cite to prove this statement false. Yes, Little Mix is a pop oriented girl group, but their music often incorporates elements of other genres such as Rap/R&B and sometimes a bit of Rock. One example of this is the song ‘Private Show’ off their newest album, Glory Days. The first few seconds of the song sets a very 90’s theme for the rest of the tune with a jazzy trumpet solo and a rhythm similar to Bell Biv Devoe’s hit ‘Poison’. Another tune from the album sure to prove critics wrong is ‘Power’. The girls infuse a rough and tough sound with aggressive, hard edged vocals showing they are not all sugar, but rather full of spice and spunk.
The notion that songs within the Pop genre hold no substance in the way of moral messages or don’t have lyrics that go deeper than face value is a popular criticism that people use to discredit Pop musicians, Little Mix included. Despite people using this excuse to tear down the group, it has not worked. It is true some of their songs are just fun, bubblegum pop tunes such as ‘How Ya Doin’’ and ‘Black Magic’, but if you actually take the time to listen their more ballad style songs then you could see the former statement does not apply to Little Mix. One track off of Glory Days that exhibits the ability for a pop song to have a powerful message is ‘Nobody Like You’. A ballad sure to make you shed a tear or two, ‘Nobody Like You’ pairs a stripped down piano background and beautifully cracked voices to create a heart wrenching experience of a song, but the true star are the lyrics. “I’ve tried goodbye a hundred times, not one of them true/ Nobody like you, nobody like you/ I’m screaming “I don’t want you” but you know that I do,” and “Strong, a side of me you never found/ ‘Cause you only see me when my guard is down/ And it’s wrong, and I hate that it’s the truth/ But I only like myself when I’m with you,” are a few stanzas to display emotion that went into writing this song. As much as Little Mix like to write a good dance tune, they also produce heartfelt songs with powerful messages to really relate to the masses.
Another criticism of Little Mix is that they are just another group of pretty faces with no real talent. As absurd as this claim is, there are some who believe it, but the girls do a brilliant job of shutting down haters. Perrie, Jesy, Leigh-Anne, and Jade work diligently to show there is more to them than just their looks by putting on spectacular shows with careful choreography while still hitting every last note in every song. They also perform acapella and acoustic versions of their songs (my favourites being ‘The End’ and ‘Little Me’) to show off the voices that earned them the legions of loyal fans, sold out shows in major stadiums, three platinum certified albums, ten certified singles in the UK and US, and helped them break the record for highest earned US debut for a British Girl group which was previously held by the Spice Girls. While the girls are definite beauties, their talents are something that should not be overlooked.
Glory Days is an album you should definitely have on your radar this season, and maybe you might become a true Mixer as well!
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