“From the off, there is that assumption that women can’t do it as good as they can. “It always tends to be the men that are in those very instrument-led bands the industry as a whole is very much led by older white males,” she begins. The memory of her one-liner raises a smile, but Thirlwall remains frustrated. In customary fashion, Jade used an appearance on Never Mind the Buzzcocks to provide a now-legendary clap-back: “It’s a shame really, as we are definitely the most successful girl group in the country, but he’s not even the most successful performer in his family.” Claiming that the band were “not even in the same fucking sport” as Oasis, Noel Gallagher denounced their win, bemoaning the denigration of ‘real’ music. Nonetheless, when they won Best British Group at the 2020 Brit Awards - the first girl group in history to do so - numerous rock’n’roll types lined up to have a pop, including Noel Gallagher. Each girl has had her fair share of stand-out outfits, high notes and extra-curricular engagements, and it’s been the same with songwriting from the very beginning, they’ve all gotten stuck into the creative process of their music, crafting heart-rending ballads and party bangers with equal finesse.
From the beginning, we were very much all on the same page.įrom the sugary harmonies of ‘Wings’ to the badass choreography of ‘Sweet Melody’, it’s difficult to think of many female pop groups that have felt quite so balanced in their collective growth. We set certain boundaries for ourselves from the off there wasn’t going to be a lead singer, and we collectively agreed that the sound would be pop with a bit of R&B. We had The Spice Girls, TLC, Destiny’s Child, but it’d been a while since there’d been a group with that sort of female empowerment. “I think we knew very early on that we wanted to be the band we would have liked growing up. “Honestly, I can’t imagine I’d have been able to do it at that time on my own,” agrees Jade.
When we first sang together, it was just like, wow. “We were so young, I think we needed each other. “We were so lucky in that we just clicked, didn’t we?” reflects Leigh-Anne. When they were crowned victors, they were catapulted into the whirlwind of public perception, clinging to one another to survive the storm. They didn’t make it through as individuals, but were put together by the alchemic eye of girl group legend Kelly Rowland, endearing the nation with their colourful pep. In 2011, four working-class girls - Jade, Leigh-Anne, Perrie and Jesy Nelson - auditioned as soloists for The X Factor, wide-eyed and utterly unprepared for what was to come. You know how the origin story goes by now.
Kidz bop black magic little mix full#
For DIY’s zoom call with bonafide pop royalty, we’re getting stuck into the proper stuff what it takes to thrive at the very top of the pop game for a full decade and still enjoy each other’s company. As one put it on Twitter, “There is more to Little Mix than their dogs, boyfriends and lockdown activities.” And so, on the eve of the release of greatest hits album ‘Between Us’, there will be no tabloid discussion: no babies, no boyfriends, no fabricated beef. With their lives tied up in celebrity, fans have often been frustrated with the way that Little Mix have been portrayed in the press. The fact that we’ve stuck around for 10 years suggests that maybe we’re doing a good job…” “But from the off, that really was not the case for us. “When you come from a show like The X Factor, it’s always assumed that you’re puppets who just go on stage and are told what to do,” says Jade. And yet over the years, they have spent an inordinate amount of time defending all of the above. They are songwriters, performers, activists, allies, mothers and businesswomen. Ten years in, with six studio albums, 27 singles, 100 award nominations and an ever-growing army of fans around the world, the now-trio consisting of Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards have cemented their position as one of - if not THE - defining pop groups of our generation. Little Mix aren’t just a girl band: they’re a girl BAND.