Today marks a whole decade of Little Mix, and what better way to celebrate than a new album? 

 

Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock made the announcement this morning. The album, a testament to the ten year milestone they’ve reached, is titled Between Us and will include their biggest hits, as well as some new music they’ve recorded. The photos for the album cover are stunning. The simplicity in the colour palette, makeup, and hair serves elegance and maturity, which is part of what makes Little Mix who they are (can you tell I’m a fan?). 

 

Putting a “Best Of” collection together is a staple of success that we’ve seen from greats like Celine Dion and Whitney Houston. Although Little Mix obviously isn’t at their level, the fact that they are still together after ten years is impressive. When they were formed on X Factor in 2011, and won their season, groups were all the hype: 5 Seconds of Summer, One Direction, and Fifth Harmony are just a few who were killing it. Another interesting fact - 1D and Fifth Harmony also competed on X Factor, so it’s clear the public loved groups. My love for Little Mix came from being a fan of music, reality television, and One Direction, since Perrie and Zayn Malik were coupled up for a while. Even as I grew up and out of the band craze, it was their confidence, message, and talent that kept me around. Here are some of their big wins (and an adorable throwback photo):

Over the past few years, K-pop has been taking over in the west, which I think is what blew some groups out of the water. Unless it was a K-Pop group, or an already well-established band like Coldplay, people moved on. But while One Direction and Fifth Harmony, who had very similar origin stories, broke things off, Little Mix continued. 

What we saw with the breakups of other bands was the same theme of members wanting to explore their own interests and trying new things apart. It’s hard to blame group members who feel this way, because bands can sometimes become one identity, and a big part of that is marketing. Something I was very conscious about in my fangirl days was how every member had a role to play, with very little wiggle room. With Little Mix, there seems to be a mutual agreement that this is what they want to do, and it goes beyond loving one another, because sometimes the people you love don’t want the exact same things as you. Instead, it’s the mutual love for the same goal, and being fulfilled while growing together. 

 

Perrie, Leigh-Anne, and Jade look like they have figured out to move forward to keep the story going. They’re obviously talented, but when it comes to breaking records and making the charts, it comes with understanding the market and being able to adapt to where it needs to go, and that can be especially tricky when also navigating the pressures of fame and the ever-changing fame landscape, particularly in how it affects women. 

Former group member, Jesy Nelson, might have teased some new music of her own this past week. There’s no confirmation on when her music will be out, but there are rumours circulating about a possible Nicki Minaj feature. 

 

As a fan, it sucked to see Jesy leave the group, but I’m happy she took charge of her mental health and wellbeing. This way, everyone has a chance at a happy ending, and there seems to be lots of love from both sides. 

Between Us drops November 12th, 2021!