I went through the entire year between 2016 – 2017 just solely listening to Little Mix, and not much of anything else. Before that, I was an iNdIe™ person (think Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, Blind Pilot, Frightened Rabbit, etc) and a show tunes (jazz hands) kind of person.

So, not so much Top 40.

I wish I could remember how I got into listening to Little Mix, but it was definitely right around when Shout Out To My Ex came out (along with the Glory Days album). I listened to that album, and then suddenly I’m listening to all of the previous albums and watching their journey through The X Factor.

These girls are such amazing vocalists and performers – sometimes they’re even better live (or ‘live’, as in the case of festival performances with backing tracks) and a cappella, which is insane considering that the produced and recorded tracks are just non-stop pop and fun.

Their tour performances, too, are phenomenal. You can tell how much fun they have on stage, and of performing with each other, as well as the sisterhood and love they have for each other. I had the privilege and pleasure to watch them on LM5: The Tour, on Halloween 2019 – right before the pandemic. For a quick minute, I was tempted to fly to London for a couple of days to watch them on their last tour, but ultimately the fiscal side of me won out.

In celebration of them performing their last show (for now) as they embark on their personal careers in this hiatus from the group, I’m just pulling together some videos that have wow-ed me over the years. I’m going to miss them as a unit, but I’m so excited to see how each of them are going to excel on their own too, while always having a home to go back to.

My favorite performances

  • Confetti (Acoustic) – The harmonies? The belting? The fact that they were doing this in the face of losing a member, and having to round out their voices to create a still-full sound? Holy shit.
  • Secret Love Song Pt. II – Listen, I will go to battle for any performance of this song. It’s rallied so much LGBTQ+ support, and genuinely propelled the girls to properly become allies to the community, and for that I will always love it
  • Touch (Acoustic) – The original pop version was a banger, and was my “first” single that I’d experienced from them. The way the acoustic version was arranged to showcase all of their voices? Just magic.
  • How You Doin’? – Not my favorite song on the album, but the live performances of this song always hype me up.
  • Dance With Somebody (cover) – They’ve done plenty of covers through the years, but I’ve always really enjoyed this one.