The girls' career has been fascinating to follow from era to era for the past 10 years.

 

Which moments along the way have particularly surprised you?

 

This thread was inspired by listening to 'Power' just now. I remember being instantly drawn to it when 'Glory Days' came out as it was electric and OTT in quite a Girls Aloud way. But I thought the GP wouldn't appreciate something like that nowadays and that it would be a risky single choice. I was so wrong as it absolutely smashed! The Stormzy feature was a smart choice but it was cool to see something like that do so well for them nevertheless. I guess they were on fire during the 'Glory Days' era!

The utter slayage of Sweet Melody! Everything about is wow, the song, the video, the way it saved them and gave them a number one 10 years in, as Jade said it was a “cultural reset”

I remember being REALLY excited for them around the Love Me Like You campaign - they just got a smash number 1 with Black Magic and they were performing on X-Factor the medley and then the medley with Fleur on the final plus we knew Secret Love Song with Jason Derulo (who, like him or not, is a huge artist) waiting to be released and it just felt like we were witnessing the start of something really exciting.

 

I didn't think they'd be dropped after Salute but I did suspect they'd split up because of the usual shelf life for reality TV contestants.

honestly SO much has surprised me.

 

Sweet Melody going #1 stands out, cause it was so recent.

 

Best British Single is another, that was a MOMENT for them.

 

Their creative stage performances too, I knew they were like a good performance act but the way they used to perform Black Magic in so many different ways whilst going around the US was so creative, I definitely knew from that point they had a LOT more creativity than was led on.

 

Glory Days being #1 for 5 non-consecutive weeks, which is actually.. more impressive considering they got a re-peak at #1 and it was like a good 2 months or so after right? (or like a month n a bit cause it was a New Year/1st Jan week) AND the fact it's the longest charting girl group album, ever.

 

From 2011 to 2019 their entire career was inside the Top 20 and from 2015 - 2018 every single release was Platinum or higher. 5 Consecutive Platinum albums with a sixth on the way and with the exception of 2 singles, they have 27 certifications across their singles discography in the UK. For contemporary pop acts that's a massive feat.

 

Their longevity is another, pop acts tend to get boring and need to constantly redo their image to be exciting again but they've never done this and I'm always so excited to see what they're going to do next? They're pretty predictable for the most part (but even so it's not a bad thing) but there's some parts where they just shock you and it's one of the reasons why I adore them.

 

This turned into more of a "why I love them" but I genuinely think so much of their career has been a moment because of how little my expectations were when they won the XF.

Great examples!

 

I remember feeling so nervous for 'Sweet Melody' to drop after how highly regarded 'Happiness' was by the fanbase but then they dropped... THAT *.* just all fell into place!

Highs for me would be:

 

Sweet melody - everything about it was flawless. Will go down as a classic.

 

Winning their brit for best single

 

I liked that fact they got asked to host the EMAs - that was super cool

 

And the SOTME launch on the xfactor - there was such a massive buzz for them around that time. That was truly the start of their imperial phase.

For me it's gotta be when Touch was released. I was a fan of there music beforehand but nothing had ever massively clicked with me until it. I distinctly remember watching the X-Factor performance and being blown away. Also it come out during my first term of uni and I remember everyone listening to it which I felt like it was a first for them to get a hit which a wide range of people enjoyed.

Honestly Sweet Melody was such a surprise in how much they nailed every single aspect of a pop single. The song was there, the video was there, the performances were there. After a very lacklustre campaign with Holiday and 3-5 underperforming (or non smashing, being fair to BUS and Holiday) singles, I thought they were just going to call it a day and that the UK was done with them.

 

It's also so interesting to know it was a song rejected by big-ish pop girls like Demi, Selena and Zara, I guess it wouldn't work with a solo artist. The girls had no faith in it either aside from Perrie. It was a little miracle and it's my favourite song of theirs nowadays.

Actually winning X Factor. That whole week was littered with passive comments like "If One Direction couldn't win, no group will" etc.. but then it happened... to a girl group no less! Tbh, them surviving longer than 3 weeks on that show was a surprise lmao (although 3rd/4th week was E.T. which turned things around for them imo)

 

Tie that into them managing to last 10 years as a group (9 as a 4-piece/no line-up change!).

 

'Black Magic' being as huge as it was was not only a surprise but was the song that they NEEDED to be as big as it was. 'Salute' was a hit album, but I remember at the time a lot was riding on the 3rd era after the reports of them "scrapping" the original album (which 8 times out of 10 for an act like Little Mix is usually a curse) but it turns out... it really was for the best.

 

The biggest surprise is just how much American reactors love them... which makes me believe that with the correct support and label behind them, they'd be big in the US.

Actually I just remembered they performed with TAYLOR SWIFT in 2015.

 

That is probably the most crazy thing ever, especially considering how big she was at that point and how they had only just released Black Magic.

Confetti doing better than Break Up Song and No Time For Tears is my latest surprise. On paper the latter two sounds like bigger hits.

Sweet Melody getting to #1 and then winning best British Group a few months later definitely surprised me the most. Didn’t think either was possible a year ago.