MailOnline takes a look at the highs and lows of Little Mix’s 10 years in the spotlight

Little Mix announced their decision to split on Thursday after slowly but surely establishing themselves as the world’s biggest girl band over the last decade following their X Factor win in 2011. 

The band – consisting of Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock – have sold over 50 million records worldwide, landed five number one singles and gained legions of adoring fans over their time in the spotlight.

But like most superstars they have over the years found themselves at the centre of various controversies, including several rows over their skimpy stage outfits, being called out for swearing on their tracks and most recently Jesy Nelson‘s black-fishing row.   

Now MailOnline take a look back at the highs and lows of the band’s time in Showbiz:

CONTROVERSIES 

2017: Little Mix are criticised for their ‘naked’ stage outfits during One Love benefit concert for Manchester bomb victims:

In 2017 Little Mix took to the stage to perform an emotional rendition of Wings at the One Love Manchester concert organised after the Manchester terrorist bombings.

Dressed in typically revealing fashion, the four-piece girl group all wore outfits in striped black and white with flourishes of gold jewellery leading viewers at home to complained that the stage outfits were inappropriate for a family-friendly benefit concert.

While Leigh-Anne teased her cleavage in a tiny bra, Jesy Nelson and Jade Thirlwall opted for thigh-grazing leotards. Perrie Edwards was dressed in a more conservative fashion, letting the frilly nature of her outfit preserve her modesty.

Despite their best efforts, some fans at home took exception to their revealing clothing. Flocking to Twitter some criticised the band for their ‘inappropriate clothing.’

One said: ‘No offence but why are Little Mix naked, it’s a benefit concert.’

Another said it was a shame Little Mix were ‘half naked’ – one even went as far as to dub them a ‘disgrace.’

2021: Ex Little Mix member Jesy Nelson is embroiled in a bitter blackfishing row after her debut single Boyz is released:

In October this year ex band member Jesy Nelson, 30, was accused of blackfishing after she released her debut single Boyz with Nicki Minaj.

In the music video, Jesy was seen as being heavily tanned and her hair styled with wigs and braids.

Blackfishing is used to describe a white person attempting to appear to have black heritage.

Jesy announced she was leaving the band in December 2020 when she shared a lengthy statement on Instagram stating she was stepping back to protect her mental health.

The singer took to Instagram to comment on the blackfishing claims, and credited her tan to a recent holiday in Antigua. She added: ‘I personally want to say that my intention was never, ever to offend people of colour with this video and my song because like I said, growing up as a young girl, this is the music that I listened to.

‘These are the videos that I watched and thought were the best. For me personally, ’90s/2000 hip hop, R&B music was the best era of music. I just wanted to celebrate that. I just wanted to celebrate that era of music because it is what I love.’

Leaked messages between Leigh-Anne and influencer NoHun also saw the singer accuse Jesy of blackfishing in the music video.

Jesy then took part in an Instagram livestream with Boyz collaborator Nicki, who accused Leigh-Anne of trying to ruin Jesy’s new solo career and branded the new mother and the rest of the group ‘jealous miserable clowns’.

Jesy was then said to be ‘devastated’ Leigh-Anne had ‘sparked racial hatred’ and a new wave of intense trolling towards her, telling pals she couldn’t believe ‘someone she once called family could be so cruel.’

2019: Simon Cowell is forced to dismiss Little Mix feud rumours  

In 2019 Simon Cowell dismissed rumours of a feud with his former protégés Little Mix as they prepared to launch talent show The Search.

Sparks flew that year when the talent show boss said he had the idea for X Factor: The Band – which was set for a 2020 release – before Little Mix offered him a role of co-producer on their own BBC prime time show 2021 The Search.

The girls then brought the date of their show forward, and while this sparked spat rumours, Simon quashed the claims while appearing on Heart Breakfast.

He said: ‘I thought their idea was a great idea. I owe those girls a lot, you know. Even though we gave them a launch pad, they sold a lot of records.’

2016: Little Mix are told off by a young fan for swearing in their hit song Hair:  

In 2016 a Little Mix fan contacted the band after her parents banned her from singing her favourite song as it has a ‘rude word’ in it.

The song in question was a track on their Get Weird album titled ‘Hair’ which opens with the line ‘Cos he was just a d*** and I knew it.’

Addressing the band as ‘Dear, Sir/Madam’, they wrote: ‘It’s a great song but I just wish I could sing it properly (my mum and dad won’t let me sing it as I am only eight). I understand that this cannot be changed but I am just making a point.

‘So I can sing along I have changed it to ‘he was just a plank and I knew it’, because it means the same thing’.

Little Mix later retweeted the letter with lots of smiley face emojis.

ACHIEVEMENTS

2021: Little Mix make history as they become the first-ever girl band to score 100 collective weeks in the UK’s Top 10 Singles Chart:

In July 2021 Little Mix made chart history as they became the first girl group to score 100 collective weeks in the Top 10 Official Singles Chart.

The pop group hit the landmark with their latest single Heartbreak Anthem in collaboration with Galantis and David Guetta.

After the achievement, Leigh-Anne told Little Mix fans on Official Charts: ‘Wow! It’s amazing, and we wouldn’t have done this without you guys.

‘You never fail to blow us away – you’re just incredible and we wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you.’

A collective 100 weeks in the Top 10 far exceeds any other girl group in UK chart history.

Girls Aloud were the closest to hitting the landmark with 61 weeks in the singles chart, with iconic Motown group The Supremes just behind with 59 weeks.

And even the iconic British girl power group Spice Girls couldn’t hit the record as they only managed 50 weeks in the top 10 singles chart.

Little Mix have landed 18 UK top 10 singles to date, including five number ones – with Sweet Melody topping the charts most recently in January this year.

Little Mix win two BRIT Awards:   

Earlier this year Little Mix won ‘Best British Group’ at the 2021 BRIT Awards, the first female group in history to ever win the award. 

Taking to the stage to accept their prize for British Group, Leigh-Anne said: ‘We have been together for 10 years it’s been the best years of our life, we’ve had so much fun we’ve made so many memories, we want to thank your incredible fans, Jesy.  

‘It’s not easy being a female in the UK pop industry, we’ve seen the misogyny, dominance and lack of diversity, we’re proud of how we’re stuck together and we’re using our voices more than ever.’

Jade added: ‘This award isn’t just for us, it’s for Spice Girls, Sugababes, All Saints, Girls Aloud, all the incredible girls bands we love you.’ 

Little Mix also won two BRIT Awards for their 2017 hit Shout Out to My Ex and their 2019 single Woman Like Me featuring Nicki Minaj.

Other awards 

Other awards include five Global Awards, six MTV Europe Music Awards, a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award and two Teen Choice Awards. 

Tours  

The band had a total of six successful tours. 2022 will see the band finally hit the road with their highly anticipated Confetti Tour gracing arenas across the UK and Ireland. 

Steaming numbers

Over the last decade, Little Mix have collected over 19 million Spotify listeners, received over 3 billion YouTube views, and collated 12 billion streams worldwide.