Confetti (Little Mix album)

Confetti
Studio album by Little Mix
Released	6 November 2020 (2020-11-06)
Genre	Pop[1] R&B[2]
Length	40:26
Label	RCA
Producer	Oliver Frid Goldfingers Invisible Men Kamille Chris Loco Lostboy Cass Lowe MNEK Alex Nice Oak Tayla Parx Peoples Rissi Keith Sorrells TMS
Little Mix chronology
LM5 (2018) Confetti (2020) Between Us (2021)
Singles from Confetti
"Break Up Song" Released: 27 March 2020 "Holiday" Released: 24 July 2020 "Sweet Melody" Released: 23 October 2020 "Confetti" Released: 30 April 2021

Confetti is the sixth studio album by British girl group Little Mix, released on 6 November 2020, by RCA Records. The album was supported by four singles: "Break Up Song", "Holiday", UK chart topper "Sweet Melody", and a remix of the title track featuring American rapper Saweetie. The album musically, utilises pop, and R&B. The album was the last with member Jesy Nelson, who departed from the group a month after the album's release.^[3]

Commercially, the album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart. In its debut week, Confetti had the biggest sales week for an album, was the most-streamed album of that week, and was also the fastest-selling album of 2020 by a British act.^[4] Confetti peaked at number one in Ireland becoming the group's third number-one album there. It was also the most streamed and physically purchased album of the week.^[4] Elsewhere, The album charted within the top three in Portugal, Belgium, and Scotland and charted inside the top 10 in 11 other countries, but only peaked at number 85 on the US Billboard 200.

Background[]

On 12 March 2020, Little Mix released a music video for the LM5 (2018) album track "Wasabi". At the end of the video, the album cover for LM5 was seen standing on a platform before being thrown out by a explosion of confetti, followed by the message 'New Era Pending'.^[5]

On 16 September 2020, Confetti was announced across multiple social media platforms by Little Mix, revealing the release date to be 6 November 2020, as well as the album art and the title.^[6] On 18 September, streaming services released pre-orders of the album.^[7] The standard edition has 13 tracks. On 27 October, Little Mix partnered with Amazon Alexa to release the official track listing. Fans were encouraged to say "Alexa, drop some Confetti" and they would receive a track name.^[8] The next day, 28 October, the full track listing was confirmed.^[9]

The album was "pretty much finished" before the COVID-19 lockdowns were implemented, with "little tweaks" still to be made. As restrictions eased, each of the members individually visited the studios to add "final touches", whereas for their previous albums, they would complete the album process together. Member Perrie Edwards noted that it was a "weird process", but that they felt they had to complete it due to wanting "everyone to hear it". Member Jesy Nelson noted the contrast between Confetti and LM5, stating that LM5 was very "girl power", whereas with Confetti, she said: "With this album, we just had fun and wrote songs that we liked and it came together". Member Jade Thirlwall agreed with Nelson, adding: "Not every single song has to have this super deep meaning. People know what we’re about now and know what we stand for. I think LM5 was very much about solidifying that, whereas with this album it is just about writing brilliant pop songs that we love."^[10] Confetti was described by member Leigh-Anne Pinnock as the group's "biggest" album yet.^[11] Around the album's release, Nelson took some time out of the group's promotion schedule, citing a private medical matter. On 14 December, Nelson announced she was leaving the group due to the impact on her mental health. In a statement, she said "I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard."^[12]

In 12 June 2021, a new vinyl version of the album went available in selected stores around the world in celebration for Record Store Day 2021. The new version came in an orange and pink cover with the album title printed in cursive silver glitter. The new version exclusively features the new remix version of the album's title track, "Confetti", featuring American rapper Saweetie.^[13][14]

Music and lyrics[]

Musically, Confetti is a pop,^[15] and R&B record, incorporating elements of synth-pop, gospel,^[16] retro, and contemporary pop production,^[17] that provides its audience with a warm and fuzzy feeling of nostalgic delight.^[16] The album is also reminiscent to the group's previous bubblegum-pop records, but with the sound now being more mature with poignant lyrics.^[18] Lyrically, the songs discuss about being freed from unrealistic expectations,^[18] self-acceptance,^[19] self-worth,^[17] and a fierce and mercifully coherent statement of independence.^[17]

Songs[]

Confetti opens with "Break Up Song", a 1980s synth-pop "kiss-off anthem" about joy and liberation that one can find in single life. It has been compared to Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer".^[17][15][16] Sam Etzioni of Renowned for Sound believes that the song serves as a sequel to the group's Glory Days track "Shout Out to My Ex".^[16] The second track, "Holiday", has a "post-Daft Punk" feel and is set to house beats.^[15] The third track, "Sweet Melody", has reggaeton beats, and lyrically is about getting over an ex-boyfriend.^[20][15] The title track which serves as the fourth track of the album, is reminiscent of a compilation of early 2000s hits,^[20] and encapsulates the feel-good tone of the album as a whole. The song contains self-sufficient lyrics and promotes a focus on one’s individual enjoyment of life, a lack of preoccupation with men and relationships, and an appreciation for what one has right here and now.^[16]

"Happiness", the fifth track, is a Europop-R&B song.^[17][15] Lyrically, the song is about finding strength from within, rather than needing a partner to draw that strength and happiness from.^[19] The lyrics are reminiscent to the group's LM5 track "The Cure" for its message regarding self-love and acceptance.^[21][18] The sixth track, "Not A Pop Song", is a guitar-lead track, containing lyrics about battling unrealistic expectations and superficial standards in the pop world. The song also appears to take a swipe at Simon Cowell and his record label, Syco Music, which the group left back in 2018, with the lyrics "I don't do what Simon says".^[22] The seventh track, "Nothing But My Feelings", is lyrically about a "booty call". Member Jade Thirlwall said that they [the writers] "purposefully made the song seem quite innocent, but really when you look into the lyrics they're pretty filthy".^[23]

The eighth track, "Gloves Up", has a euphoric and deep groove with clattering rhythm that is reminiscent of 2000s R&B.^[15][21] The ninth track, "A Mess (Happy 4 U)", is a melodic pop song, shifting after two minutes into a dark cloud of sampled panting, booming drums and distorted vocals.^[15] "My Love Won't Let You Down", which serves as the tenth track of the album, is a gospel piano ballad.^[15] The song talks about the "human nature of friendship",^[21] and it is believed to be written as a love letter for the fans.^[18] The eleventh track, "Rendezvous", is a contemporary pop song with hints of retro, and has been compared to the work of the Pussycat Dolls, particularly their song "Buttons".^[17][20] The song samples "Sway" by Dean Martin.

"If You Want My Love", the twelfth track, is an R&B song, and has drawn comparisons to TLC and Destiny's Child.^[17] The closing track, "Breathe", is a torch song and lyrically about heartbreak.^[17][15] "Bounce Back" appears on the Japanese deluxe version of Confetti, and is a trap-pop song that interpolates "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" by Soul II Soul.^[24]

Promotion[]

Cover artwork[]

The standard cover of the Confetti album depicts Nelson, Pinnock, Thirlwall, and Edwards, each wearing glittery makeup with fluorescent lights flying across the background. The name of the group can be seen at the top of the cover printed in off-white color, and the album name at the bottom.^[25] Pinnock can also be observed wearing her engagement ring in the cover artwork, after she was engaged to her fiancé Andre Gray in May 2020. The backside cover also has fluorescent lights in the background, similar to the front, and displays the track list of the album.^[26] The expanded edition of the album features the same cover but with the name of the band printed in blue color.^[27] The exclusive vinyl version of the album for Record Store Day 2021, came with an orange and pink cover with the album title printed in cursive silver glitter.^[13]

Singles[]

Confetti was supported by four singles. On 27 March 2020, "Break Up Song" was released as the lead single from the then-untitled album.^[28] The official music video for the was released on 8 May 2020.^[29] The song debuted at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, and spent 18 weeks charting.^[30] "Holiday" was released on 24 July 2020 and served as the album's second single.^[31] Its music video was filmed mid-isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in front of a greenscreen, and features the group as mermaids and goddesses. It was released on 28 August 2020.^[32][33] On 23 October, "Sweet Melody" was released as the album's third single, as announced on 19 October.^[34] An accompanying music video was released the same day as the song's release.^[35] The song debuted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart,^[36] and later peaked at number one after three months of its release. It became the group's fifth chart-topper in the United Kingdom.^[37]

A remix of the album's title track, featuring American rapper Saweetie, was released as the fourth and final single of the album on 30 April, as announced on 21 April. The reworked version doesn't feature former member Jesy Nelson's verse, as this marked the group's first release as a trio, after her departure in 2020.^[38] An accompanying music video, directed by Samuel Douek, was released the same day. The video features the group having a showdown against their male alter egos, as well as cameos from drag queens A'Whora, Tayce and Bimini Bon-Boulash, from Ru Paul's Drag Race UK.^[39] The song peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart.^[40]

Prior to the album's release, three promotional singles was released, all of which having accompanying lyric videos. On 9 October 2020, "Not a Pop Song" was released as the album's first promotional single.^[41] On 16 October 2020, "Happiness" was released as the second promotional single.^[42] On 4 November 2020, the title track was released as the third promotional single, before being released as the album's fourth official single.^[43]

Live performances[]

Group member Jesy Nelson missed some of the album's promotion including a performance on Little Mix The Search and the group's hosting and performance gig at the 2020 MTV EMAs. It was later confirmed that this was due to a private medical matter and that Nelson was taking an extended break from the group. Little Mix continued to promote the album with an appearance and performance of "Sweet Melody" on The Jonathan Ross Show on 21 November 2020.^[44] The group performed the lead single of the album "Break Up Song" on the semi-finals of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing on 13 December 2020.^[45]

The Confetti Tour[]

The Confetti Tour

Tour by Little Mix
Tour poster released in February 2021, along with the announcement that dates were being postponed to 2022.
Location	Ireland United Kingdom
Associated album	Confetti
Start date	9 April 2022 (2022-04-09)
End date	14 May 2022 (2022-05-14)
Legs	1
No. of shows	25
Supporting act(s)	Since September
Little Mix concert chronology
LM5: The Tour (2019) The Confetti Tour (2022)

On 17 September 2020, Little Mix announced The Confetti Tour, which was scheduled to take place from 28 April to 29 May 2021,^[7] before being postponed to 2022 on 8 February 2021. The tour locations were also announced, with the group scheduled to perform in cities across the UK and Ireland.^[46] Tickets were released to the general public on 25 September at 9am BST, with the option of pre-sale tickets given to those who pre-ordered Confetti through the group's official website.^[47] The pre-sale tickets were available from 22 to 25 September.^[48] On 25 September, additional tour dates for Dublin, Belfast, London and Birmingham were announced.^[49] On 7 October, additional dates for Nottingham and Liverpool were announced.^[48] On 7 November 2020, the band Since September was announced as the opening act for the tour after winning the reality TV series Little Mix The Search.^[50] On 8 February 2021, Little Mix released a statement postponing the tour in its entirety to 2022 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour is scheduled to start on 9 April 2022 at the SSE Arena in Belfast, and is scheduled to end on 14 May 2022 at The O₂ Arena in London. A new date at the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, set for 3 May 2022, was announced alongside the postponement. Tickets went on sale 12 February 2021.^[51]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.1/10[57]
Metacritic	74/100[58]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	9/10[59]
DIY	[2]
The Guardian	[1]
The Independent	[60]
iNews	[61]
The Line of Best Fit	5.5/10[62]
musicOMH	[63]
The Observer	[64]
The Sunday Times	[65]
The Telegraph	[66]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 74 out of 100, based on ten reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews" and their highest rated to date.^[58] Similarly, review aggregator AnyDecentMusic? rated Confetti 7.1 out of 10.^[57] Clash's Megan Walder praised the album's themes of "meta critiques on the music industry and driving forward with their empowering agenda to be every girl's best friend". Walder also felt that "touches of R&B, the nostalgic beats and the impeccable harmonies that the four produce offer comfort with their familiarity and still manage to feel progressive with the 2020 take on these classic elements of an iconic music era", referring to the 2000s as the iconic music era in question.^[59] Jenessa Willaims of DIY agreed, saying that "Confetti feels like a proper bid for world domination, front-loaded with strong, Americanised R&B." Album tracks "Confetti" and "Rendezvous" drew comparisons to "00s compilation bangers, the sort that demand big-budget music videos that you can act out in your bedroom when no one is watching."^[2]

Alexis Petridis from The Guardian awarded the album 3 out 5 stars, saying it sounded "strangely familiar", and "hard pushed to differentiate it from its predecessor [LM5]". Petridis noted that Confetti was a "box-ticking exercise in current pop trends" including '80s inspired synths ("Break Up Song"), reggaeton beats ("Sweet Melody"), post-Daft Punk house ("Holiday"), gospel ("My Love Won't Let You Down") and Europop ("Happiness"). He concluded by saying that Confetti is exactly what you would expect, "a solid mainstream pop album – even when it's claiming that it isn't".^[1] Meanwhile The Independent's Roisin O'Connor opined that the "group's clear nineties influences mesh wonderfully with contemporary pop production". In the review O'Connor said "Confetti doesn't stray too far from the empowered glam pop that Little Mix have made their forte. Its 13 tracks are a polished mix of flirtatious bops and high-octane tracks that celebrate self-worth... sure, there's nothing groundbreaking to be found here, but it does prove that Little Mix do just fine when they're relying on their own instincts."^[60]

The album was called "triumphant" and a "celebration", referencing the group's split with Simon Cowell and their former label Syco Music, by Elisa Bray from iNews. Bray described that Confetti "is the confident album of a group who, approaching 30, have found their voice."^[61] Although Steven Loftin from The Line of Best Fit called the album a "stride forward", he said "a little more care in the craft of the big picture wouldn't go a miss". Loftin elaborated that "given the situation, almost freedom, that the assertive group find themselves in, there’s certainly a gap in Confetti that leaves you wishing there was a further step forward into something coherent."^[62] Writing for musicOMH, Nick Smith said "Confetti sees Little Mix coming out of the starting blocks power walking. There's nothing really new here". Smith went on to criticise the Auto-tune used on some of the songs but ultimately said "these talented women are now undeniably veterans of kiss-offs and pop bangers with soaring choruses. Confetti is a dependable album with recipe staples, but to keep future interest piqued, something new is now required in the mix."^[63] Kate Solomon from The Telegraph agreed with all of the prior critics' sentiments, saying that although the album is "glorious fun" it was nothing "we haven't heard before". Solomon concluded that Confetti continued a trend of "high quality" music, with "consistently attainable style" and "likeable personalities".^[66] While The Sunday Times' Will Hodgkinson said "Who would have guessed that the girl band would be thriving almost a decade later? Determination has won through and their latest album displays the chemistry and bonhomie that has got them this far." He said that the album sounded familiar, "somewhere between zippy pop and slinky R&B".^[65] Jeffrey Davies of Pop Matters, went on to call Confetti the group's best work to date, describing it as "entertaining but not over the top and bold but not self-serving". He also added that the album, apart from being bold and grown-up, "is campy and fun in a way that sounds completely natural to the group". Continuing his review, he stated "With this album, Little Mix have captured the best of both worlds: the beloved dance-pop that made them famous with newfound creative freedom and power".^[18]

Style Caster included Confetti on their "Best Albums of 2020" list.^[67]`

Commercial performance[]

The lead single "Break Up Song", peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart and at number two on the Scottish Singles Chart, and charted in the top 20 of Hungary and Ireland. It was certified gold in both the United Kingdom and Brazil. The group second single "Holiday", peaked at number fifteen on the UK Singles Chart. It reached number three in Scotland, number eight in Macedonia, and charted in the top 20 of Hungary and Bolivia's English-language charts. It was later certified silver in the United Kingdom and gold in Brazil.

Their third single "Sweet Melody" reached the top of the UK Singles Chart in January 2021, becoming the group's fifth number-one single there, and their first since "Shout Out to My Ex" in October 2016. The single also topped the charts in North Macedonia and Scotland, and peaked within the top 20 of the charts in Croatia, Hungary and Ireland, and the English-language charts of Guatemala, Bolivia, Uruguay and Peru. It was later certified platinum in both the United Kingdom and Brazil. The group fourth single a remix of "Confetti" featuring American rapper Saweetie was released as the final single from the album. The song reached number nine on the UK singles chart, becoming Little Mix 18th top 10 single there.

"No Time for Tears", which peaked at number nineteen on the uk singles chart, and "Bounce Back" which peaked at number 10, was later included on the group expanded edition of their sixth studio album, Confetti. Both singles have been certified silver in the UK, while 'Bounce Back' was also certified gold in Brazil. "One I've Been Missing", was also included on the group expanded edition of their sixth studio album, Confetti.

Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews. The album charted in a total of 25 countries and peaked at number one on the Irish Albums Charts, becoming the group's third number one album in the country. In the United Kingdom the album debuted at number two on the Official Albums Chart with 49,000 chart sales, 5,000 behind Kylie Minogue's Disco in what several outlets deemed to be a hotly contested chart battle,^[68] and became the group's sixth album to chart in the top 5 of the UK Albums Chart. It has since been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Confetti claimed the biggest sales week for an album by a British act of 2020,^[69] and was also the fastest-selling album by a British act of the same year as well.^[70]

Outside of the United Kingdom, the album charted within the top 10 on the Australian, Croatia, Belgian, Portuguese, Dutch, New Zealand, Lithuanian, Spanish, and Austrian albums charts. Elsewhere it charted within the top 20 on the German, Polish, and Swiss Albums Chart and charted in 10 other territories including the United States.

In the United States, the album debuted at number eighty-five on the US Billboard 200 chart.^[71][72] This became the group's sixth overall album to chart there, but it failed to achieve the same success as their previous albums. Leigh-Anne Pinnock's mother hit out at their US record label Columbia Records, accusing them of failing to promote the album in the US.^[73][74]

Track listing[]

Notes[]

• ^{^[c]} indicates a co-producer
• ^{^[v]} indicates a vocal producer
• ^{^[pv]} indicates a primary producer as well a vocal producer
• ^{^[r]} indicates a remixer.
• "Rendezvous" contains elements of "Sway", written by Luis Demetrio and Norman Gimbel
• "Bounce Back" interpolates "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" by Soul II Soul

Personnel[]

Credits adapted from Tidal and Allmusic.^[75][76]

Musicians[]

Production[]

Technical[]

Artwork[]

• Big Active – art direction, design
• Mariano Vivanco – photography

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[106]	Gold	100,000
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[]

See also[]

• List of UK top-ten albums in 2020
• List of number-one albums of 2020 (Ireland)

References[]