LM5 (album)

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LM5
The band's members stand in a row on a tree lined street. Around the image is a white border, and in the top left corner is the title "LM5" and the name "Little Mix".
Standard edition cover
Studio album by
Little Mix
Released16 November 2018 (2018-11-16)
Recorded2017–2018
Genre
Length44:15
Label
Producer
Little Mix chronology
Glory Days
(2016) 		LM5
(2018) 		Confetti
(2020)
Singles from LM5
  1. "Woman Like Me"
    Released: 12 October 2018
  2. "Think About Us"
    Released: 25 January 2019

LM5 is the fifth studio album by British girl group Little Mix, released on 16 November 2018.[1] The album's lyrics centred on female empowerment, self love and body confidence, and issues faced by women, including the group's own personal experiences. It received generally favourable reviews from music critics, with many praising the exploration of other genres and the lyrics, but others criticising the record's lack of cohesiveness. The album utilises pop, R&B, and hip hop. It was the group's last album to be released under Syco Music,[2] following the group's split with the label several days prior before the album's release. Future albums were released under RCA UK, which like Syco Music is also owned by Sony Music.[3]

The album features three collaborations: "Woman Like Me", featuring Trinidadian-born American rapper Nicki Minaj, "Think About Us", featuring American singer Ty Dolla Sign, and "Only You", featuring American DJ's Cheat Codes. In the United Kingdom the album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart, making Little Mix the first girl group to score five top-five studio albums there.[4] Outside of the United Kingdom, the album reached the top ten in Ireland, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Spain, and New Zealand. Elsewhere the album charted inside the top forty in fourteen other countries including the United States, where it reached number 40 on the Billboard 200. The group received two Brit Awards nominations for the album and its singles, winning the Brit Award for British Video of the Year for "Woman Like Me".

Background[]

In early February 2018, Leigh-Anne Pinnock announced that the album would be released later in the year, and would be supported by a tour to come in 2019.[5] On 10 March, Jade Thirlwall revealed on her Instagram that the first song on the album had been recorded, which was later revealed to be "Monster in Me".[6][7] They then released a snippet of the song "Joan of Arc" on August 16.[8] On 15 October 2018, the group announced that the album would be released on 16 November 2018; the announcement also revealed the album name, in addition to the three editions of the album.[9] The group stated that they were inspired to name the album LM5 because they "love what [their fans have] named each of our eras over the years".[10] Two days later, the tracklist for the album was revealed on social media.[11]

Promotion and singles[]

The album was supported by two singles. The lead single, "Woman Like Me", featuring Trinidadian-born American rapper Nicki Minaj, was released on 12 October 2018 as the album's lead single. The song debuted at number five on the UK Singles Chart. It was performed at BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards 2018 on 21 October 2018, although this performance was not aired.[citation needed] The music video for the song was released on 25 October 2018. The first proper televised performance was on The X Factor on the 28 October 2018. On 2 November 2018, the song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Little Mix and Minaj performed the song at the MTV European Music Awards on 4 November 2018. The single topped the charts in Macedonia and Israel. In the United Kingdom and Scotland it reached number two on the charts, while reaching the top 10 in Ireland, Serbia, and Greece. The single also charted in 23 other countries. In 2019 the track received the fan-voted award for British Artist Video of the Year at the 2019 Brit Awards,[12] and also won Best Song at the 2019 Global Awards. The song has since been certified diamond in Brazil, as well as platinum in the UK, Poland, Australia, and gold in Mexico, Canada, and Norway.

On 21 January 2019, it was announced that "Think About Us", newly remixed to feature Ty Dolla Sign, would be released as the album's second single.[13] One day later, the group announced the single would be released to streaming services on 25 January, with the music video due for debut on 2 February.[14] The song peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, and charted in New Zealand, Scotland, Czech Republic and Croatia. It has been certified silver in the UK and platinum in Brazil. It was the group's last single to be released under Syco Music.

"Joan of Arc" was released as the first promotional single on 2 November 2018.[15] "Told You So" was released as the second promotional single on 9 November 2018.[16] On 13 November 2018, "The Cure" was released as the third and final promotional single.[17] Videos for two further tracks from the album, "More Than Words" and "Strip", were released on 16 November 2018.[18]

A lyric video for "Wasabi" was released on 26 July 2019.[19] On 12 March 2020, the official video for "Wasabi" was released. Despite not being released as a single, the song was certified silver in the United Kingdom in 2021 by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and gold in Brazil by Pro-Música Brasil.

"Only You", which was released ahead of the album, peaked at number 13 on the UK singles chart and was later included on the deluxe version of LM5. The song has been certified platinum in the United Kingdom and Brazil, and certified in both Mexico and Poland.

Tour[]

Main article: LM5: The Tour

On 18 October 2018, Little Mix announced that in 2019, they would embark on their sixth concert tour, LM5: The Tour, in support of the album. Dates for the tour of the UK and Ireland went on sale on 26 October.[20] European and Australian shows were later added to the tour.[21][22][23][24] In September 2019, Little Mix embarked on the tour to promote the album, which grossed over $22,400,000 from 40 shows, becoming the group's third-highest grossing tour.

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[25]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars[26]
Attitude4/5 stars[27]
Belfast Telegraph7/10 [28]
The Guardian3/5 stars[29]
Hot Press9/10[30]
Idolator4/5[31]
The Independent3/5 stars[32]
Metro4/5 stars[33]
NME3/5 stars[34]
The Times3/5 stars[35]

Kate Solomon from Metro pointed out that the album "hangs together better than last year's Glory Days but still ricochets wildly between styles. Some elements are pure Little Mix. Their lush harmonies permeate even the minimal half-rapped anthem 'Strip'." She further commented: "LM5 has a handful of songs destined to be hits and feels like a group of best friends welcoming you into their fold".[33] Joe Passmore from Attitude started by saying, "Sounding 'more mature' is a common buzz-phrase for pop artists on the promotional circuit for a new album, but LM5 does make genuine effort to step away from the always infectious but often Disney-fied pop that we have come to expect from them", and added that the sound of this record "is more cohesive, polished and confident than their past two records in particular".[27] Mike Nied from Idolator found the album "filled with creative risks", and stated that "Low on filler and high on quality pop that bridges a variety of sounds, LM5 is easily one of Little Mix's best releases to date", also considering it "perhaps their most ambitious".[31] Michael Love Michael of Paper noted that the "resulting collection is arguably their most uplifting batch of songs yet".[36]

Amy McMahon of Hot Press magazine gave LM5 nine out of a possible ten, appreciating the song "The National Manthem" by saying that it "showcases the girls' true talent. Stripped back, no catchy beat just beautiful harmonies. It also opens the album with a pledge to girlhood, setting the tone for the loud and proud feminist album that it is." She finally deemed the album as "made by empowered women to empower women".[30] Hannah Mylrea of NME opined that the album was somewhat lacking in tunes but that "there are moments of pop sparkle" and that "lyrically [it's] the most mature they've ever been", concluding that the record "is the culmination of the band's growth over the past seven years. Yes it may sometimes musically miss the mark; but with its strong and relevant message it's something of a milestone for the band".[34]

Alexis Petridis of The Guardian stated that the album "ticks most of modern pop's boxes" but felt that it was aimed at the US market and that "the group often sing not so much in an American accent but in a full-blown imitation of a deep south mumble rapper". According to Petridis, however, "LM5's flaws aren't really down to its US-focused slant... They're the classic flaws of today's pop albums: it's too long, its highlights appearing amid boilerplate filler... but the strike rate is high enough for LM5 to prolong Little Mix's career even further, at least in Britain."[29] In The Guardian's sister paper, The Observer, Alim Kheraj also had mixed feelings, saying, "Little Mix albums have always struggled to find their own identity, and LM5 still owes too much to Beyoncé's flirtation with hip-hop and top-40 trend chasing. It's frustrating, because songs like 'Love a Girl Right' (which channels Ricky Martin, Sisqó and Mis-Teeq), the trip-hop of 'American Boy' and 'Strip''s stomps of stilettos are weird wonders that prove Little Mix can be a formidable pop force."[37]

Alexandra Pollard of The Independent said that the album "hopscotches between genres with whiplash-inducing speed" and that "at points, the whole thing starts to feel a little derivative", concluding that "ultimately, despite a few high points, LM5 is so scattershot, both thematically and musically, that it's hard to find much to grab onto".[32] Rachel Howdle from Belfast Telegraph gave the album a seven out of ten rating, stating that Little Mix "embraced the sound and feels of early 90's pop" and described parts of the album as "highly reminiscent of Janet Jackson".[28]

Track listing[]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The National Manthem"
Joe Kearns0:29
2."Woman Like Me" (featuring Nicki Minaj)
Steve Mac3:49
3."Think About Us"
3:55
4."Strip" (featuring Sharaya J)
3:19
5."Monster in Me"
  • Purcell
  • Crowhurst
  • Nordstrom
  • Nobel
  • Anya Jones
3:45
6."Joan of Arc"
  • Pinnock
  • Thirlwall
  • Philip Plested
  • Patrick Patrikios
  • Hanni Ibrahim
  • Alexandra Shungudzo Govere
Loosechange3:11
7."Love a Girl Right"
3:02
8."American Boy"
  • Richard Boardman
  • Pablo Bowman
  • Sarah Blanchard
  • Cleo Tighe
  • Rachel Furner
  • The Six
  • Bell
  • Aaron Hibell
  • Andrews[c]
3:11
9."Told You So"
3:12
10."Wasabi"
  • Thirlwall
  • Emenike
  • Mike Sabath
  • Govere
2:34
11."More than Words" (featuring Kamille)
3:18
12."Motivate"
3:21
13."Notice"
  • Pinnock
  • Thirlwall
  • Sabath
  • Govere
3:34
14."The Cure"
3:35
Total length:44:15
Deluxe edition[40]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Forget You Not"
3:07
16."Woman's World"
  • Sam de Jong
  • Kearns[c]
  • Cottone[c]
3:37
17."The Cure" (stripped)
  • Barnes
  • Kelleher
  • Kohn
  • Purcell
1:47
18."Only You" (with Cheat Codes)
3:09
Total length:55:55
Japan edition[42]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
19."Only You" (acoustic)
  • Dahl
  • Ford
  • Russell
  • Boardman
  • Bowman
  • Gale
  • Dahl
  • Digital Farm Animals
  • Cottone
3:09
Total length:59:04
iTunes Store bonus video
No.TitleLength
19."More Than Words" (featuring Kamille) (video)3:19

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[77] Platinum 40,000double-dagger
United Kingdom (BPI)[78] Platinum 300,000double-dagger

double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[]

Region Date Format Label Edition Ref.
Various 16 November 2018
  • Standard
  • deluxe
 [79]
7 December 2018 LP Standard [80]

See also[]

References[]

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