Little Mix Return As Confident And Assertive As Ever On New Single ‘Woman Like Me’ - HuffPost Verdict

K E Y P O I N T S

• ‘Woman Like Me’ is the lead single from Little Mix’s upcoming fifth studio album
• The group took some time out after finishing the promotion for their last album, ‘Glory Days’, returning to the music scene earlier this year for a summer tour and the Cheat Codes collaboration, ‘Only You’
• US rapper Nicki Minaj features on the track, name-checking the group during her verse
• During the song, the group tease a potential suitor over whether he’s up to the job of taking them on
• The song was co-written by Ed Sheeran and Jess Glynne, and originally intended for the latter’s new release

S N A P V E R D I C T

After the briefest of hiatuses (they’ve said themselves the pop world moves so fast you can’t afford to put your feet up in the current climate), Little Mix have returned to the pop scene with new single ‘Woman Like Me’.

As soon as we saw the single art for ‘Woman Like Me’, it was obvious the group were taking a more mature approach this time around, with all four of them posing in stripped-back black outfits and a more natural-looking makeup than we’re used to seeing them in.

This is definitely apparent in their choice of lead single, a confident and assertive new track that sees them challenging a prospective suitor over whether they’re capable of handling them.

Sonically, it’s definitely going for an older crowd than previous lead singles ‘Black Magic’ and ‘Shout Out To My Ex’, which is to be expected, it’s been seven years since ‘The X Factor’ and the group are now in their mid-20s, so it’s no wonder they’d be keen to try something new and put out music that’s probably more fitting with what they’re listening to when they’re not in performance mode.

Long-time fans of the group can breathe a sigh of relief, though, as ‘Woman Like Me’ still retains the sense of fun that has been a constant throughout Little Mix’s career, with lyrics referencing “takeaways on the couch”, being born “without a zip on my mouth” and taking coffee “with two sugars in it”.

Similarly, with Ed Sheeran and Jess Glynne as co-writers, we were surprised (and, we’ll admit, relieved) to hear the song isn’t too reminiscent of either of the tracks they’ve previously written on.

It must be noted that ‘Woman Like Me’ has more than a whiff of Ariana Grande’s ‘Side To Side’ about it, not helped by the arrival of Nicki Minaj two-thirds of the way through the song, who was also featured on the ‘Dangerous Woman’ track (with a verse not dissimilar from her contribution to Little Mix’s new cut, either).

Still, people had similar complaints about ‘Shout Out To My Ex’ when that first came out, so we wouldn’t anticipate those comparisons holding them back too much, and it’s more than likely ‘Woman Like Me’ will quickly become one of the group’s signature tracks.

The band revealed in a Noisey interview earlier this week that it wasn’t just sonically that their new material was maturing but also lyrically, with new album tracks referencing body image and the Me Too movement.

‘Woman Like Me’ has definitely piqued our interest, and this news has made us even more intrigued to hear what comes next…

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