Confetti (Little Mix album)

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 is seen standing on a platform before being thrown out by a explosion of confetti, followed by the message 'New Era Pending'.[4]

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.[5] On 18 September, streaming services released pre-orders of the album.[6] 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.[7] The next day, 28 October, the full track listing was confirmed.[8]

The album was "pretty much finished" before the COVID-19 pandemic 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."[9] Confetti was described by member Leigh-Anne Pinnock as the group's "biggest" album yet.[10] 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."[11]

The opening track, "Break Up Song", is a 1980s synth-pop "kiss-off anthem" that has been compared to Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer".[12][1] "Holiday" has a "post-Daft Punk" feel and is set to house beats.[1] "Sweet Melody" has reggaeton beats, and lyrically is about getting over an ex-boyfriend.[2][1] The title track is reminiscent of a compilation of early 2000s hits.[2]

"Happiness" is a Europop-R&B song.[12][1] "Gloves Up" has a clattering rhythm that is reminiscent of 2000s R&B.[1] "My Love Won't Let You Down" is a gospel piano ballad.[1] "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".[12][2] The song samples "Sway" by Dean Martin.

"If You Want My Love" is an R&B song, and has drawn comparisons to TLC and Destiny's Child.[12] The closing track, "Breathe", is lyrically about heartbreak.[12][1] "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.[13]

On 27 March 2020, "Break Up Song" was released as the lead single from the then-untitled album.[14] The official music video was released on 8 May 2020.[15] On 24 July of the same year, "Holiday" was released as the second single.[16] The music video was released on 28 August.[17] On 23 October, "Sweet Melody" was released as the album's third single, as announced on 19 October.[18] A music video was released along with the song.[19] "Sweet Melody" peaked at 1 in the United Kingdom, becoming the group's fifth chart-topper in that country.[20]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.1/10[35]
Metacritic	74/100[36]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	9/10[37]
DIY	[2]
The Guardian	[1]
The Independent	[12]
iNews	[38]
The Line of Best Fit	5.5/10[39]
musicOMH	[40]
The Observer	[41]
The Sunday Times	[42]
The Telegraph	[43]

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.[36] Similarly, review aggregator AnyDecentMusic? rated Confetti 7.1 out of 10.[35] 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.[37] 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."[12]

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."[38] 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."[39] 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."[40] 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".[43] 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".[42]

In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number two on the Official Albums Chart on 13 November 2020 with 49,000 chart sales, 5,000 behind Kylie Minogue's Disco in what several outlets deemed to be a hotly contested chart battle.[44] In the United States, the album debuted at number eighty-five on the Billboard 200 Chart.[45][46] Confetti was the best selling album for a girl group's album released in 2020 in the UK. Four songs from the album charted on the UK Singles Chart, including "Sweet Melody", which peaked at number one in January 2021, their first non-lead single to do so.

Credits adapted from Tidal.[47]