Every Little Mix solo single ranked from worst to best now Jade’s finally dropped her banger

It’s hard to think of many girl groups as primed for solo single success like Little Mix. All four of the band – Jade, Jesy, Leigh-Anne and Perrie, who auditioned as soloists for The X Factor before being placed in a group – can really sing. Like, proper sing – true vocalists and not just in a ‘quite good for a girl group’ kind of way. After Jesy Nelson left the group in the tail end of 2020 and the rest of the girls going their separate ways the following year, it’s been a steady journey of all four of them releasing their first solo material bit by bit leading up to today. Today, Jade Thirlwall becomes the fourth and final member of Little Mix to release a solo single. But how do they all stack up? Here’s my ranking of all 10 solo singles released by the Little Mix girls, ranked from worst to best.

And, my god, it’s been a journey of highs and lows – let’s just start off with that.

10. Bad Thing – Jesy Nelson

Whilst not as much of a catastrophic disaster as one yet to be ranked here, Bad Thing takes the slot for being the worst of the Little Mix girls solo singles ranked here because the only thing worse than being dragged to hell is just not being talked about at all. I’d be shocked if half of anyone reading this has even heard Bad Thing. If you’ve not, it’s a middling little retro inspired ballad that does nothing of note, really. Jesy sounds okay on it.

After the mess of Boyz, Jesy released this independently. She hasn’t released any music since.

9. Boyz  – Jesy Nelson

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Oh boy. A disaster cocktail from start to finish, and a big budget one at that. Jesy Nelson kicked off her solo career firing on all fronts with a big budget video and a Nicki Minaj verse feature, for god’s sake. Clearly, this was meant to be huge. But after blackfishing allegations and some disastrous lyrics containing the likes of “So hood, so good, so damn taboo / Know you know how to please me / Like it raw, baby, sashimi”, an Instagram live with Nicki Minaj that could not have been more apocalyptically bad if it tried and then an infamous Jingle Bell Ball performance – the mess of Boyz lead to Jesy Nelson being dropped from her label.

Listening now, nearly three years on , it’s a mess of a song that every now and then has glimmers of potential and charm. But its legacy is so bad it’s hard to even try and listen to it without the shadow it casts over this massive misfire.

8. Stealin’ Love – Leigh-Anne

Stealin’ Love is honestly not that bad, but it is bad that this is the third single Leigh-Anne released in a ROW with the word ‘love’ in the title. Who signed off on this? It’s just not very clever or smart to have the general public try and remember your hits without blurring them into one when they’re called Don’t Say Love, My Love and Stealin’ Love.

That moan aside, it’s a pleasant if low-key affair that doesn’t manage to be memorable enough to stand with Leigh-Anne’s better offerings. It made no ripples on the chart either.

7. Forget About Us – Perrie

Perrie arguably has the best solo voice in Little Mix. Period. She’s the one who screamed soloist from day one, and often got the big belter bits whenever the girls performed live on The X Factor. Whoever decided that Perrie should debut to the world as a soloist with this tepid Ed Sheeran penned easy listening slice of mediocrity honestly should have known better. This is a pleasant listen made for mums to tap their toes to on a Sunday morning before they put Sunday Brunch on. It’s signed, sealed and sent Perrie off to the graveyard of Delta Goodrem and Louise Redknapp when, really, she should be singing something far cooler.

That being said, if you were on holiday and it came on whilst you had a bit of tapas in the restaurant of an all inclusive hotel in Tenerife you’d probably be quite happy to hear it. When I saw the teaser visuals for Forget About Us, I thought Perrie was going Alanis-esque singer songwriter. Giving us Michelle Branch. It’s nothing of the sort. A shame.

6. Forbidden Fruit – Leigh-Anne

Another Leigh-Anne single that made not a single movement on the charts or with the general public – a bit of a shame, really. It’s actually good. A strutting beat and a flawless laidback vocal from Leigh-Anne sets a cool summery vibe. I do think Leigh-Anne of all the girls really knows who she is an what kind of artist she’s going to be. She’s released five of the 10 Little Mix solo singles ranked here, and all of them are overall consistent and solid.

Nothing you’d ever truly lose your mind over, but a solid tune.

5. Tears – Perrie

Perrie turned the gas up a little bit for single two, but only a couple of notches. We aren’t blowing heads off here – we’re still taking it very laidback. Sunday morning. But this one we’ve left the all inclusive hotel for a little wander down to the beach club and we’ve got a bit more groove going. Ed Sheeran is nowhere to be seen, and Perrie is all the better for it.

It’s a bit Kylie-lite, but not a majorly bad thing. She sounds glorious and it’s warming on me enough to get it ranked fifth amongst the Little Mix solo singles, but I still want more for her.

4. OMG – Leigh-Anne

Leigh-Anne’s latest single is honestly great. Really love the up and down synthy production, and it stands out from her other singles with a bit more oomph and attitude behind it. Suits her a lot. Again, I just feel bad that these recent singles from Leigh haven’t had any cultural impact because she’s really carving out her lane with a vibe that suits her a lot.

3. My Love – Leigh-Anne

My Love has steadily climbed the numbers on streaming to be Leigh-Anne’s biggest song, and it deserved to be everywhere last year in my opinion. Switching up the electro pop of her debut single with an afrobeats sound and an excellent Arya Starr feature, My Love sounds like it’s coming from a singer who knows her identity and what makes her a talent. Summery, amazing vibes and an outstanding video. She was taking it here.

2. Don’t Say Love – Leigh-Anne

Erm, wow. This song is fucking great, and I actually think it’s really underrated. Leigh-Anne debuted with fire in her belly and non-stop served here. The beat, the production, the frenetic energy, a banging chorus. Don’t Say Love literally has it all.  The bouncy UK garage suits her so well and I’d love her to do more of it – big Alesha Dixon energy. Big 00s vibes.

1. Angel of my Dreams – JADE

If you were putting a bet on during the final album era of Little Mix and someone asked you who you thought would release the best solo single, if you had any sense you’d have put it on Jade Thirlwall. There has always been something about Jade. She just gets it. She is a star, and it feels correct that she’s made the world wait for her solo debut and then made us all eat it the fuck up. It is inarguably the best of all the Little Mix solo singles ranked here, one of the best girl group diva goes solo songs ever and one of the best pop debuts I can think of in general for a long while.

Angel of my Dreams is balls to the wall bonkers, but pulled off with such finesse and confidence and star quality it all works. The way the chorus tempo can sometimes be giving Juice Newton-esque 80s power balladry one minute and then Y2K Clubland the second time around is just genius work. The whole thing bursts with zest, originality and excitement for what pop music can be when boundaries get pushed.

And what signs it all off with a kiss is Jade herself. She’s doing it all with a laugh and a smile in her heart, she’s got her finger on the pulse with online fans and knows how to have a laugh, be silly, engage with memes. It gives the whole debut a likeable charm that you just can’t teach or force. An absolute superstar. What a song.

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• All 30 Little Mix singles, ranked definitively from worst to best

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