DC ExtraTime: Little Mix Meets The Real World

From during The Challenge: Invasion of The Champions

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

The presence in the Oasis of two members of the Champions team provides an echo of what those on the newbie of the Trifecta have done many times in getting cuddled up in the house and never let go much to everyone's displeasure. In this case, it's Zach and Ashley K. who did that on Real World Back to San Diego, and for Thor - this was the first of FOUR Real World girlfriends he would find himself in a romance with. And this provides the link to our first piece of ExtraTime this weekend.

   Last week, music's best gathered in Los Angeles for the second time in less than a month when the iHeartRadio Music Awards took center stage at the Forum in Inglewood. The Chainsmokers ruled the night winning the most awards - five in total - and performed "Something Just Like This" for the first time stateside alongside Coldplay's Chris Martin. Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes and Miley Cyrus' sibling Noah also performed, while presenting & appearing were Justin Timberlake, Big Sean, Macklemore, fellow TCS collaborators Halsey and Daya, Jason Derulo, DJ Khalid, DNCE's Joe Jonas and Fifth Harmony.

On the subject of the ladder, in the wake of Camila Cabello's much-publicized exit from 5H last winter, there is another girl group with eyes on making it big in the world's most lucrative music market. And like Fifth Harmony, One Direction and Francesca of AYTO Season 4 and the upcoming Second Chances spinoff, they all have something in common: they began as solo artists performing on The X-Factor, then were put into a group where they would flourish and make it into the live shows phase. But unlike their two much well-known counterparts, this group is the only ones to capture the top prize of winning the final. For here, Little Mix came onto the eighth season of X-Factor U.K. and became the first & only group to win their season back in 2011.
   Shortly after, the group - comprised of Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jesy Nelson - released their debut album DNA in 2012, peaking inside the Top 10 in the U.K., and nine overseas countries including the U.S. - the first girl group to do so since the Pussycat Dolls and the first from Britain to do so since the Spice Girls. Other top-charting singles and albums would follow for Little Mix in the years since: albums Salute, Get Weird and their latest offering Glory Days, and they have just released a new single and video, "No More Sad Songs," featuring Machine Gun Kelly - who, of course, collaborated with Camila on his top-5 single "Bad Things," her highest-profile solo spot since leaving Fifth Harmony.

What does this have to do with the Real World? Well, one of those who wrote Little Mix's most-recent single appeared on Real World six years ago on the same season that brought us Zach, Ashley K. and Frank. When we met Alex Govere on Back to San Diego, she was raised in poor conditions in Zimbabwe, which led her to start a charity to help AIDS orphans when her childhood classmates contracted the HIV virus from vaccinations using dirty needles. Teen People magazine named her "One of the 20 Teens Who Will Change The World," and saw her attend Stanford University but dropped out just before graduation to pursue her musical career. We saw much of that during her Real World season, and then after that season ended she opted to follow her heart in pursuing this passion as well as writing work while her the rest of her cast appeared on a Challenge -- despite Alex having a gymnastics pedigree.
   In a post on her Instagram, Alex described the opportunity she was given to write a song for Little Mix for their latest album Glory Days, which became the most recent single.

"A little over a year-and-a-half ago, I quit a job I hated to pursue the thing I love. I love music more than I love myself, which I suppose isn’t saying much because loving myself is something I’m not very good at doing. But I’m working hard at it every day, and as part of this work, I’m learning to acknowledge my accomplishments, not just quietly, but out loud. I’m so proud of what I do, and even prouder to be doing it with so many honest and kind people who make me better every day. This week, an album we worked on went #1. I wouldn’t wanna share this moment with anyone else, and I know it’s the first of many because the most important lesson I’ve learned since the start of this adventure is that good intentions lead to great things. Endless love and gratitude to @youthonix @mnek @plestedmusic @patrick_jordan_patrikios @littlemix @sycomusic @georgiemca @reasondisorder @_kelseycohen @music.is.big, Peter Lewit and @mushroompublish, and to all my new family and friends who motivate and inspire me, and the world, through music."  - IG @shungudz (link)

That song became "Touch," the second single off of the album, which has charted in the top 10 in the group's home territory of the United Kingdom and Ireland. The track is described by Wikipedia at a dancehall, dance-pop and tropical song, as well as a club anthem as deemed by the musical media. It debuted on the British charts in November, and after the girls performed it as part of a medley with Charlie Puth on the finale of the thirteenth season of The X-Factor later that winter to mark their fifth anniversary of winning their crown, it would peak in the top five -- Little Mix's 10th Top 10 single in Britain. And the video dropped shortly thereafter, followed by the track getting covered by Ed Sheeran on BBC Radio 1.
   Though the group has had some success in the U.S., of course Fifth Harmony have taken over most of the buzz when it comes to girl groups here. But with this being the 20th anniversary of the Spice Girls' rise to fame and with what happened to 5H recently, Little Mix has has their eyes on greater success across the pond. Jesy told ET Canada, "Yes, we do (want to be successful in North America. We want it so much." And Perrie adds, "We're just so ambitious and focused about achieving so much that we're not going to ever to feel settled. We're not going to sit back and be like, 'We're huge now we can...' Never!"  Adele, One Direction, Zayn, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and many other British artists have all staked their claim to the U.S. ...perhaps Little Mix has a great shot at making it big here.

- I AM DC
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