Get Weird (2015)

Get Weird is the third studio album by British girl group Little Mix, released on 6 November 2015 through Syco Music and Columbia Records. It was supported by four singles: the UK number-one single "Black Magic", "Love Me Like You", "Secret Love Song" featuring American singer Jason Derulo, and "Hair" featuring Jamaican singer Sean Paul. A deluxe edition was released on the same day and features four additional tracks, while the Japanese edition of the album includes a collaboration with Japanese girl group Flower.

Musically, Get Weird retains the group's previous pop and R&B sound of their first two albums while incorporating elements of synth pop, dance pop, rock, teen pop, 1980s and 1990s sounds. Get Weird was met with generally positive reviews from critics, with Rolling Stone listing it as one of the best pop albums of 2015. Its subject matter sees Little Mix approach more mature themes with lyrics that address a variety of topics including feminism, self love, sexual relationships, breakups, friendships, and independence.

The album debuted and peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart, and broke the record for the longest-charting girl group album in the country. In 2019, it was listed as the eleventh biggest girl group album between 1994 and 2019. It peaked at number one in Ireland, and reached the top ten in New Zealand, Netherlands and Australia. It also reached number thirteen in the United States, making Little Mix the first girl group from the UK to have their first three albums debut within the top fifteen of the Billboard 200. It has received one triple platinum, two platinum and three gold music certifications.

Background

In 2014, Little Mix were promoting their second studio album Salute, and embarked on their second headlining concert tour, entitled The Salute Tour, between May and July. An extension of the tour visiting North America was scheduled for September and October, but these dates were cancelled due to the process of recording their next album. In 2021, the group revealed that they had already recorded enough tracks for a full-length album in 2014 but scrapped all but two or three songs, believing that the quality of the material was not good enough for a release. They had put pressure on themselves to make a great third album but believed that their decision to scrap the original sessions could lead to them getting dropped by their label, Syco.

At the 2015 Brit Awards, Little Mix confirmed that their third album was completed, describing it as having a "whole new sound" and projecting the release for sometime in 2015. In May 2015, having written over 100 songs for their third album, they released "Black Magic", the lead single from their third album. They also co-wrote Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea's single "Pretty Girls", which was released in May 2015. The group stated that the album had more of a pop sound than their previous album Salute, an R&B-style album, with the songs being very fun, colourful and personality driven.

On 15 July 2015, the group officially announced on Twitter that their third studio album would be titled Get Weird, and would be available for pre-order the next day. According to Jade Thirlwall, the title was chosen because the girls wanted the album to "bring out the inner weirdness in everyone". Shortly before the album's release, it was revealed that they were forced to change some of the lyrical content on some of their songs, namely "Love Me Like You" and "A.D.I.D.A.S.", both of which contain sexual themes.

Singles

In February 2015, Little Mix revealed that they had chosen the lead single from Get Weird. On 14 May 2015, they announced the song's name was "Black Magic", after the single's cover art surfaced on music identification service Shazam. "Black Magic" was scheduled to premiere on 26 May but was later moved forward to 21 May, after the single leaked online on 20 May. The single was released digitally in the UK on 10 July 2015, and was number 1 on the UK charts for three weeks.

On 25 September 2015, the group released "Love Me Like You" as the second single from the album. An official music video followed. On 5 December 2015, it was announced that "Secret Love Song" would be released as the third single from the album in the UK and Ireland. It was sent to UK radio on 7 December 2015. On 11 April 2016, the group announced that "Hair" would serve as the fourth single from Get Weird, and would feature newly recorded guest vocals from reggae pop recording artist Sean Paul. The single was released on 15 April 2016.