"Shout Out to My Ex" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Little Mix | ||||
from the album Glory Days | ||||
Released | 16 October 2016 | |||
Recorded | 2015 | |||
Genre | Dance-pop | |||
Length |
| |||
Label | Syco | |||
Songwriter(s) | • Brooke Graham | |||
Producer(s) | Electric | |||
Little Mix singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Shout Out to My Ex" on YouTube |
"Shout Out to My Ex" is a song by British girl group Little Mix, released on 16 October 2016 through Syco Music and Columbia Records, as the lead single from the group's fourth studio album Glory Days (2016). A dance-pop song, it was co-written by group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, and Jesy Nelson, with lyrics referencing the downfall of a relationship at the expense of a cheating ex. [1] The song is cited as a girl power and breakup anthem.
"Shout Out To My Ex" received positive reviews from music critics, for its empowering message, for the song's production and the group vocal performance. It was included on various end of year lists of best pop and single releases from that year. The song spent three consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the only UK number one of that year to be led by a female act. It became the group's first track to be certified double and triple platinum in the country and holds the record for the most streamed girl group single and is the second best selling girl group single.
The single also peaked at number one in Ireland and Scotland and topped the official Big Top 40 and Euro Digital Sales Charts, and reached the top ten in New Zealand and Australia. It charted in twenty three other territories and reached number sixty nine on the US Billboard Hot 100. At the 37th Brit Awards Ceremony, the group won British Single of the Year. It remains as one of the group's most commercially successful songs.
Prior to the single's announcement, the artwork and lyrics were leaked online. Little Mix announced the songs title and revealed the artwork on the October 9, 2016 on Twitter and Instagram, also announcing that the song will be performed for the first time on their formation show The X Factor (UK). The song was released globally following their performance after the show. [2]
After "Shout Out To My Ex" was released speculation had surfaced about the song's lyrics being inspired by the breakup of Perrie Edwards and Zayn Malik, whose relationship had ended in 2015. The rumours were speculated even more after the music video features a scene with man who shares a similar resemblance to the singer. The original lyrics to the song were also altered and shared references to who some believed were aimed at Gigi Hadid, who was in a relationship with him at the time. The original version included explicit lyrics which were changed. [3] [4]
Following the release of the song, Little Mix were accused of copying the song "Ugly Heart", which had been released by the British-American-Canadian girl group G.R.L., in 2014. On social media, some people had pointed out some similarities between both of the songs and the accusations resulted in a hashtag trending on twitter called "#ShoutOutToUglyHeart". The group denied the accusations during a radio station in Belgium when band member Thirlwall, commented "how every song is going to have a similar chord and sequence, with slightly similar lyrics and melodies. It happens all the time". [5] [6] [7]
"Shout Out To My Ex" was written by group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall, and Jesy Nelson, alongside Chris Dunn, Edvard Førre Erfjord, Camille Purcell, Iain James, Henrik Michelsen and produced by Electric. Critics described the song as a dance-pop and power-pop song with lyrics about moving on after a relationship comes to an ends and moving forward in life towards better things, while leaving the past where it should be. It has since been regarded as a girl power and breakup anthem. [8] [9]
According to sheet music published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing on Musicnotes.com, "Shout Out to My Ex" is composed in the key of F major and set in common time at a moderate tempo of 126 beats per minute. Little Mix's voices range from F3 to a high A5. [1]
"Shout Out To My Ex" received positive reviews when released with Billboard describing it as "the ultimate girl-power anthem". [10] Renowned for Sound 's Michael Smith described it as a "dance pop track" and gave praise to their vocals and how the vocalising near the climax of the song was a highlight. [2] Idolator 's Rachel Sonis described the song as a "kiss-off anthem at its finest" and remarked that it felt like "a confident comeback for the group". [11] Emilee Linder from Fuse said that the song was a "Taylor Swift–like move to play into the media's narrative", and praised Perrie's "husky vocals". [12]
Attitude ranked the song #9 on their list of 32 greatest Little Mix singles writing "although it has a very simple pop formula, the blissful chorus still works as that fist-pumping earworm." [13] Metro Weekly 's Hugh McIntyre described the song as "pop perfection" and listed it as also one of the best tracks of the past decade. [14]
"Shout Out to My Ex" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, with 95,000 combined sales to give the band their fourth UK number one of their careers, following "Cannonball" in 2011, "Wings" in 2012 and "Black Magic" in 2015. [15] It was the third single from 2016 to debut straight in at the top of the UK charts with only four days of sales tracking. [16] "Shout Out to My Ex" was also the first UK number one single of 2016 with a female lead, as the three women with number one singles earlier in the year, Kyla, MØ and Halsey, were all featured artists. [17] It remained at number one the following week, making it Little Mix's second song (after "Black Magic") to spend multiple weeks at number 1. [18] It was certified silver by the BPI for selling over 200,000 copies in its second week. [19] It spent a third week before being replaced by "Rockabye" by Clean Bandit. In 2016 it was ranked as the 39th biggest single in the United Kingdom, and ranked as the second best selling girl group single (with combined sales and streams). [20] [21] Between 2010 and 2019 "Shout Out To My Ex" song was ranked as the eighty-six biggest song of the decade in the United Kingdom.
As of 2021, it is the group's best-selling single, as well as the second-best selling girl group single released in the United Kingdom, behind "Wannabe", by the Spice Girls. [22] It was their first single to be certified triple platinum in the UK and holds the record for the most streamed girl group song in the country with over 230 million streams. [23] [24] [25]
Outside of the United Kingdom it debuted at number six in Ireland and in its second week reached number one, making it Little Mix's third number-one single there, following "Cannonball" and "Wings". It also reached number one in Scotland. It peaked in the top ten of the charts in both Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand it became the group's highest-charting song there and their first top ten single. In Australia it debuted at number 16 on the Australian ARIA Charts, and in its second week rose 12 places to number four. [26] This made it Little Mix's second top-five single in Australia, following "Wings", which peaked at number three.
"Shout Out to My Ex" was the highest peak for a Little Mix song in many European countries. In the US, the song debuted at number four on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. The following week, it debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 69, making it the group's last single to chart there. It also reached number 30 on the Digital Songs chart, Little Mix's highest placing on that particular list to date. [27] It charted inside the top thirty in a total of nine other countries including Austria, Finland, and Canada, where it debuted at number 37 on the Canadian Hot 100, becoming their first top 40 single there. It would go on to chart in eleven other countries including the Netherlands and Germany.
The music video for "Shout Out To My Ex" was filmed at the Tabernas Desert in Spain, and was released at 12:00 BST on 20 October 2016 on Vevo. Directed by Sarah Chatfield, it sees the members hanging out at a trailer and later chilling around the poolside. They are seen driving through a desert along a highway lined with lavender-coloured trees. They drive pass a hitch-hiker who some speculate shares a resemblance to Zayn Malik, who dated Perrie Edwards before their split in 2015. [28] [29]
Edwards, Pinnock, Nelson, and Edwards proceed to throw away the gifts they received from their exes to the curb. The group then reunites for a group hug in a show of girl power and unity, and hold hands walking towards to pink sunset to finish. Filming took place in June 2016 whilst the girls were on their Get Weird Tour. As of 2024, it has been streamed over 482 million times on YouTube. [30] [31]
"Shout Out to My Ex" received its debut performance on the second results show of The X Factor in 2016, [32] in which the group started in a car outside its recording studios, flanked by female cheerleaders in T-shirts with the names of male and female exes on them, [32] which the cheerleaders removed towards the end of the song. On 21 October 2016, they performed the song on the Belgian TV show Jonas & Van Geel. [33] Two days later, they performed the song on the Radio 1 Teen Awards. [34] They also made an appearance and performed the single on the Norwegian program Senkveld on November 3. [35] On November 13, they gave a performance on the Australian TV show, Sunrise , [36] and performed the next day for the semi-final week of The X Factor Australia. [37] Four days later, they performed the single on BBC's Children In Need, [38] and two days later gave an acoustic performance on Sunday Brunch . [39] Then, they gave a performance on The X Factor Italy on 24 November. [40] On December 1, the group took to the LOS40 Music Awards stage and performed their hit single. They performed the song on The Today Show in 2016, and later again in 2017. [41] [42] An unplugged performance was delivered for Paper Magazine in January 2017. [43] They also performed the song acoustically on iHeart Radio's Honda Stage on 2 February 2017. [44]
In March 2017, the group performed a mashup of "Shout Out to My Ex" and "Touch" on the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, where they altered the lyrics of "Touch" to make it more kid-friendly. [45] On 22 February, Little Mix kicked off the Brit Awards by giving a fiery performance of the song. The members, who were carried to the stage on huge silver platforms, all had blonde wigs and wore futuristic black and silver outfits, while the stage was lit in a hot-pink color. [46]
They gave another performance of the song on the Radio 1 Teen Awards in 2018. [47] In August 2020, Little Mix held a virtual concert called Little Mix Uncancelled where they performed some of their hits, including "Shout Out to My Ex". [48]
Over the years, the group has performed the song in many music festivals, like the Jingle Bell Ball in 2016 and 2018, [49] [50] the Summertime Ball in 2017, [51] the Fusion Festival in 2017 and 2019, [52] the Big Weekend festival in 2017 and 2019, [53] [54] and the Popspring festival in 2018. [55] Little Mix has also included "Shout Out to My Ex" on every single tour set list since its release — the Dangerous Woman Tour in 2017, where the group supported Ariana Grande in North America; [56] the Summer Shout Out Tour in 2017, where the song served as the final number; [57] The Glory Days Tour (2017–2018), where they performed the song as an encore while wearing black t-shirts with the word "Ex" written in silver glitter; [58] the Summer Hits Tour in 2018, where it was the last song before the encore; [59] the LM5 Tour in 2019; [60] and The Confetti Tour in 2022, where it was the first song on the set list. [61] Since the tour was held after Nelson's departure from the group in 2020, Thirlwall covered Nelson's verse. [62]
Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Billboard | Best Pop Songs of 2016 | — | [63] |
Buzzfeed | 31 Iconic Songs | 4 | [64] |
Official Charts | Most Streamed UK Songs | — | [65] |
Digital Spy | Best Pop Songs of 2016 | 3 | [66] |
Seventeen | Best Breakup Songs | — | [67] |
Teen Vogue | Best Breakup Songs | 4 | [68] |
Stereogum | Top Pop Songs Of 2016 | — | [69] |
Official Charts | Biggest Tracks Of 2016 | — | [70] |
Buzzfeed | 84 Best Breakup Songs | — | [71] |
Big Top 40 | 20 Best Pop Songs Of 2016 | 2 | [72] |
Teen Vogue | Best Pop Songs Of 2016 | 11 | [73] |
Glamour | 33 Breakup Songs Ranked | — | [74] |
Women's Health | The 50 Best Breakup Songs | — | [75] |
The Independent | The 22 greatest kiss-off songs | 7 | [76] |
Parade | Get Over Your Big Split With the 100 Best Breakup Songs Ever | — | [77] |
Best Life | The 100 Best Breakup Songs of All Time | — | [78] |
Marie Claire | The 70 Best Breakup Songs of All Time | — | [79] |
Daily Record | Favourite break-up songs revealed | 27 | [80] |
Official Charts | UK's most streamed songs by female artists | 19 | [81] |
Official Charts | Biggest songs by female artists this decade | 24 | [82] |
Yardbarker | The 25 best songs about breakups | — | [83] |
People | 14 of the Most Savage Breakup Anthems of All Time | 5 | [84] |
Publication | Accolade | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Official Charts Awards | Official Charts Awards for Official Singles Chart Number One | Won | [85] [86] |
The Official Big Top 40 | Official Big Top 40 Charts Number One Award | Won | [87] [88] |
Brit Awards | British Single of the Year | Won | [89] |
Radio Music Awards | Best Break-Up Song | Won | [90] |
Teen Choice Awards | Choice Song: Group | Nominated | [91] |
Myx Music Awards | Favourite International Video | Nominated | [92] |
Weekly charts | Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [131] | 3× Platinum | 210,000‡ |
Belgium (BEA) [132] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [133] | 3× Platinum | 180,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada) [134] | Platinum | 80,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [135] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
Germany (BVMI) [136] | Gold | 200,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI) [137] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
Mexico (AMPROFON) [138] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [139] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
Norway (IFPI Norway) [140] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV) [141] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [142] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [143] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [144] | 4× Platinum | 2,400,000 [145] |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Italy | 28 October 2016 | Contemporary hit radio | Sony | [146] |
United States | 24 January 2017 | Columbia | [147] |
"Never Ever" is a song by English girl group All Saints. Written by All Saints member Shaznay Lewis along with co-writers Robert Jazayeri and Sean Mather and produced by Cameron McVey and Magnus Fiennes, it was released on 10 November 1997 as the second single from their debut album, All Saints (1997).
"The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down.
"Shout" is a song by English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released as the second single from their second studio album, Songs from the Big Chair (1985), on 23 November 1984. Roland Orzabal is the lead singer on the track, and he described it as "a simple song about protest". The single became the group's fourth Top 5 hit in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 4 in January 1985. In the US, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 3 August 1985 and remained there for three weeks; also topping the Cash Box chart. "Shout" became one of the most successful songs of 1985, eventually reaching No. 1 in multiple countries.
"Word Up!" is a funk and R&B song originally recorded by American funk band Cameo in 1986. It was released as the first single from their thirteenth album of the same name. The song was written by band members Larry Blackmon and Tomi Jenkins. Its frequent airing on American dance, R&B, and contemporary hit radio, as well as its MTV music video, helped the single become the band's best known hit.
Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of The X Factor. They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, and originally Jesy Nelson, before her departure from the group in 2020. Regarded as the show's most successful winning act, their success led to a girl band renaissance in the UK. Little Mix's vocals and harmonies have garnered critical acclaim and the group have been ranked as one of the best vocal girl groups. They were often dubbed, by some media, as the "biggest girl group in the world", before going on a hiatus in 2022, allowing its members to pursue solo projects.
Camille Angelina Purcell, known professionally as Kamille, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer from London, England.
British girl group Little Mix have released six studio albums, one compilation album, 33 singles and 40 music videos, 17 of which has been received over 100 million views on Vevo. As of 2021, the group have amassed 44 chart entries on the UK Singles Chart, 31 Top 40 singles, nineteen top ten entries and five number ones. Their singles has charted for over 630 weeks, while their albums have charted for over 429 weeks. According to the Official Charts Company, the group have sold over 28 million singles and 3.6 million albums in the UK. They have amassed over 15 billion streams across all streaming platforms, and are one of the world's best-selling girl groups.
"Move" is a song recorded by British girl group Little Mix. It was released through Syco Music, as the lead single from their second studio album, Salute (2013). It was co-written by members Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards with Maegan Cottone and Nathan Duvall, and produced by Duvall.
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.
"Hair" is a song by British girl group Little Mix. It was released on 28 August 2015 as the first promotional single from the group's third studio album Get Weird. On 15 April 2016, a remix featuring Jamaican rapper and singer Sean Paul was released by Syco Music as the fourth and final single from the album.
Glory Days is the fourth studio album by British girl group Little Mix, released on 18 November 2016 by Syco Music and Columbia Records. When released it was met with acclaim from critics, with lyrics that addresses themes on sexuality, sexual relationships, female solitude, and other topics. Little Mix worked with various producers including MNEK, Freedo, Matt Rad, all of whom had worked with them on previous releases.
"Rockabye" is a song by British electronic group Clean Bandit featuring English singer Anne-Marie and Jamaican singer and rapper Sean Paul. It was released on 21 October 2016 and was their first single since Neil Amin-Smith's departure from the group and it serves as the lead single from their second studio album, What Is Love? (2018). The song is about hardships of single mothers and alludes to the nursery rhyme and lullaby, Rock-a-bye Baby. "Rockabye" is included on the deluxe edition of Anne-Marie's debut studio album, Speak Your Mind.
"Touch" is a song by British girl group Little Mix. The song was originally released as a promotional single before being announced as the second single from the group's fourth studio album Glory Days (2016). A remix of the song featuring American rapper Kid Ink is featured on the album's reissue Glory Days: The Platinum Edition.
"Power" is a song released by British girl group Little Mix, featuring British rapper Stormzy. It was released as the fourth and final single from Little Mix's fourth studio album Glory Days. The remix version appears on Glory Days: The Platinum Edition, the reissue of Glory Days.
"Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" is a song by Latin American boy band CNCO. It was released on August 26, 2016, as the third single from their debut studio album, Primera Cita (2016). The song was written by Eric Perez, Jadan Andino, Jorge Class and Yashua Camacho. The video has received over 1.5 billion views on YouTube as of April 2019. On August 18, 2017, the group released an English-language remix of the song recorded with British girl group Little Mix.
"Woman Like Me" is a song by British girl group Little Mix featuring rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on 12 October 2018, by Syco Music, as the lead single from the group's fifth studio album LM5. The song was co written by Jess Glynne, Ed Sheeran, Minaj and the song's producer Steve Mac.
"Break Up Song" is a song by British girl group Little Mix. It was released on 27 March 2020 as the lead single from the group's sixth studio album Confetti (2020). The group co-wrote the song with Frank Nobel and producers Kamille and Goldfingers a year before it was chosen as the album's lead single. "Break Up Song" received positive reviews from critics and it has been described it as a synth-pop track influenced by 1980s pop music. The song addresses themes of heartbreak and independence after overcoming an ex.
"Sweet Melody" is a song by British girl group Little Mix, released through RCA Records on 23 October 2020, as the third single from the group's sixth studio album Confetti (2020). Little Mix worked with notable names and frequent collaborators Tayla Parx, Morten Ristorp, Robin Frid, Brian Garcia, and MNEK, who co-written and co-produced the track. It has since been regarded as one of the group's best releases.
"Heartbreak Anthem" is a song by Swedish electronic music duo Galantis, French DJ and music producer David Guetta and British girl group Little Mix. It was released on 20 May 2021 through Atlantic Records and appears on Little Mix's greatest hits album Between Us (2021) along with Galantis' fourth studio album Rx (2024). An EDM and pop song with dance-pop influences, it was co-written by Guetta, Galantis member Christian Karlsson, alongside Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jade Thirlwall.
Between Us is a greatest hits album by English girl group Little Mix, released on 12 November 2021 through RCA Records Described by the members as a celebration of sisterhood, friendship and fun, the announcement was made as part of the group's celebrations commemorating the 10th anniversary since their formation on the eighth series of The X Factor UK. It was supported by the release of two songs, "Love " and "No".