"Power"
Single by Little Mix featuring Stormzy
from the album Glory Days
Released26 May 2017 (2017-05-26)
Genre
Length4:02
LabelSyco
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Little Mix singles chronology
"No More Sad Songs"
(2017)		 "Power"
(2017)		 "Reggaetón Lento (Remix)"
(2017)
Stormzy singles chronology
"All Time Low (Remix)"
(2017)		 "Power"
(2017)		 "Cigarettes & Cush"
(2017)
Music video
"Power" on YouTube

"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.[2][3][4][5]

Cited as a "girl power and gay anthem",[6] "Power" lyrically addresses sexism and female supremacy. The music video, which features drag queens, holds a political message in reference of marches being held for "gender equality" and protests.[7] The song was commercially successful, peaking at number six on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the group's eleventh top ten single there. In 2018, the song was chosen by WWE as the official theme song for their first ever women's Royal Rumble.[8] In July 2022, the song received renewed attention after going viral on the video-sharing social platform TikTok.[9]

Background and release

Little Mix announced on May 19, 2017, through their social media pages that "Power" would be released as the fourth single after becoming a fan favourite. The group also teased a remix version for the track, which features guest vocals from British grime rapper Stormzy.[10] On May 26, 2017, the song was released onto all streaming platforms, while the cover art for the single was unveiled a few days prior and was created by a fan.[11]

Production and composition

"Power" is primarily a electropop and industrial pop track.[12] The group worked with producers Electric, Joe Kear, Matt Rad and Steve James including songwriters Dan Omelio, Camille Purcell, James Abrahart, and Michael Omari who is credited as a songwriter on the remix version for "Power".

Reception

The track was generally well received, with TimeOut magazine calling the song "brilliant", despite being "OTT" (over the top),[1] but some fans did criticize the decision to feature a male rapper on a song about female empowerment.[13] Attitude included the song #4 on their list of 32 greatest Little Mix singles of all time writing "Power has always a standout single on Glory Days. Although it seemed to invoke a marmite reaction from some fans when released, it is now become a fan favourite, especially with Little Mix's huge gay following."[14]

Music video

The music video was released on 9 June 2017 and was directed by Hannah Lux Davis, and filmed in Los Angeles. It features each member of Little Mix as the leader of their own faction of women. Jesy Nelson leads a group of leather-clad bikers, Leigh-Anne Pinnock leads a fashion-forward street crew, Perrie Edwards leads a group of hippies who were a big part of the 1960s-70s American feminist movement, and Jade Thirlwall leads a troupe of drag queens with representation of LGBTQA+ scenes.[15] In the end, each faction comes together in a show of feminine power reminiscent of the Women's March.[16]

Gabe Bergado for Teen Vogue wrote:

"There's definitely a lot of empowering and political messages throughout the video — just the imagery of the march is reminiscent of the many protests and marches throughout the past couple of months championing gender equality and the rights of disenfranchised people. On top of that, people are literally holding up signs that say "LOVE" and "girl power" and one marcher with a rainbow flag.[17]

The music video, also features a cameo from famous drag queens Courtney Act, Alaska Thunderfuck and Willam, also known as The AAA Girls.[18] Towards the end of the video it features a cameo from Little Mix's mothers, who appear at the end of the video to march with them.[19] Stormzy's scenes, which were filmed separately from the rest of the video, feature him in a barbershop having his hair cut.[20]

Commercial performance

On May 26, 2017 "Power" debuted at number twenty seven on the UK Singles Chart becoming the group's seventh top forty hit in the United Kingdom.[21] It later reached a new peak of number six, becoming the group's eleventh top ten single there.[22] As of 2021, it ranks as the group's fourth biggest song in the UK.[23]

The single reached number 2 in Scotland and number 7 in New Zealand.[24][25] It would then go on to peak inside the top twenty in Ireland and Belgium[26][27] and crack the top 40 in Latvia.[28] It also charted in Romania.

Year-end lists

Power on year-end lists
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
Official Charts Biggest Summer Songs of 2017 9 [29]

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Power"
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[30] 20
Euro Digital Songs (Billboard)[31] 11
France Digital Song Sales (SNEP)[32] 62
Ireland (IRMA)[33] 17
Latvia (Latvijas Top 40)[28] 31
New Zealand Heatseekers (RMNZ)[34] 7
Romania (Airplay 100)[35] 100
Scotland (OCC)[36] 2
UK Singles (OCC)[37] 6

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Power"
Chart (2017) Position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[38] 33

Certifications

Certifications for "Power"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[39] 2× Platinum 120,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[40] Gold 45,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] 2× Platinum 1,200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2017 "Power" (featuring Stormzy) Pop Song of the Year Won [42]
2018 "Power" (featuring Stormzy) Best Song Won [43]

Since its release, "Power" has been regarded as a girl power and gay anthem.[15][44][45][46] In 2018, it was selected as the official theme song for WWE's first ever Women's Royal Rumble.[47] The solo version was featured as a lip-sync song on the fifth episode of the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, where Little Mix member Jade Thirlwall was a guest judge.[48] In 2022, the song was used in the official trailer for RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World.[49]

The song has been covered by various artists, for an example, South Korean singer Ryujin who's a member of the girl group Itzy, discussed how during their evaluations as trainees "Power" was often one of the songs they covered.[50] In 2019, the song was used in a dance cover for a TV Series in South Korea called Queendom, and showcases a dance unit that was formed of Moonbyul from Mamamoo, Kim Chanmi from AOA, Jung Yein from Lovelyz, Yooa from Oh My Girl, Soojin from (G)I-dle, and Eunji from Brave Girls.[51] In 2021 Kpop girl group Hot Issue, covered the song for 1theK Originals.[52] In 2022, the song was covered and performed on a South Korean reality competition called My Teenage Girl.[53]

Release history

List of regions, release dates, showing formats, label and references
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various 26 May 2017 Syco [54]

References

  1. 1 2 Levine, Nick (10 November 2016). "Little Mix – 'Glory Days' album review". TimeOut. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  2. ↑ Copsey, Rob (19 May 2017). "Little Mix confirm Power as the fourth single from their Glory Days album: 'You spoke and we listened!'". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "Little Mix Confirm Their Next Collab Is With Stormzy & The Song Already Sounds Amazing - Capital". 19 May 2017. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  4. ↑ Corner, Lewis (19 May 2017). "Little Mix have announced their brand new single – and they've teamed up with a huge rapper". Gay Times. United Kingdom. Millivres Prowler Group Ltd. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "Little Mix Confirm Their Next Collab Is With Stormzy & The Song Already Sounds Amazing". Capital. United Kingdom: Global. 19 May 2017. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "Little Mix's Power music video is full of feminism". United By Pop. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  7. ↑ "Little Mix's Empowering New Music Video Features Their MOMS". Teen Vogue. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  8. ↑ WWE [@WWE] (27 December 2017). "Don't miss the historic 30th anniversary of @WWE #RoyalRumble LIVE Sunday, January 28 at 7e/4p only on @WWENetwork! https://t.co/IagbQhS5x4" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  9. ↑ "Little Mix's Leigh-Anne Pinnock teases 'exciting' solo plans". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  10. ↑ Devaney, Sylvie (26 May 2017). "Listen to Little Mix's new single 'Power', featuring Stormzy". NME. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  11. ↑ "OMG! Little Mix just launched a teen's ENTIRE CAREER". Heat. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  12. ↑ "Little Mix album - 'Glory Days' review - Time Out". Time Out London. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  13. ↑ Lee, Ben (19 May 2017). "Little Mix criticised for Stormzy 'Power' collaboration". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  14. ↑ "All 32 of Little Mix's singles ranked in order of greatness". Attitude.co.uk. 12 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  15. 1 2 Williams, Jazmin (12 June 2017). "Little Mix's Power music video is full of feminism". United By Pop. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  16. ↑ "Little Mix Promote Girl 'Power' in New Video With Stormzy, Their Moms & Drag Stars". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "Little Mix's Empowering New Music Video Features Their MOMS". Teen Vogue. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  18. ↑ "Little Mix's 'Power' Music Video Set To Feature RuPaul's Drag Race Stars | MTV UK". MTV UK. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  19. ↑ Roth, Madeline (9 June 2017). "Little Mix's Badass 'Power' Video Has Their Moms, Stormzy, And RuPaul's Drag Race Queens". MTV News. MTV.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  20. ↑ "Little Mix - 'Power'". Capital. Global. Archived from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  21. ↑ "Despacito is now the longest reigning foreign language Number 1 in UK chart history". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  22. ↑ "Grenfell Tower single enters at Number 1 less than 48 hours after release". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  23. ↑ "Little Mix's Official Top 20 songs revealed". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  24. ↑ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  25. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  26. ↑ "IRMA - Irish Charts". www.irma.ie. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  27. ↑ "Little Mix feat. Stormzy - Power". ultratop.be. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  28. 1 2 "Latvijas Top 40". Latvijas Radio. 12 August 2017. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  29. ↑ "The UK's Official Songs of the Summer 2017". Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  30. ↑ "Little Mix feat. Stormzy – Power" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  31. ↑ "Billboard Euro Digital Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  32. ↑ "Power".
  33. ↑ "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  34. ↑ "NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 5 June 2017. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  35. ↑ "Airplay 100 – 13 august 2017". Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  36. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  37. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  38. ↑ Copsey, Rob (3 January 2018). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2017". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  39. ↑ "Brazilian single certifications – Little Mix feat. Stormzy – Power" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  40. ↑ "Danish single certifications – Little Mix feat. Stormzy – Power". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  41. ↑ "British single certifications – Little Mix – Power". British Phonographic Industry.
  42. ↑ "Beano Awards 2017 votes". Beano. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  43. ↑ "The Global Awards 2018". Global Awards. Archived from the original on 11 March 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  44. ↑ "Little Mix's Power video ft. Stormzy is here & it's a girl power delight". Glamour UK. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  45. ↑ Semple, Ross; jane (9 June 2017). "Little Mix hang with drag queens and salute girl power in sickening 'Power' video". Attitude. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  46. ↑ Stutz, Colin (10 June 2017). "Little Mix Promote Girl 'Power' in New Video With Stormzy, Their Moms & Drag Stars". Billboard. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  47. ↑ WWE [@WWE] (27 December 2017). "Don't miss the historic 30th anniversary of @WWE #RoyalRumble LIVE Sunday, January 28 at 7e/4p only on @WWENetwork! https://t.co/IagbQhS5x4" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  48. ↑ "Rupaul's Drag Race UK Series 1 Episode 5". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  49. ↑ BBC Three [@bbcthree] (25 January 2022). "This time it's for queen and country. 👑🌍 #DragRaceUK vs The World starts 1 Feb 9pm on BBC Three and @BBCIPlayer. https://t.co/t692MFgVOK" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  50. ↑ Williams, Jazmin (6 July 2021). "Legends Supporting Legends: K-POP Girl Groups Who Look Up To Little Mix". The Honey POP. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  51. ↑ [ENG sub] [7회] ♬친절한 금자씨+Senorita+Strip+Smooth Criminal+두 개의 달+Power - 식스퍼즐 @3차 경연 퍼포먼스유닛 컴백전쟁 : 퀸덤7화, retrieved 27 February 2022
  52. ↑ [4K] K-POP을 뒤흔들 신인 걸그룹의 POWER 퍼포먼스 | Little Mix | HOT ISSUE(핫이슈) | Choreography | STAGE BREAK. 1theK Originals - 원더케이 오리지널. 23 April 2021. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via YouTube.
  53. ↑ [방과후 설렘 풀영상] ＜Power＞ (3학년 & 4학년 댄스 연합) 무삭제 full ver., MBC 220109 방송. MBCentertainment. 9 January 2022. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via YouTube.
  54. ↑ "Power (feat. Stormzy) - Single by Little Mix on Apple Music". iTunes Store. United Kingdom: Apple Inc. 26 May 2017. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.