| "DNA" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byLittle Mix | ||||
| from the albumDNA | ||||
| Released | 9 November 2012 (2012-11-09) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:56 | |||
| Label | Syco | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Producer | TMS | |||
| Little Mix singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "DNA" onYouTube | ||||
"DNA" is a song by British girl groupLittle Mix. It was released on 9 November 2012, throughSyco Music, as the second single from theirdebut studio album of the same name (2012). It was written by the group members, along with production teamTMS and songwriterIain James.
"DNA" was met with mixed reviews from critics; some likened its style to music byGirls Aloud while others found it unoriginal. It has been described as a mid-tempoelectropop andtechno-pop track featuring eeriesynths, amusic box introduction, spoken-wordmiddle eight and elements ofdubstep. The lyrics was inspired by the group members' experiences with love, and have a theme of obsession. "DNA" reached number three on theUK Singles Chart. It reached the top ten in Ireland and Hungary, and peaked at number fourteen on the USBubbling Under Hot 100. The song also charted in Australia, France, and Slovakia.
The music video was directed bySarah Chatfield and features the group portraying assassins who stalk and kidnap a man. It was inspired by the comic booksSin City andWatchmen. The group promoted the song with televised performances onLoose Women, andThe X Factor UK. The song was performed as part of four of the group's concert tours, includingThe Glory Days Tour in 2017. As of 2022, it has been certified gold in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Brazil.
Little Mix co-wrote "DNA" with production teamTMS, and songwriterIain James.[1] The song was inspired by the group members' personal experiences with love;Perrie Edwards said the group "perform better when the lyrics mean something to [them] when [they] sing them."[2] The song was intended as a darker and more mature contrast to the group's previous single "Wings", in a style akin to their 2011 performance ofKaty Perry's "E.T." on theeighth UK series of the British television talent showThe X Factor.[3]Jesy Nelson said, "'Wings' was very upbeat and fun and colourful, and we wanted to show how versatile we were".[4] According toJade Thirlwall, the group "just wanted to write about a boy, but without making it typical. We came up with the scientific idea and then started matching science words with love."[5] It was one of two songs being considered for release as the album's second single; the group chose "DNA" believing it better showcased their vocals and a more serious side to their personalities.[6]
"DNA" is composed in thekey ofE♭ minor using4
4 time and a tempo of 70 beats per minute. Little Mix's vocal range spans from E♭3 to C♭5. The verses follow achord progression of E♭m–C♭–G♭–B♭m/F.[7] It is a midtempo,[8]electropop andtechno-pop song,[9][10] with a pronounced, grinding beat[11] and elements ofdubstep.[12] The track is led by spooky synthesizers[13][14] and features drums and guitar.[1] The first verse is introduced by a tinklingmusic box and pumpingheart rate monitor, and is performed by Edwards in a lowvocal register.[8][14] After a pre-chorus by Thirlwall, all four group members harmonise the pounding refrain,[11][15] which is backed by slamming and smashing noises. After Nelson's second verse, Thirlwall's second pre-chorus and the second chorus, the song nearly stops.[8] It then enters into a spoken-wordmiddle eight performed byLeigh-Anne Pinnock in a modulated, robotic style, which is followed by a choral interlude.[11] The third and final chorus is preceded by briefrave klaxons and a high note sung by Edwards.[8][16]
According to Pinnock, "DNA" is "not just a love song, it's about being obsessed with someone to the extreme. And sometimes when things go bad you do go like that, you stalk them onFacebook ..."[5] Nelson said the group play a character in the song and portray themselves to be darker than they are.[4] Edwards said that when stripped of its scientific words, "DNA" is just a love song[5] about "when a girl first gets with a boy, that kind of romance makes you feel really giddy and happy".[2]
Details about "DNA" emerged after music industry insiders previewed it at a conference held bySony Music Entertainment on 11 September 2012.[17] Little Mix shared the single's cover art onTwitter on 30 September 2012.[18] On 1 October 2012, a lyric video was posted onVevo and the song had its radio premiere onNick Grimshaw'sThe Radio 1 Breakfast Show.[19][20] A digitalextended play (EP) was made available to pre-order from theiTunes Store the same day.[21] It was released in Ireland on 9 November 2012 and in the UK two days later.[22][23]
To promote the release, Little Mix held aYouTube competition in which fans shared dance routines for the song. Three entrants won tickets to the group'sDNA Tour, a copy of their bookReady to Fly, a copy of the album and a dance tutorial in London with the group's choreographer.[24] A two-trackCD single packaged with the albumDNA was made available exclusively from music retail chainHMV on 19 November 2012.[25][26] An unplugged version of "DNA" is included in the deluxe edition of the album.[27]
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Critical response to "DNA" was mixed. In his review forDigital Spy, Robert Copsey gave the track four stars out of five and said, "the epic, operatic middle eight is a pop moment this time they can claim entirely as their own".[28] Laurence Green ofDIY regarded it as a "great pop tune by any mark" that "sounds quite a bit like aGirls Aloud song" and "a sign of just how embedded Girls Aloud have become in the fabric of contemporary British pop".[29] Mark Davison ofNo Ripcord rated the track eight out of ten, describing it as "giddy, glitzy pop which would do Girls Aloud, or at leastThe Saturdays, proud", adding; "You'll know exactly what 'DNA' sounds like before you hear it, and that's no bad thing".[30]AllMusic's Matt Collar viewed it as one of the album's "truly catchy, infectious cuts".[31]
NME's Eve Barlow was less enthusiastic, writing that the track sounded too much like "E.T." and from "Tulisa's school of 'ballid'".[32] John Murphy ofmusicOMH derided it as "woeful", "dated, dull and auto-tuned to death."[33] Eoin Butler ofThe Irish Times gave the song two stars out of five, finding the lyrics melodramatic.[34] Stuart Heritage wrote inThe Guardian that it is "not a good song by anyone's standards" and called Pinnock's spoken-word middle-eight "weird".[35]Digital Spy included "DNA" at number 19 in its 2012 year-end list.[36] In 2013, "DNA" was shortlisted for thePopjustice £20 Music Prize.[37]
In November 2012, "DNA" debuted at number three on theUK Singles Chart with first-week sales of 72,044 copies, becoming Little Mix's third consecutive top-three single in the UK.[38] It fell to number 12 the following week, selling 38,386 copies, and spent a total of 13 weeks on the chart.[39][40] The song was certified gold by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI), and has sold over 453,000 units in the UK, according to theOfficial Charts Company.[41][42]
Elsewhere, "DNA" entered theIrish Singles Chart at number eight, making it the group's third consecutive top-ten single in Ireland.[43] It also reached number 10 on Hungary's Single Top 40 chart published byMagyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége (MAHASZ).[44] In Australia, the song peaked at number 48 and was certified gold by theAustralian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for sales of 35,000 copies.[45][46] Following the album'sColumbia Records release in the US in June 2013, "DNA" charted at number 14 on the USBubbling Under Hot 100.[47]
The music video for "DNA" was directed bySarah Chatfield and produced by Tiernan Hanby.[49] It was filmed on 12 September 2012 at British production companyBlink's Colonel Blimp location in London and useschroma keying andpost-production.[17][48] The video was inspired by the comic booksSin City andWatchmen; Chatfield viewed the video as "an unrelenting torrent of bold imagery and epic performances".[48] She worked withvisual effects artist Pete Young, her frequent collaborator, to develop the look she wanted for "DNA".[48]
Little Mix's driving scenes were filmed in front of a green screen. The video's rooftop scene was developed using amatte painting by Johan Gay; the painting was separated into different layer depths thencomposited into the scene using the visual effects softwareFlame's 3D tracker.3D modelling artist Greg McKneally developed computer-generated backgrounds, police cars and helicopters that were composited with reflections and light effects.[48] Thirlwall said, "we took the theme of the song, the whole love and obsession thing, and just took it to an extreme".[50] The group released ateaser trailer daily during a four-day countdown to the music video's Vevo premiere on 19 October 2012.[51] Amaking of video was released on 29 October 2012.[52]
The music video is inmonochrome and red; it depicts Little Mix as female assassins who kidnap a man named Ryan.[48][53] The video starts with amusic box playing. During the first verse, Edwards, accompanied by a bound and gagged Ryan, travels at a high speed in a vintage car. In the next scene, Thirlwall balances on a ledge outside Ryan's bedroom window. All four group members perform a dance routine in black outfits withammunition belts on a rooftop for the chorus.[48][54] During the second verse, Nelson speeds in aconvertible car while being chased by police.[48] In the next segment, Pinnock is shown masterminding the group's kidnapping plan in a secret room filled with maps and clippings about Ryan that are intercut throughout the video.[55] In the final scene, Ryan is tied to a chair in a warehouse; Little Mix stand in front of him and close in as the video ends.
Digital Spy's Lewis Corner named it the eighth-best pop music video of 2012 and "one of the most diva-worthy videos from a girl group in years".[56] Eve Barlow ofNME said it "looks a little (exactly) likeSin City."[32]
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Little Mix performed "DNA" live for the first time atBBC Radio 1's Teen Awards on 7 October 2012.[57] On 11 November 2012, the group performed the song onthe ninth UK series ofThe X Factor. Backed by a troupe of male dancers, they performed in matching black, gold and blue outfits with ammunition belts.[58] The group performed an acoustic rendition of "DNA" for BBC Radio 1'sLive Lounge on 13 November 2012.[59]
Little Mix performed the track on British daytime television programmeT4 on 18 November 2012,[60] and sang the acoustic version on British televisionpanel showLoose Women on 23 November 2012.[61] In Ireland, they performed the song at theChildLine Concert that aired onTV3 on 1 December 2012.[62] On 8 December 2012, the track was included in their set list forCapital FM'sJingle Bell Ball. Backed by a flashing heart rate monitor and sporting star-themed black-and-pink outfits, the group performed without Edwards, who was recovering from atonsillectomy.[63]
During their 2013 DNA Tour, Little Mix performed the song before theencore with a live band; they were wearing monochrome outfits.[64] "DNA" was also performed during the group's set atBBC Radio 1's Big Weekend on 26 May 2013.[65] Little Mix made their US television debut with performances of "Wings" and "DNA" onGood Morning America on 7 June 2013.[66][67] On 8 December 2013, they performed the track again at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball.[68] For 2014'sThe Salute Tour, the group performed an extended version of the song; they wore black leather ensembles and were accompanied by male dancers wearing leather capes.[69][70] As part of Little Mix's 2016The Get Weird Tour, they performed an alternate version of "DNA" with aViennese waltz introduction, enchanted forest backdrop and male backing dancers inbondage attire and muzzles.[71] During their 2017The Glory Days Tour, the song was performed as part of amedley with "Freak", a track from the group's fourth albumGlory Days.[72]
Credits adapted from the album liner notes ofDNA.[1]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "DNA" | 3:56 |
| 2. | "DNA" (Kat Krazy Club Mix) | 5:33 |
| 3. | "DNA" (Eyes Remix) | 4:57 |
| 4. | "DNA" (Instrumental) | 3:57 |
| Charts (2012–2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[45] | 48 |
| Euro Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[74] | 8 |
| France (SNEP)[75] | 177 |
| Hungary (Single Top 40)[44] | 10 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[43] | 8 |
| Scotland Singles (OCC)[76] | 3 |
| SlovakiaAirplay (ČNS IFPI)[77] | 46 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[78] | 3 |
| UK Airplay (Music Week)[79] | 14 |
| USBubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[47] | 14 |
| Chart (2012) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[80] | 115 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[46] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[81] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[41] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Country | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 9 November 2012 | Digital download (EP) | Syco | [22] |
| United Kingdom | 11 November 2012 | [23] | ||
| 19 November 2012 | CD single | [25] |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)| Studio albums | |
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| Compilation albums | |
| Singles |
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| Other songs | |
| Concert tours | |
| Filmography | |
| Related articles | |
