DNA is the debutstudio album by British girl groupLittle Mix, released on 19 November 2012 throughSyco Music andColumbia Records. The recording stages for the album took place between December 2011 and concluded in September 2012. Throughout the recording process, the group worked with several producers, with the album being largely co-written by them and other girl group members,Nicola Roberts ofGirls Aloud,Shaznay Lewis ofAll Saints andT-Boz ofTLC. The group stated that they were involved in the development of the album as much as possible.
When released, the album was met with positive reviews from music critics.[4] The album is primarily a mixture ofpop andR&B records, with influences fromdance-pop,pop rock andhip hop which is found on other songs. The album's lyrical content addresses the themes ofheartbreak,empowerment,relationships,friendships, andmental health. The album's lead single, "Wings", reached number one in the UK and Ireland as well as charting in Australia, New Zealand, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Canada and the US. The album's second single "DNA", peaked at number three in the UK and was followed up with two other singles "Change Your Life" and a remix of "How Ya Doin'?" featuring American rapperMissy Elliott, both of which reached the top 20 in the UK.
On the UK AlbumsDNA, peaked at number three and sold over 234,000 copies by the end of 2012.[5] The album peaked at number two in Czech Republic, and peaked within the top ten of the Irish, Italian, Scottish, Australian, Norwegian Albums Charts. In the United States,DNA reached number four on theUS Billboard 200, making them the first British girl group since theSpice Girls to reach the top ten, and later breaking the record for having the highest chart entry for a debut album by British girl group, breaking a record previously held by theSpice Girls' debut albumSpice (1996).[6] It also had the highest chart entry there for female group’s debut album sinceDanity Kane in 2006.[7][8]
In 2011,Perrie Edwards,Jade Thirlwall,Leigh-Anne Pinnock andJesy Nelson individually auditioned successfully as soloists for theeighth series of the UK version ofThe X Factor in front of judgesLouis Walsh,Gary Barlow,Tulisa andKelly Rowland. However, during the bootcamp stage, the judges regrouped them into a four-piece girl group, sending them through to judges' houses in the groups category. The group, rechristenedLittle Mix, were mentored by Tulisa and reached the live shows, and survived the public vote each week without ever being in the bottom two.[9] During the final on 11 December 2011, Little Mix were announced as the winners, becoming the first ever group to win the show, with their winners' single being a cover ofDamien Rice's song "Cannonball".[10][11]
On 25 January 2012, the group made an appearance at theNational Television Awards, and performed theEn Vogue song "Don't Let Go (Love)". They also accompaniedX Factor judges Barlow and Tulisa on stage to receive the Best Talent Show award won by the programme.[12] During an interview backstage, the group confirmed that they themselves had been writing material for their debut album, but had not yet received any input from Barlow, and that plans to release their next single in March of that year were underway. It was announced, shortly after, that the release of the single had been delayed, and would now not be released until August.[13]
On 30 May 2012, the group announced through a live stream via Twitcam that their new single would be called "Wings", and a short snippet would premiere onChannel 4 that week after being played at their filming session forAlan Carr: Chatty Man. The group performed the single for the first time at theT4 on the Beach concert on 1 July 2012.[14] "Wings" received its official premiere onBBC Radio 1 on 2 July 2012 and was released on 24 August 2012, reaching number one in the UK[15] and Ireland as well as charting in Australia, New Zealand, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Canada and the US. The second single, "DNA", was released on 9 November 2012, peaking at number three in the UK. The album's third single, "Change Your Life", was released on 15 February 2013 and a remix of "How Ya Doin'?" featuring American rapperMissy Elliott was released on 15 April 2013 as the fourth and final single from the album, bot of which reached the top 20 in the UK.[16]
On 17 September, the album's artwork was unveiled via the group's official Facebook page, which also confirmed that the album's second single, "DNA", would premiere on radio on 1 October and would be officially released on 12 November, a week prior to the release of the album.[17] The album's track listing was revealed on 28 September 2012 when it was posted onAmazon.[18] An exclusive version of the album sold atHMV came with a free CD single of "DNA".[19]
Little Mix began their first overseas promotional campaign for the album on 28 October 2012 inSydney. The group appeared onThe X Factor (Australia), giving a live performance of their single "Wings", which had already been released in Philippines.[citation needed] The following morning, the group appeared onSunrise.[citation needed] Their Australian promotional tour lasted a week and destinations included Sydney and Melbourne.[citation needed] In February 2013, the group conducted a social network campaign called "Mixers Magnets", in which fans worldwide took part in games set by the girls; points were awarded to fan's countries, with the girls performing in the Top 3.[citation needed] The campaign was won by Italy, France and the USA.[citation needed] The girls made their subsequent performances in France and Italy for the Album's April release.[citation needed]
Little Mix performed "Wings" for the first time at theT4 on the Beach concert on 1 July.[20] They also performed onFriday Download on 13 July, and on the second episode of the second series ofRed or Black?, which aired on 25 August. On 18 July, the group performed a live acoustic session of "Wings" onIn:Demand.[21] They also performed at G-A-Y Heaven on 18 August, which was celebrating their first birthday as a group. Little Mix released an acoustic version of "Wings" in late August.[citation needed]
On 3 September, after they reached number one with "Wings", they performed on the relaunch show ofDaybreak.[22] On 30 October and 31 October, the quartet performed on AustralianThe X Factor andSunrise respectively. The group performed "Wings" and "DNA" live on BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards 2012.[23] On 24 October 2012, the group performed an a cappella version of "DNA" during a liveUStream video.[24] On 16 November 2012, forChildren in Need, Little Mix performed the song 'Change Your Life'.[25] Little Mix made an appearance on BBC Breakfast to promote their album on 21 November.[citation needed] As part of the promotion, Little Mix performed an acoustic version ofDNA on BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, as well as onITV showLoose Women on 23 November 2012.[26] To further promote the album, Little Mix embarked on their first headlining tour, entitled theDNA Tour, during January and February 2013.
On 30 May 2012, Little Mix confirmed the lead single and its title viaTwitcam. For the single, "Wings", Little Mix worked withTMS, who co-produced the albums ofMOBO-winning artistsEmeli Sandé andTinchy Stryder.[citation needed] "Wings" was released by Syco records on 26 August 2012 in the UK and Ireland. It was later released in Australia and New Zealand on 5 October 2012. The song peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and Ireland, while reaching number 3 in Australia and 15 in New Zealand. The single also charted in Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Belgium, USA and Canada. Upon the first week of release, the single sold 107,000 copies.[27] Since then, "Wings" has also been certified Gold in Australia and New Zealand.[28]
The song "DNA", was selected as the second single from the album. The song was co-written and produced by TMS. The single was made available for digital download on iTunes on 11 November 2012. The song shares the same name as the album and during an interview, Jesy said that the song showed "a completely different side to Little Mix".[citation needed] "Change Your Life" was released as the third single on 3 February 2013.[29] "How Ya Doin'?" was chosen as the fourth and final single from the album. The single version features singer/rapper,Missy Elliott and premiered on UK radio stationCapital FM on 27 March 2013.[30] The single was originally scheduled for a digital release on 5 May 2013, but instead was released on 17 April 2013.[citation needed]
Upon its release,DNA received positive reviews from music critics. Al Fox fromBBC Music was positive stating, "With placid, feline production, tight harmonies and breezy beats, much of DNA ambles along the well-trodden path of the temperate demi-ballad. But it's the ventures away from this that prove Little Mix function far better either side of mid-tempo."[36] Matt Collar ofAllMusic gave the album three and a half stars out of 5 saying, "The 2011 winners of Britain's The X Factor TV show, four-piece girl group Little Mix deliver a slick, high-energy mix of dance-oriented pop music with their debut full-length album, 2012's DNA...Little Mix make good on their promise of updating the '90s girl group sound ofEn Vogue andTLC."[32] Rebecca Nicholson from The Guardian commented, "Their debut album arrives a year after the fact, and establishes their identity nicely, which is to say that they're being positioned as a sort of updated Girls Aloud with enormous drums and plenty of very "now" early-90s R&B references...When off-kilter beats collide with impeccable harmonies and pleasingly daft lyrics (literally, in the case of Madhouse, with its "Men in white coats, don't take me back there" line), it sounds like pop as it should be...", awarding the album three out of five stars.
In the United Kingdom, as part ofAmazon'sBlack Friday Deals Week, more than 500 customised versions of the album were sold out in just 13 seconds of release online. This surpassed a previous record set byOne Direction's debut albumUp All Night (2011), which was part of the same promotion the previous year. Customised versions ofUp All Night sold out in just under one minute, nearly three times slower than that of Little Mix.[38] In Ireland, the album entered the chart at number three, behindRihanna'sUnapologetic and One Direction'sTake Me Home. In the UK, it also placed in the same position behind the same two albums. By the end of the year, the album sold 234,000 copies, placing it 39th on the Top 40 biggest selling albums of the year.[39] On 19 July 2013,DNA was officially certified Platinum by theBritish Phonographic Industry.[40] The album spent a total of 36 weeks on the UK charts[41] and has sold 450,000 copies in the UK as of 2019.[42]
After its Europe-wide release, the album placed in the top 5 in Italy and Norway, in the top 10 in Czech Republic and Sweden, in the top 20 in Denmark and Spain, in the top 30 in France and Portugal, and in the top 50 in Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands. It was released in United States and Canada on 28 May.DNA has peaked in the top 10 of eight countries worldwide, including the UK, Australia and Italy.
In the US,DNA entered theBillboard 200 album chart at number four after selling over 50,000 copies, behind the albums ofDaft Punk (Random Access Memories),Alice in Chains (The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here) andJohn Fogerty (Wrote a Song for Everyone).DNA was the highest charting debut-week entry album by a British girl group in the US; a record previously held by theSpice Girls' debut albumSpice (1997) which debuted at number six, but which later went on to number one.[43] On digital sales alone,DNA was second in the charts.[44] As of December 2013, the album has sold over 121,000 copies in the US.[45] To date, the album has sold over 2 million copies worldwide.[46]
^Nicholson, Rebecca (15 November 2012)."Little Mix – DNA review".The Guardian. London.Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved23 November 2012.
^Little Mix Sets U.S. Release Date for ‘Salute’ Album:Lipshutz, Jason (17 November 2013)."Little Mix release date for Salute".Billboard. Retrieved5 November 2022.
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