Why Little Mix: The Search! was a power move (Take note Simon)

Since the 26th September 2020, faith has been restored in TV talent competitions. Over 1.6 million families across the UK sat down every Saturday night to watch four incredibly strong, self-made young women find vocal talent to support their tour. Awarded a 4/5 rating by The Independent, the BBC 1 show- Little Mix: The Search! has been branded a ‘kinder approach to talent competitions’, a slap in the face for the pop group’s ex manager and now competitor, Simon Cowell. Aside from the style and popularity of the programme, which announced its winner in the final last Saturday, there’s a lot behind why the girl’s latest project held so much force for them personally.

It can’t be ignored that the girl group are the biggest feminist pop icons since the Spice Girls. After leaving Simon Cowells record label in 2011, and openly branding his record label Syco as controlling, four confident young girls flew the nest and worked to establish and respect themselves. Band member Perrie Edwards spoke out in 2018 saying she disagreed with the double standards as young women in music. The star admitted that the girls were told ‘this is your lane. You’re just the faces and the name’. They worked to create their own path as businesswomen for their brand and have since done everything in their power to radiate positivity and hope for the next generation of young female pop-stars.

A very bitter Simon Cowell childishly clapped back after hearing the announcement that Little Mix: The Search would rival his new, or should I say recycled show concept X Factor: The Band which may I add, was only finalised once Simon realised Little Mix were on the hunt for new talent. Cowell really can’t resist a competitive dig, can he? When rejecting a contestant from his series, he suggested Little Mix had a show better suited to X Factor rejects. “I heard Little Mix are doing a show, you should apply”.

But there’s so much more to Simon’s cruel remarks, his ‘I’m better than you’ attitude has little to do with the girls as people and a perhaps a lot to do with sexist tactics which work against women in music. Come to think of it, the girls actually auditioned for Cowell’s show The X Factor as solo artists, the girlband image just so happened to work to attract an audience for their former boss.