Little Mix are a British four-piece girl group formed in 2011, consisting of members Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall. They were formed exclusively for the eighth series of The X Factor in 2011 and became the first group to win the competition. Following their victory, they signed with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records and released a cover of Damien Rice's "Cannonball" as their winner's single.

Little Mix released their debut album DNA on 19 November 2012. It charted in the top 5 in eight countries, including number two in the UK and number four on the US Billboard 200. This made Little Mix the first girl group since The Pussycat Dolls to reach the U.S. top 5 with their debut album, as well as earning the highest debut U.S. chart position by a British girl group, breaking the record previously held by the Spice Girls, whose 1996 debut Spice charted at number five. As of October 2013, Little Mix had sold over 5 million singles and over 2.5 million albums worldwide.