Little Mix have officially kicked off a brand new era with the release of their lead single, ‘Break Up Song’.
The upbeat and sassy anthem exudes self-empowerment and is just what we need in a time like this. Despite only being released a couple of days ago, it’s already claimed the No. 1 spot on the Official Big Top 40, and we’ve been bopping around our living rooms to it the entire weekend.
The song was unveiled with a retro-themed lyric video that’s set upon a comic strip background and features cute illustrations of the girls. The best part? It was actually made by one of their biggest fans! Yep, *dream job alert*. 23-year-old Kayleigh, from The Netherlands, is the talented artist behind the project and we got to chat with her about what the whole experience was like.
Firstly, congratulations! Tell us about what it was like to get the call from Little Mix?
Ahh that is so sweet, thank you so much! The whole process went by so fast, I haven’t let it all sink in yet and I still can’t believe everything that’s happened.
I’ve been editing on my fan account for a while now and the girls noticed my videos pretty quickly. For my graduation project I had to choose something to specialise in, so I chose to make a lyric video in 2.5D of their song Wasabi. (2.5D is when you animate a 2D still image in a 3D environment.) I noticed that nobody had done anything like it before, so I decided to as I wanted to create my own style.
As I used a photo of the girls by Callum Mills, I wanted to message him to let him know and he eventually connected me with their label. This all happened within a month. The whole collaboration with RCA went really well and it was so much fun to work for them. And for me, I feel like I’ve already accomplished the biggest achievement possible – that is, making a video for Little Mix.
How long have you been a fan and what initially drew you to the girls?
I think I’ve been a fan since around 2014. At that time, not many people in The Netherlands knew who they were. I remember my older sister, Kimberly, showed me a video of them on The X Factor and that immediately drew me to them. Since then I have supported them all the way!
What was the inspiration behind the lyric video?
The inspiration behind the lyric video was an ’80s vibe and comic feel. The song has a really feel-good retro vibe and we wanted the video to come over that way, so I decided to make a moving comic book in 2.5D. For me, pop-art was also a big inspiration. They gave complete control over to me so that I could fully put my creativity into it. It was so much fun!
How long did it take you to create?
It took me a week to complete the whole edit and I spent many hours on it. I am very harsh on myself when it comes to editing, so for me it is never ‘done’. I’m a perfectionist haha. I’m also still working on another project for school and hopefully, after I graduate, I can do more things like this because it’s a dream job for me.
The video does a great job at capturing all the girls’ different personalities. How would you describe them each in one word?
Ooh that is such a fun question! One word is so hard, I wanna use lots of words to describe them. But if I really have to use just one, it would be…
Perrie: Bubbly, Jesy: Powerful, Leigh-Anne: Stylish, Jade: Intelligent.
As a group they’re kindhearted, inspirational, talented, strong and confident.
How did you get into animation and design? Is it something you see as a career in the future?
My fan account actually got me into animation and design; I always knew I wanted to do something creative. I’m currently studying Communication & Multimedia Design and I’m now in my final year. When I first started I thought I wanted to create magazines, but I found out quickly that Audio Visual was actually my thing. I didn’t know I could make work of my hobby, so at first I never thought about being an actual video editor. When I had my first internship working for L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline and EasyJet, I knew that this could be my career and that my passion is here.
The song’s an absolute bop – but what’s your favourite lyric?
It really is a BOP and one of my favourite Little Mix songs!!
I think my favourite lyrics from the song are:
“For all the tears that I cried, I sing it louder tonight”
“For all the times they screwed us over, Let it play on and on and on”
It’s just so powerful and shows that you can be independent and strong. Little Mix stand for female empowerment and they really express that in their music. I really love that about them.
We can’t wait to hear more music from Little Mix. What are your hopes and predictions for this new era?
Ohh, I expect a lot from them this year. They said in an interview that this album doesn’t have a theme like their other albums, so I expect a really fun mix. Of course, they started off the era with this masterpiece! My expectations are always high. I know that they are such hard-working talented women. This should be their year!