"Bounce Back" is a song by British girl group

Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British ...

. It was released on 14 June 2019, and was the group's first single to be released with RCA Records UK, after parting ways with

Syco Music Syco Music is a defunct division of Syco Entertainment founded by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. Originally founded as S Records, the label launched while Cowell was still employed by BMG, the label oversaw music rele ...

. The single was produced by Swiff D, alongside the production duo

Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien Einstein–Rosen b ...

, who also co-wrote the track with

Jude Demorest Claire Jude Demorest (born March 11, 1992) is an American actress and singer who is known for her roles in ''Dallas'' and ''Star''. Early life Demorest was born in Michigan, and grew up in a very religious family. She said in an interview "I ...

, Jocelyn Donald,

Normani Normani Kordei Hamilton ( ; born May 31, 1996) is an American singer and dancer. She auditioned as a solo act for the American television series ''The X Factor'' in 2012, after which she became a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which wen ...

, and

Beresford Romeo Trevor Beresford Romeo OBE, (born 26 January 1963) better known as Jazzie B, is a British DJ and music producer. He is the founder of Soul II Soul. Life and career Jazzie was born in London UK to parents of Antiguan descent in Hornsey, Lon ...

. The song is included on the Japanese and expanded editions of Little Mix's sixth studio album, ''

Confetti Confetti are small pieces or streamers of paper, mylar, or metallic material which are usually thrown at celebrations, especially parades and weddings. The origins are from the Latin ''confectum'', with ''confetti'' the plural of Italian ''co ...

'', as a bonus track. ''Bounce Back'' samples "

Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) Back to Life may refer to: Books *''Back to Life: Poems from behind the Iron Curtain'', 1958, ed. Robert Conquest George Robert Acworth Conquest (15 July 1917 – 3 August 2015) was a British historian and poet. A long-time research fellow ...

" by

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

. Described as a Hip hop and Trap-pop track with elements of R&B and

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to t ...

, music, with inspiration from the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Bounce music Bounce music is a style of New Orleans hip hop music that is said to have originated as early as the late 1980s in the city's housing projects. Popular bounce artists have included DJ Jubilee, Partners-N-Crime, Magnolia Shorty and Big Free ...

. The single peaked at number ten on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, becoming Little Mix's 10th top ten hit in the country. It charted in thirteen other countries including Australia, Lithuania, and the Netherlands. It has been

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company wi ...

(BPI) and certified gold in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. In 2021, the group's looks from the song's music video were used for recreation as wax figures at Madame Tussauds to celebrate the group's ten-year anniversary.

Promotion

Little Mix posted a 15-second snippet on their social media accounts on 26 May 2019, and performed part of the song at

BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...

the same day. On 28 May 2019, the group shared a number of pictures via their

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

visuals that formed the cover of the single, which they later fully revealed, after sharing the release date of the song on an

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

live broadcast.

Critical reception

Rob Copsey of

Official Charts The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

wrote "It’s a clever sample rather than a lazy re-tread, blending modern trap-pop with ‘90s hip-hop scratching and horns. while it doesn’t exactly break new ground for Little Mix, there’s an air of renewed confidence about the whole thing that makes it feel fresh and undeniably fun." John Philip of

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

, “Bounce Back” is a high-energy, 80’s reminiscent tune inspired by New Orleans bounce music. The hook features a sample from Soul II Soul’s 1989 smash, “Back to Life.” The quartet sing with soaring harmonies". Claire Shaffer of

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

said "The song takes inspiration from the New Orleans bounce music. “Bounce Back,” produced by Stargate, pays tribute to the song, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this summer." Madeline Roth of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

said "Bounce Back" makes excellent use of Soul II Soul's classic R&B smash. Little Mix's take on it is fresh, fierce, and flirty.

Year-end lists

Music video

The video opens with a young girl playing with her dollhouse as the group is inside it, posing in the style of

Mannequin Challenge The Mannequin Challenge was a viral Internet video trend which became popular in November 2016. In this challenge, participants have to stay still in action like a mannequin while a moving camera films them, often with the song "Black Beatles" ...

to a

musical box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'' ...

tone. As they all sing the intro the camera is going into the doll house while cutting accordingly to the beat, between the group and the models. The camera then cuts to a scene where the group is portrayed on wig head stands while singing and wearing colourful wigs. The group is then seen wearing cheetah-print outfits as each sings their verse. As the bridge of the song takes place, the camera cuts to a street outside a house which is projected on with waterfalls as the group is all wearing denim while singing and dancing. The group aproduced several alternate versions of the video, including a "vertical" version and an LGBTQ+ Pride version featuring drag performers dressed up as members of the group performing alongside them. The video was in partnership with

Akt Protein kinase B (PKB), also known as Akt, is the collective name of a set of three serine/threonine-specific protein kinases that play key roles in multiple cellular processes such as glucose metabolism, apoptosis, cell proliferation, tr ...

, a British charity organization providing “safe homes and better futures” for homeless LGBTQ youth. In 2021, the group's looks from the song's music video were used for their recreation as wax figures at

Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer ...

to celebrate the group's ten-year anniversary.

Live performances

On 15 June 2019, Little Mix performed the song on ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Rona ...

''. Four days later, the group performed the song on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28am ...

''. An acoustic version of the track was performed live at '' Nova's Red Room''. They also performed the song on several iterations of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleop ...

'', such as during the grand finale of the eighth season of ''

The Voice Australia ''The Voice'' is an Australian singing competition television series. It premiered on the Nine Network on 14 April 2012, before moving to the Seven Network in 2021. Based on the original '' The Voice of Holland'', and part of ''The Voice ...

'' on 2 July 2019, and on the live final of the third season of '' The Voice Kids UK'' on 27 July 2019. The song was performed on several music festivals like the

Fusion Festival The Fusion Festival is a music and arts festival with a countercultural character. It takes place at a former military airport called Müritz Airpark in Lärz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in northeastern Germany. The festival name is often depicte ...

on September 1, and the GRLS Festival on 8 March 2020.

Track listing

Digital download and streaming # "Bounce Back" – 2:40 Digital download and streaming – M-22 remix # "Bounce Back" – 3:23 Digital download and streaming – Riton remix # "Bounce Back" – 4:37 Streaming – ''Bounce Back – EP'' # "Bounce Back" – 2:42 # "Bounce Back" – 4:39 # "Bounce Back" – 3:23

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. *

Jesy Nelson Jessica Louise Nelson (born 14 June 1991) is an English singer who rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Little Mix from 2011 to 2020, one of the world's best-selling girl groups. With Little Mix, she released six studio albums and ...

– vocals *

Leigh-Anne Pinnock Leigh-Anne Pinnock (born 4 October 1991) is an English singer, actress and songwriter. She rose to prominence in the 2010s as a member of the girl group Little Mix, one of the world's best-selling girl groups ever. With Little Mix, she release ...

– vocals *

Jade Thirlwall Jade Amelia Thirlwall (born 26 December 1992) is an English singer-songwriter. She rose to prominence in the 2010s as a member of Little Mix, one of the world's best-selling girl groups. With Little Mix, she released six studio albums and achi ...

– vocals *

Perrie Edwards Perrie Louise Edwards (born 10 July 1993) is an English singer. She rose to prominence in the 2010s as a member of the British girl group Little Mix, one of the world's best-selling girl groups. With Little Mix, she released six studio albums a ...

– vocals *

– songwriting, production, music production * Normani Kordei Hamilton – songwriting * Tim Blacksmith – production, executive production * Swiff D - production * Danny D – executive production * Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing, studio personnel *

- songwriting * Jocelyn Donald - background vocals, songwriting * Steve M. Thornton II - songwriting *

- songwriting

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs Little Mix songs Songs written by Tor Erik Hermansen Songs written by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen Songs written by Normani Songs written by Jazzie B Song recordings produced by Stargate (record producers) Songs written by Jude Demorest