Touch (Little Mix Song)
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"Touch" is a song by British girl group
Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...
. The song was originally released as a promotional single before being announced as the second single from the group's fourth studio album '' Glory Days'' (2016). A remix of the song featuring American rapper
Kid Ink Brian Todd Collins (born April 1, 1986), known professionally as Kid Ink, is an American rapper and singer from Los Angeles, California. His debut studio album, ''Up & Away (Kid Ink album), Up & Away'' (2012), was released independently and peake ...
is featured on the album's reissue ''Glory Days: The Platinum Edition''. "Touch" is a
dance pop Dance-pop is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developi ...
track with elements of
tropical house Tropical house, also known as trop house, is a subgenre of house music, and a derivation of tropical music, with elements of dancehall and Balearic house. Artists of the genre are often featured at various summer festivals such as Tomorrowland. ...
. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise given to its empowering message about being in tune with your sexuality and feeling confident in your own skin. It has since been cited as a
gay anthem Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) music is music that focuses on the experiences of gender and sexual minorities as a product of the broad gay liberation movement. LGBTQ music spans the entire spectrum of popular music. ...
, and a fan favourite among their discography. It reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the group's tenth top-ten single in the country. The song also reached the top ten in Ireland and the top twenty in Australia and on the Mexico Ingles Airplay chart, and charted in ten other countries including Hungary and New Zealand. It has since been certified triple platinum in the United Kingdom, double platinum in Brazil and Australia, and has received one platinum and five gold music certifications in other countries. The song was nominated for British Single of the Year and Best British Video of the Year at the 2018 Brit Awards.


Background and release

Preceding the release of '' Glory Days'', "Touch" was released as the fourth promotional single on 15 November 2016. On 5 December 2016, Little Mix announced that the song would become their second single from the album and was later released on 9 December 2016. On 28 February 2017, a remix featuring
Kid Ink Brian Todd Collins (born April 1, 1986), known professionally as Kid Ink, is an American rapper and singer from Los Angeles, California. His debut studio album, ''Up & Away (Kid Ink album), Up & Away'' (2012), was released independently and peake ...
was also made available.


Composition and critical reception

"Touch" is a
dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
and
tropical house Tropical house, also known as trop house, is a subgenre of house music, and a derivation of tropical music, with elements of dancehall and Balearic house. Artists of the genre are often featured at various summer festivals such as Tomorrowland. ...
song. The song has been described as a "club anthem" by several critics. Lewis Corner from ''
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
'' gave the song a positive review, describing it as "more than ready for the dancefloor with
dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...
vibes, bouncy beats and an infectious chorus that's enough to take over the whole of your body." Zoe Briggs from ''
OK! ''OK!'' is a British weekly magazine that primarily specialises in royal and celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly magazine, its first issue was published in April 1993. In September 2004, ''OK''! launched in Australia as a monthly ...
'' magazine commented: "Sending social media into a total meltdown with the music release, Little Mix fans are happy to see ''
The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' winners doing what they do best. However, after being labelled as one of their sexiest music videos yet, Perrie Edwards has continued to cause controversy with her fashion choices." '' Glamour'' praised the video: "Perrie, Jesy, Leigh Anne and Jade can all be seen showing off some pretty excellent dance moves as they are joined with a load of hot banking dancers. It's a tough job, eh girls?" The song was ranked as one of the most underrated pop songs of 2016 by ''
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 ...
''. In 2021, "Touch" was named by ''
BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...
'' as a
gay anthem Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) music is music that focuses on the experiences of gender and sexual minorities as a product of the broad gay liberation movement. LGBTQ music spans the entire spectrum of popular music. ...
. ''Attitude'' named the song number two on their list of 32 greatest Little Mix singles of all time stating "‘Touch is a club staple as well as a genuine all round crowd pleaser. Everything from MNEK's sublime production, to the sensual verses, as well as the euphoric “golden” middle 8, makes listening to 'Touch' a truly religious experience." Comedian
Phil Wang Philip Nathaniel Wang Sin Goi (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Vòng Hîn-kùi''; born 22 January 1990) is a British-Malaysian stand-up comedian and comedy writer who is a member of the sketch comedy group Daphne, and co-creator of their BBC Radio 4 ser ...
stated that "Touch" "might be greatest pop song of the 21st century". Charli Xcx said they song was severely underrated


Music video

The music video was released to Little Mix's YouTube account on 19 January 2017. The video was directed by
Director X Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian music video director. Having trained under Hype Williams, Lutz has been credited for directing over a hundred music videos spanning various genres si ...
and Parris Goebel. The video takes place at a colourful maze, where the girls perform choreography with their male dancers. The music video was ranked as one of the sexiest music videos of 2017 by
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
.


Promotion and live performances

On 5 December 2016, Little Mix announced via their social media that "Touch" would be the second single from ''Glory Days''. The song was performed as a medley with "Oops", featuring
Charlie Puth Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his cover (music), song covers uploaded to YouTube. Puth signed with the record labe ...
, on 11 December 2016 on ''
The X Factor UK ''The X Factor'' is a British reality television music competition, and part of the global ''X Factor'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Premiering on 4 September 2004, it was produced by Fremantle's British entertainment company, Thames (T ...
'' to coincide with the fifth anniversary of Little Mix winning the show. The band started off by performing the intro of the acoustic version of the song before switching to the original version of the song for the chorus. Little Mix performed "Touch" on the ''
Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...
'' in the US on 28 February 2017 and on ''
The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known simply as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show that aired on CBS from 2015 to 2023. It is the fourth and final iteration of '' The Late Late Show'', and aired in the United Sta ...
'' on 28 March 2017. The group performed the song with modified lyrics at the
2017 Kids' Choice Awards The 30th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards was held on March 11, 2017, at the Galen Center on the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles and was broadcast live on Nickelodeon and either live or with tape delay across all of ...
as a medley with their song "
Shout Out to My Ex "Shout Out to My Ex" is a song by British girl group Little Mix, released on 16 October 2016 through Syco Music and Columbia Records, as the lead single from the group's fourth studio album '' Glory Days'' (2016). A dance-pop song, it was co-wr ...
" on 11 March 2017. On 19 April 2020, the group performed an acoustic version of the song on the UK exclusive broadcast of the One World: Together at Home concert. On 1 February 2017, the group posted behind the scenes footage of their "Touch" music video shoot on YouTube. The group released a maze game inspired by the song's music video with the song playing all throughout the game to celebrate their nomination for British Artist Video Of The Year at the 2018 Brit Awards.


Chart performance

Before "Touch" was released as the second single from the album, it debuted at number 62 on the UK Singles Chart. The song re-entered the charts at number 23 following its official release, and the following week the song peaked at number four, where it stayed for three weeks, becoming the group's tenth top-ten single in the UK. As of June 2019, it ranked as the seventh-best selling single by a girl group in the United Kingdom. Elsewhere "Touch" debuted within the top five in Scotland and Ireland and the top twenty in Australia. It charted in a further ten other countries including Canada and the Netherlands.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Cover versions

* British singer-songwriter
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
covered the song during BBC Live Lounge in 2017. *
Anne-Marie Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson (born 7 April 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. She has attained various charting singles on the UK Singles Chart, including Clean Bandit's " Rockabye", which peaked at number one, as well as "Alarm", " Ciao ...
performed a mashup of "Touch" and "Shape of You" for
Capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
in 2018. * In 2018, "Touch" was covered on the show ''
Produce 48 ''Produce 48'' () is the third season of the South Korean reality competition series ''Produce 101''. It was a large-scale project in which the public "produces" a girl group by voting for members out of a pool of 96 contestants from South Kore ...
'', a South Korean reality competition. * Yoohyeon from the South Korean girl group
Dreamcatcher In some Native Americans in the United States, Native American and First Nations in Canada, First Nations cultures, a dreamcatcher (, the Ojibwe language#Grammar, inanimate form of the word for 'spider') is a handmade willow hoop, on which is ...
covered the song in 2017. *
Mabel Mabel is an English female name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering the prie ...
released a stripped back cover version of the song during BBC Live Lounge in 2019.


Release history


References

{{Popjustice 20 2016 songs 2016 singles Little Mix songs Syco Music singles Music videos directed by Director X Tropical house songs Songs written by Shungudzo