Username: Ghost-Quartet

Album: I Cry When I Laugh:  I’ll have to pay more attention to her from here on out because this album had some amazing songs and was probably the most consistent in the rate, almost to a fault. It low-key felt like the same song ten different times with slight variations but she found ways to keep making it work. It could have definitely used some trimming and it wouldn’t kill Jess to switch it up a bit, but the raw talent and energy are there and they carry the album into greatness.

Gave Me Something: 9

Hold My Hand: 10 ugh these are some great vibes, I’m shaking

Real Love (with Clean Bandit): 6 Did anyone else notice that Jax Jones dropped like, [a knockoff song with Ella Henderson?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpArZkzrU3g&frags=pl%2Cwn) Anyways, this song is nice but it’s clearly the inferior of the two Clean Bandit collaborations in this rate, it just feels like a normal Jess Glynne house-pop song and I was hoping for something a little more. Like, my opinion of this song dropped after I finished the album because I realize that Jess made this song like six times on her own, and those were better.

Ain't Got Far to Go: 9.5 The fiddle that plays during the chorus adds a whole new level to this song. I know nothing about Jess Glynne but I’m like… proud of her after listening to this song. I wish it had a better bridge though.

Take Me Home: 8 This song (and some others on the album) really gave me Christian pop vibes (like, I was thinking of “Jesus Take The Wheel” when listening to this) but I looked it up and she’s Jewish. Anyways, this is a good ballad track but in true popheads fashion it doesn’t resonate like the upbeat songs did. Maybe I should listen to it when I’m in a more depressive state.

Don't Be So Hard on Yourself: 7.5 It’s not realistic, but it’s a bop. Actually, this is the point at which the album started to wear on me. I feel like Jess is rehashing the same song too many times and it starts to get hard to tell them apart. I think this is one of the better takes on the formula but at the same time one of the less memorable ones, if that makes sense.

You Can Find Me: 6 Jess I’m starting to get tired of this song. This had a fighting chance at getting a good score but once I got to the part where she was just going “hey yeah” over and over again I had to admit that this was literal filler.

Why Me: 4 You can literally see my scores dropping as the album goes on.

Love Me: 8.5 Why isn’t this on Spotify? It’s good. She switched up her delivery a bit and it really helps the song stand out.

It Ain't Right: 9 I almost missed some of these tracks because they aren’t on Spotify but they’re good, I love the synth work on this song.

No Rights No Wrongs: 10 Oh the album decided to get good again! A lot of the songs on this album feel somewhat formulaic and I think that this is the best one made with the “big house pop” mold. The chorus is catchy (in a good way) and the lyrics are memorable. Plus there are actually *levels* to this song, it’s not just unrelentingly loud like Jess can sometimes be.

Saddest Vanilla (feat. Emeli Sande): 10 I’m actually really into this song? It’s a nice change of pace on this album and definitely one of the most memorable songs, when I was finished I was like “remember that song about ice cream?” Like, she’s actually calling herself sad vanilla. But it works, I really buy into the situation she describes and I find myself empathizing with this character that she creates. Sometimes that’s really how heartbreak works, you’re just kind of, like, eating ice cream and being sad. I’m not sure *why* Emeli Sande is there since it doesn’t make sense for the song to be a duet, but she sounds good so I won’t complain. Hearing the two of them belting so earnestly about being sad vanilla is so delightfully campy I have to love it.

Right Here: 6.5 Feels like background music from a Grand Theft Auto game. She blends in to these kind of songs too well, another singer could have done more to make this feel substantial.

Home: 5 She made this a single? Okay. It starts off kind of cool but it quickly becomes plodding, and her singing here sounds a little painful.

Bad Blood: 8 This sounds like it’s sampling a boss fight from a PS2 game and it’s cursed and I’m totally into it.

Not Letting Go (with Tinie Tempah): 7 I mean, I’m grooving, but I probably won’t remember this tomorrow.

Rather Be (with Clean Bandit): 10 Bop. Perfect song. Will probably win the rate and you know what? It’ll deserve it.

My Love (with Route 94): 5.3 I blinked and I missed her feature but this would be fine in the background of a club I guess

Album: Glory Days: I was OBSESSED with this album in 2017 and relistening to it was super fun, it still holds up really well. Even though I gave a variety of scores to the songs that’s based off of how quality I think they are, in actuality this is one of those albums where I do love (almost) every song. It’s such a crowdpleaser of an album, it’s not as ambitious as some of their other albums but it’s everything we love about pop music. I feel like in a decade or so when we look back on Little Mix as legends, the throwback fan favorites that make everyone lose their minds will be from this album.

Shout Out to My Ex: 10 I’ll never forget my first kiss… we were watching a movie on my bed and he ended up on top of me and then he leaned down and kissed me and all I could think was “pretty sure it’s not supposed to feel like this.” Anyways, song is a bop, gets a 10 for personal reasons.

Touch: 11 I was gonna be quirky and give my 11 to “Your Love” but like… if I’m being completely honest, this song is an eternal bop and the rightful winner of the rate. This was the song that introduced me to Little Mix because when I was first getting into pop music YouTube threw me the video and they were absolutely right, I loved this song when I first heard it and I love it to this day. I don’t throw the phrase “pop perfection” around a lot because I think it’s massively overused, but it’s completely applicable here. When this song starts it’s like Leigh-Anne is slamming the door open and grabbing you by the throat and then the girls just take turns throwing you around the room, and you love every second of it. The lyrics are sexy and fun, the energy is overflowing, and that legendary chorus over that speaker pounding bass is just *it*. This song is a modern classic, end of story.

Reggaeton Lento (Remix) (with CNCO): 6.5 Of the songs that came out of the “Despacito” Latin wave, I think this is one of my favorites, but as a Little Mix song it’s very middling. They do their best but I’m not quite convinced that they blend well with the track or even (unusually) each other. I think Jesy is the only one who really nails it.

F.U.: 8 I love the trap doo-wop influences on this song but if we’re grading on the curve then they’ve done better. The lyrics are a little weak, but it is one of their best vocal performances on the album. They really go to town here, this is a good genre for singers.

Power: 7 I like this song but if we’re being honest it’s kind of a hot mess, it’s a testament to the charisma of the girls that it’s actually listenable. There are fun lines and hooks but the actual song itself is all over the place and I *still* don’t understand why they say “motorbike” at the end. It’s fun to listen to but I can’t give it a good score.

No More Sad Songs: 9 Did I listen to this a lot after breaking up with my first boyfriend? Absolutely, and that’s all that needs to be said on that. I think the dramatic irony of this song is really interesting, it’s a sad song that’s desperately trying not to be a sad song. It’s a tricky line but I think they balance the dance friendly aspects with the emotional breakup aspects really well.

Oops (feat. Charlie Puth): 8 HoNEStLY I enjoy this song, i’s cute and silly. I love how innocent the song is despite the sexual content, it’s like a lil romantic comedy. Low-key this is one of my favorite songs by Charlie Puth, I think he rises to the occasion and holds his own against the girls, which is a bold feat.

You Gotta Not: 4 Sorry Meghan… I love you but the writing on this song is rough. The actual concept and structure are decent but the actual lyrics aren’t good. Like… are they suggesting we dump people because they don’t love The Weeknd? Um………..

Down and Dirty: 7 This is such a weird song but low-key I give it a pass because that drop is sooo good.

Your Love: 10 One of my favorite Little Mix songs! It’s so cute, I like “cozy” little love songs like this that just make love sound like the best thing in the world, this song is a really refreshing change of pace on an otherwise aggressive album. I think it’s clever how the lyrics drop out after the “your love makes me feel like” part, as if there just aren’t words to express how it feels.

Nobody Like You: 3 Not to be too stereotypical “popheads hates ballads” but like… filler. Their performances are impressive, they’re dripping in emotion, but the song just takes too long to build to anything so it feels slow and boring. They’ve delivered solid ballads in the past but this is just so flat and plodding it feels like a waste of their talents.

Private Show: 9 This is such a whiplash coming out of “Nobody Like You” but I kind of love it? It’s musical equivalent of [this gif](https://media1.tenor.com/images/063c920aadbd43fa2fdd90e4e3660db2/tenor.gif?itemid=10425409), they’re like, enough being sad, let’s hoe out. And hoe out we do! I love how cheap and dirty this song feels, and it has one of the best choruses on the album.

Nothing Else Matters: 10 I’ve seen negative reactions to this track because “it sounds like it’s from a Disney Channel original movie” but I think that’s what I like so much about it. It’s just so sweet and sentimental, it hits. I know that it’s technically a love song but really it feels more like a song about friendship and the bond between the girls, and I think it plays a lot better that way. It’s an ode to being young and feeling like you’ll be with your friends forever; and even if you won’t, it doesn’t really matter right now. It reminds me a lot of “New Romantics” by Taylor Swift, which is high praise.

If I Get My Way: 8 I remember hearing this when it first came out and being underwhelmed by it, but listening to it now it slaps? It’s got a slow start but it positively explodes once it hits the pre-chorus/chorus. It’s a little generic and the tropical sound doesn’t really line up with the rest of the album but I think this is a fun addition.

Is Your Love Enough?: 8.5 Why didn’t I enjoy these new tracks when they came out? This slaps hard, I love the chorus! I love the build of this track, it’s got great energy and it manages to keep ramping that energy up throughout the rest of the track.

Dear Lover: 5 This synth/edm/reggae fusion track is probably the most inventive of the new tracks, but it’s also the least memorable. It feels underwhelming, almost like it’s a demo they were going to rerecord later. I guess it’s better to take an old standard and do it well than try to do something weird and end up milquetoast.

Beep Beep: 9 There are people who say that the lyrics to this song are bad… those people are WEAK and natural selection is coming for them.

Freak: 10 Actually one of my favorite Little Mix songs, not even kidding. Screams blaring, alarms sounding, demonic vocals warbling… literally every element of this song sounds intimidating. This sort of unhinged energy is something that I don’t feel like we see all that often in pop songs, I really feel like letting my freak out when I hear this. I also think this song has a ton of replay value, it was one of my most listened

Album: Phoenix: The clear weakest link in the rate, Rita is going to get slaughtered and she’s going to deserve it. It’s not an awful album and I do enjoy some of the songs but I think it just needed more fleshing out. The songs just feel underproduced and underwritten, Rita thinks she can carry them off by herself but despite a nice voice she doesn’t have the gravitas to force a project like this to work. I can’t say that this album makes me feel as though she's underrated; for once I completely understand why American audiences are passing over her despite hosting stings on ANTM and cameos in bad movies.

Anywhere: 8 She really says she wants to go somewhere “nobody knows her name” and then says she’ll go anywhere… why drag yourself like that? However I actually enjoy the song, the chopped vocal chorus instantly dates it but the rest of it is pretty good. “Only You,” the Little Mix/Cheat Codes song, does this template a little better.

Let You Love Me: 5.2 I mean girl… just let them? Ladies, is it that hard to just accept love? I don’t feel like she’s offering up any compelling reasons here for there to be an issue. Musically it’s also kind of uninspiring.

New Look: 6 It’s alright.

Lonely Together (with Avicii): 8.5 [For reference, this made #30 when we rated it in the Charity Rate.](https://www.reddit.com/r/popheads/comments/7lraxw/rate_reveal_charity_rate_day_2/droidsy/)  I said that it was technically impressive but generic, and then I gave it an 8.5, not sure what I was thinking but I think I was on to something there.

Your Song: 9 This is a really cute song! I like the sentiment and the sound of it, but I think it needed a little more to get over the edge. It doesn’t feel like it achieves the build it hints at, the ending is too low-key.

Only Want You: 8 The album has really started to pick up at this point, but I’m noticing that a lot of Rita’s songs feel kind of underwhelming? Like there’s good ideas in this song but they weren’t fully fleshed out, this is good but it feels like the bones of great.

First Time High: 7 Once again, decent ideas, lackluster execution. Did she really have sex in all those places?

For You (with Liam Payne): 9 First off, is anyone else impressed by the longevity of the *50 Shades* franchise? Like it came out when I was in high school way back in 2011 and I assumed it would be a flash in the pan fad but it’s the end of the decade and people are still referencing it. Another big shocker was how good the soundtrack for the movies were, but in a weird sort of way it makes sense? As poorly executed as it was, I think that the darker, fetishistic-yet-romantic tone of the movies gave a lot of musicians room to do interesting things with the soundtrack. While I wouldn’t necessarily say that this is exceptionally “interesting,” it’s darker than Rita’s usual fare and has a gravitas that really helps her out. Low-key it is one of my favorite Rita songs in the rate. Liam is the weak link here, I just don’t think he really “gets it” like Rita does and she shows him up as a result. I hope the streams this rate generated helped LP1 sales out tho

Summer Love (with Rudimental): 7.5 It’s certainly different from the rest of the album. I do kind of enjoy the hazy atmosphere of the song but I’ve never been a fan of these “we left the drum machine running” kind of songs.

Girls (feat. Bebe Rexha, Cardi B & Charli XCX): 4 How do you assemble this kind of pop dream team and then instead of “Lady Marmalade” give us “Ms. Smuckers?” I’m not even going to touch the controversy surrounding this song but all I’ll say is that you can get away with a song like this if it’s good, and this just… wasn’t good. I gave it a few points because it has an ounce of catchiness to it but that’s the only redeeming factor.

Keep Talking (feat. Julia Michaels): 7.5 I mean it definitely sounds like a Julia Michaels track but I think that Rita holds on to her signature sound well. I think Julia Michaels has gotten more mileage out of other artists but this is decent, I like the hook.

Hell of a Life: 3 sounds like those kinds of songs that I don’t like

Velvet Rope: 8.7 I like this one, it has a nice sound to it. Her asking for us to clap *on the actual track* is kinda tacky, but the actual effect of the clapping on the track.

Falling to Pieces: 9 This starts off with that watery trop pop intro and you’re expecting it to suck but you know what? Sometimes these songs work, and I think this one does because of the strong tone and chorus. One of the best songs on the album imo.

Cashmere: 1  It’s kind of ugly sounding, not sexy. We get really no information about this person or the hookup at all so it’s almost as if she doesn’t care, and she doesn’t really sound that in to the situation either. It’s empty and emotionless, she should have left this off the album entirely because the tracks that precede it are much stronger and this kills the momentum right at the end.

Soul Survivor: 5 I think she put this song at the end of the album because it’s big and cinematic but it’s also, like, kind of boring? It just feels so thin, her voice doesn’t carry this like it should.

BONUS TRACKS


Strawberry Fields: 3 what am I supposed to think about this Jess, what is the point

I Can Feel It (with DJ Serge Wood): 4 I have to respect that Jess is going for that old-school dance diva thing and collaborating with all these DJs who are making songs that’ll only be heard deep in the bowels of the club scene, but I have no interest in music like this.

Kill the Lights (with Alex Newell, DJ Cassidy and Nile Rodgers): 10 We’ve kind of rated this song before, [I myself submitted the original version for the last Charity Rate](https://www.reddit.com/r/popheads/comments/7lraxw/rate_reveal_charity_rate_day_2/drog6km/) and low-key I was made fun of for being so adamant about not submitting this remix but I stand by that because this remix sucks. The original is perfect, one of my favorite pop songs of all time, and this waters it down. (A watered down 11 is a 10 though, like, Jess isn’t that bad.)

Touch (feat. Kid Ink): 1 https://imgur.com/RckCPDl

Power (feat. Stormzy): 3 He’s sooo sloppily edited in to this song it’s like they didn’t tell them he was gonna be there and didn’t let him listen to the song while recording, but you know what? At least he’s  not shouting ever ten seconds like Kid Ink did.

No More Sad Songs (feat. Machine Gun Kelly): 4 Machine Gun Kelly is frustrating because like, he’s bad and doesn’t even have the decency to be hot. Which is why it’s surprising that I think he turned in the best rap verse of the three Little Mix remixes in this rate? The song is still better without him but his verse actually fits in to the vibe of the song and his lyrics relate to what’s happening. The bar was low but you know what? At least he cleared it.

I Will Never Let You Down: 7.5 Her album was like, 50% singles, she should have found space for this song because it would have helped bring the average up.

Poison: 8.2 This song showed promise but kind of ended up as just noise, but like, it was good noise. Again, should have been on the album.

Body on Me (feat. Chris Brown): 7.5 Why do people keep thinking that doing a Chris Brown collab will be good for their career? (Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 don’t interact.)

END