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Britain's Little Mix are an exuberant, all-female pop and R&B outfit who shot to stardom after winning the eighth season of the British X Factor in 2011. Featuring the talents of singers Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jesy Nelson, the group grabbed audiences with their highly resonant vocal harmonies and charismatic stage presence, traits that helped lift their first single, "Cannonball," to number one in the U.K. They fared equally well with their 2012 full-length debut, DNA, which hit the Top Five in both the U.S. and the U.K., and spawned the number one British single "Wings." Subsequent albums like 2013's Salute, 2016's Glory Days, and 2018's LM5 have continued to gain chart attention while also showcasing Little Mix's growing maturity and empowered personas. In 2021, they compiled their hits on Between Us, which also featured the MNEK-produced track "Love (Sweet Love)."

Initially surpassing the achievements of One Direction and JLS by becoming the first group to win The X Factor in the U.K., Little Mix was the biggest success story to emerge from the competition's eighth season in 2011. Jade Thirlwall (who had auditioned for two previous series) and Perrie Edwards (both from South Shields), Jesy Nelson (from Romford, East London), and Leigh-Anne Pinnock (from High Wycombe) had all originally auditioned as solo artists, but like fellow acts Nu Vibe and the Risk, were put together as a group at the boot-camp stages. After impressing Jessie J and mentor N-Dubz's Tulisa Contostavlos at Judges' House, they made it to the live finals, where their engaging personalities, girl-next-door image, and contemporary song choices saw them outgrow their initial underdog status.

Originally dubbed Rhythmix, the girls were forced to change their moniker in week four after it was found that there was already a Brighton-based children's charity of the same name. But following stellar performances of En Vogue's "Don't Let Go," Katy Perry's "E.T.," and Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music," they beat the Conway Sisters and Hope's previous record to become the first girl band in the show's history to make it past week seven. After contributing to the high-profile M&S TV ad campaign and the finalists' charity cover version of Rose Royce's "Wishing on a Star," they eventually went on to triumph over Marcus Collins in the finale. The 2011 debut single from Little Mix, a rendition of Damien Rice's hit "Cannonball," went on to top the charts but scored the lowest first-week sales by an X Factor winner since Steve Brookstein's "Against All Odds" (2004), and later lost the coveted Christmas number one spot to the Military Wives Choir. DNA, featuring the singles "Cannonball" and "Wings" (also a U.K. number one), was released in late 2012, and eventually became the U.K.'s highest-charting debut album ever by a British female group.

In 2013, Little Mix returned with their sophomore album, Salute. Featuring production from such names as Future Cut, TMS, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the record showcased a more mature, R&B-infused direction. A string of U.S. dates in support of Demi Lovato took place in early 2014 before the summer brought the group's largest U.K. tour to date. "Black Magic," the first single from third album Get Weird, became Little Mix's third U.K. number one in 2015. Around the same time, Britney Spears released "Pretty Girls," a single co-written by the group, which reached number 16 in the U.K. Get Weird followed later that year, peaking at number two in the U.K. and number 13 on the Billboard 200.

The group's fourth studio album, the Electric-produced Glory Days, arrived in November 2016. It topped the U.K. albums chart and reached number 25 on the Billboard 200. Included on the release was the single "Shout Out to My Ex" as well as the track "Oops" featuring Charlie Puth. An extended version of the album arrived a year later. Little Mix promoted the effort into 2017, supporting Ariana Grande and headlining their own trek. After concluding a 2018 international summer tour, they returned with their fifth album, the aptly titled LM5. The first single from the effort, "Woman Like Me," featured an appearance by rapper Nicki Minaj and helped the album reach number three in the U.K. and 40 on the Billboard 200.

Early 2020 saw the group issue the single "Break Up Song," which was followed by "Holiday" in July. Both tracks appeared on their sixth album, Confetti, which arrived that November, hitting number two in the U.K. and reaching number 85 on the Billboard 200. A month after the record's release, founding member Jesy Nelson left the group to focus on her solo career. That September brought the group's own TV show to BBC One. As it progressed, Little Mix: The Search gave competing groups the chance to win a place on the quartet's Confetti tour. Also in 2021, they released the MNEK-produced single "Love (Sweet Love)" as part their greatest-hits compilation Between Us. ~ Matt Collar & Jon O'Brien

Japanese singer LiSA is known for her upbeat and emotive pop sound and many anime-related theme songs. She first came to the public's attention as the frontwoman with the band Chucky before launching her solo career with 2012's Lover's Mile, which reached number seven on Japan's Oricon Albums Chart. All of her solo albums have hit the Top Ten, including 2013's Landspace, 2015's Launcher, and 2017's Little Devil Parade. LiSA also garnered fans for her many anime songs, singing themes to such titles as Sword Art Online, Fate/Zero, The Irregular at Magic High School, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train, and many others. In 2020, she topped both the Oricon Albums and Billboard Japan's Hot Albums charts with her fifth solo album, Leo-Nine.

Born Risa Oribe in 1987 in Seki, Gifu Prefecture, LiSA took piano lessons growing up and later added vocal and dance classes. By her teens, she had formed a cover band, playing songs by some of her favorite artists, including Avril Lavigne, Ego Wrappin', Love Psychedelico, and others. This group eventually morphed into the indie rock outfit Chucky, with whom LiSA performed from 2005 until they broke up in 2008.

Following the end of Chucky, LiSA relocated to Tokyo to pursue a solo career. There, she formed the group Love Is Same All with members of the band Parking Out. The project quickly became centered on Oribe, who was soon performing under her stage name LiSA (an acronym of the band's name). It was also during the early 2010s that LiSA gained wider attention singing songs as part of the fictional band Girls Dead Monster, featured in an anime series of the same name. As Girls Dead Monster, she released several singles, including "Thousand Enemies" and "Braver." Buoyed by the attention, LiSA made her official solo debut in 2011 with the mini-album Letters to U. Included on the set was the Top Five single "Oath Sign," which was also used as the theme for the anime series Fate/Zero.

Her debut full-length, Lover's Mile, arrived in 2012, peaking at number seven on the Oricon album charts. On the heels of the album's release, LiSA appeared as a guest at the 2012 Anime Expo in Los Angeles, where she also headlined her first North American concert. More anime soundtrack work followed, including scoring a Top Five hit with "Crossing Field," the theme to Sword Art Online. In 2013, she released her sophomore full-length, Landspace, which peaked at number two on the Oricon chart. LiSA continued to release singles in connection with anime projects, scoring numerous Top Ten hits, including "Rising Hope" (the theme to 2014's The Irregular at Magic High School) and "Shirushi" (which was featured as an ending theme in 2014's Sword Art Online II).

LiSA's third album, Launcher, arrived in March 2015, peaking at number three on the Oricon album chart. That same year, she released the song "Rally Go Round" as the theme to the second season of the anime TV series Nisekoi. She also voiced the character of Madge Nelson in the Japanese dub version of the animated film Minions. Following a 2016 mini-album, Lucky Hi Five!, LiSA released "Brave Freak Out" as the theme to the anime series Qualidea Code. She also issued "Catch the Moment" as the theme to 2017's Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale. Both songs were included on her fourth album, Little Devil Parade, which arrived in 2017 and reached number four on the Oricon chart. The following year, she supplied the song "Thrill, Risk, Heartless" as the theme song for the video game Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet. Also in 2018, she released two compilations, LiSA Best Day and LiSA Best Way.

In October 2020, LiSA issued her fifth full-length album, Leo-Nine, which featured production and songwriting collaborations with Pablo, Ryo Eguchi, Koichiro Takahashi, and Shota Horie. It debuted on top of both the Oricon Albums Chart and Billboard Japan's Hot Albums Chart. Included on the record was the single "Adamas," which had also been used as the first opening theme to the anime Sword Art Online: Alicization. Also that October, she scored a number one with the non-album single "Homura," which was used as the theme to the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train and won the Grand Prize at the 62nd Japan Record Awards. More singles arrived in 2021, including "Dawn," which served as the theme song to the anime Back Arrow. Later that year, she teamed up with DJ Snake, Ozuna, and Megan Thee Stallion on the Billboard-charting "SG." ~ Matt Collar