Awards shows are amazing opportunities for artists, confident in who they are and what they want to present, to toy with their most iconic songs and give us something new. Lady Gaga has frequently used the VMAs as a canvas for her weirdest displays: in 2009, she wore her meat dress, her Alexander McQueen red lace bodysuit and performed a dissonant version of “Paparazzi”, which ended with her hung from a noose. In 2011, she came on stage in full drag king getup as Jo Calderone and performed “You And I”. In 2013, she came out and did “Applause” with a grand total of four costume changes.

While they may not be quite as left field as Mother Monster, Little Mix have completely and utterly turned the Brits into their own playground for exploring their music. Britain’s greatest girl band continue, year after year, to step out onto that stage and deconstruct their greatest hits in the name of theatre.

It seems telling that so many people online are convinced that Little Mix lip-synced through their performance last night: after all, it’s been a long time since Britain produced a band that could sing, dance and perform all at once, so we perhaps have reason to be suspicious. While The 1975’s performance of “Sincerity Is Scary” was a perfect theatrical production, it’s “Woman Like Me” that showed that Jesy, Jade, Perrie and Leigh-Anne are aiming their sights for the big leagues, and they’re using the Brits as a homegrown laboratory for the Grammys or VMA performance they have long deserved.

Little Mix’s live performance reign was cemented with their accomplished performance of “Shout Out To My Ex” on The X Factor in 2016. In a one-take promenade through the studio, the band reminded us all that they did indeed rise to fame on a live singing competition. But it was earlier that year at the Brits that they came out with “Black Magic”, replete with slightly inexplicable Día de los Muertos iconography dressed like Robin Hood and his Merry Men during the Purge. For all the visual choices, though, it is undeniable the four of them offered vocals, choreography and a twist on their biggest single to date.

Cut to the Brits 2017, where they had gone full Olympics Opening Ceremony. Arriving in prismatic sedan chairs, carried by men painted silver, this wasn’t just a remix of “Shout Out To My Ex” but a full reimagining more in line with Beyoncé’s iconic performance of “Who Run The World (Girls)” at the 2011 Billboard Awards.

This year, they came back with “Woman Like Me”, an interesting choice considering that a whole album – and a new single — have come out since this was released. Yet they knew exactly what they were doing: take the most iconic moment, which people already know inside out, and give it a breath of fresh air. Even the decision to swap in Ms Banks for the rap section screamed self-confidence: they knew exactly who they wanted, exactly the sound they needed, and the whole thing gelled fabulously.

It’s easy to underestimate our own native musical talent. Little Mix have to fight a lot of stigma to get us to pay attention to them: they were literally manufactured in front of our eyes on one of the show’s most divisive TV shows, in a country known for girl bands that survive as cult hits rather than global megastars, and also have to try to make pop as explosive as hits from R&B, hip hop or grime artists who have long found the ability to make bigger, balshier remarks on awards show stages. I know it’s easy to underestimate them because I used to: back when their aesthetic was uncertain, their music competent but easy to dismiss, I didn’t think they’d have the staying power they’ve proved they have.

Yet Little Mix are not just veterans of the music industry at this point, one of the longest-serving girl bands our country has produced in decades, but also coming into their own as dramaturgs of the work they make. I saw them live just as LM5 was coming out and was amazed at the confidence of their vocals and the singularity of their vision. That was in a very low-key setting and the fact that this carries through to stadium set pieces is a sign that, even if you don’t care all that much for the music they make, it is undeniable that Little Mix are putting in the hard graft, elbow grease and artistic experimentation to be remembered as one of our finest pop artists of the moment.

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