Little Mix…The Fresh, Non-Catty, Girl Group

My feet, feet can’t touch the ground,

And I can’t hear a sound,

But you just keep on running up your mouth, yeah.

Walk, walk on over there,

‘Cause I’m too fly to care, oh yeah.

I’ve had Little Mix’s fresh-to-death video “Wings” on repeat since late August, and it’s showing no signs of getting old any time soon. It’s bouncy and colorful and induces a near-irresistible urge to dance, but beneath all of the gleaming visuals is a solid self-empowerment anthem.

Little Mix became the first group to win X Factor UK last year, and is set to release their debut album in December. I haven’t been this excited about a girl group since Destiny’s Child released their overhyped final album, “Destiny Fulfilled,” in 2004. That’s not to say that Little Mix are much like Beyonce, Michelle and Kelly, however. They seem to be more in the vein of “Wannabe”-era Spice Girls, when they were still spunky and fresh and way before they started hating each other.

In fact, Little Mix’s dynamic as a group is one of the most compelling things about them. From their performances on X Factor and their subsequent interviews and media coverage, they seem very close friends, which is contrary to the way girl groups are usually depicted.

The music industry does not often represent friendship between women. Beefs between Lady Gaga and Madonna, or Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj, or M.I.A. and Lily Allen, tend to get more attention. Notably, there seems to be a disturbing willingness among women artists to sing about how they’re cool because they’re not like other girls (looking at you, Katy “One of The Boys” Perry).

So far, Little Mix hasn’t bought into the anti-girls streak in pop music, and it makes me all the more excited. Excited enough that I’ve dedicated a good portion of my wall space to a poster of them that I had to have shipped from the UK, even. It’s about time for girl groups (and girl friendship) to make a comeback. Until December, I’ll be jamming to “Wings.”