IT’S HARD TO remember the days when Little Mix were just four strangers trying to make it through each week on The X Factor – I lie, their performance of Don’t Let Go is truly iconic.
But the ladies have come a very long way from being just Tulisa’s ‘Little Muffins’ and are now touring all over the world, and performing with some of the biggest names in music.
This week, the four-piece group were one of the headline performers at this year’s Global Teacher Prize which was held in The Assembly in Dubai and their performance is making headlines for a lot more than just their music.
The group began by introducing the next song they would sing and telling the crowd to sing along because “it means a lot to us”.
As the group began singing, colours started flashing on the big screens behind them until eventually the stage as emblazoned with the Pride rainbow flag.
The girls were singing ‘Secret Love Song’ which they have previously said is about loving whoever you want, regardless of gender, and has, as a result, become somewhat of an anthem in the gay community.
What makes the performance so important is that as they sang a song about having the right to love who you love and sang it in front of the universal symbol for the LGBTQ+ community, they did so in a place where homosexuality is still illegal.
LGBTQ+ relationships are still not recognised in Dubai and gay men can face up to 10 years in prison.
It is also a place where conversion therapy is still practiced and people in the LGBTQ+ community have no protection from discrimination under the law.
Little Mix’s performance received a huge amount of praise from many on Twitter who appreciated the stand they took with their huge LGBTQ+ fanbase and the risk they took taking it in that part of the world.