"Touch" is a song by British girl group Little Mix. The song was originally released as a promotional single before being announced as the second single from the group's fourth studio album '' Glory Days'' (2016). A remix of the song featuring American rapper

Kid Ink Brian Todd Collins (born April 1, 1986), known professionally as Kid Ink, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles. He released his debut independent album ''Up & Away (Kid Ink album), Up & Away'' in 2012, f ...

, is featured on the album reissue, '' Glory Days: The Platinum Edition.'' Musically ''Touch,'' is a

dance pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

track with elements of tropical house. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise given to its empowering message about being in tune with your sexuality and feeling confident in your own skin. It has since been cited as a

gay anthem A gay anthem is a popular song that has become widely popular among, or has become identified with, the gay community, although some of these songs have also become anthems for the wider LGBT community. Not all songs labelled as "gay anthems" ...

, and a fan favourite single amongst their discography. It was a contender for the UK's Christmas number one single, later reaching number four on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, becoming the group's tenth top ten single in the country. The song also reached the top ten in Ireland and the top twenty in Australia and Mexico, and charted in ten other countries including Hungary and New Zealand. It has since been certified double platinum in the United Kingdom, Brazil and Australia, and has received one platinum and four other gold music certifications in other countries. The song was nominated for British Single of the Year and Best

British Video of the Year The Brit Award for British Video of the Year was an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annua ...

at the

2018 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2018 was the 38th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music show, the Brit Awards. It was held on the 21st February 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, with Jack Whitehall as the host. The Brit Award statuette desig ...

Background and release

Preceding the release of '' Glory Days'', "Touch" was released as the fourth promotional single on 15 November 2016. On 5 December 2016, Little Mix announced that the song would become their second single from the album and was later released on 9 December 2016. On 28 February 2017, a remix featuring

was also made available.

Composition and critical reception

"Touch" is a dance-pop and tropical house song. The song has been described a "club anthem" by several critics. Lewis Corner from '' Digital Spy'' gave the song a positive review, describing it as "more than ready for the dancefloor with dancehall vibes, bouncy beats and an infectious chorus that's enough to take over the whole of your body." Zoe Briggs from '' OK!'' magazine commented: "Sending social media into a total meltdown with the music release, Little Mix fans are happy to see ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' winners doing what they do best. However, after being labelled as one of their sexiest music videos yet, Perrie Edwards has continued to cause controversy with her fashion choices." '' Glamour'' praised the video: "Perrie, Jesy, Leigh Anne and Jade can all be seen showing off some pretty excellent dance moves as they are joined with a load of hot banking dancers. It's a tough job, eh girls?" The song was ranked as one of the most underrated pop songs of 2016 by '' Billboard''. In 2021, "Touch" was named by '' BuzzFeed'' as a

. ''Attitude'' named the song #2 on their list of 32 greatest Little Mix singles of all time stating "‘Touch is a club staple as well as a genuine all round crowd pleaser. Everything from MNEK’s sublime production, to the sensual verses, as well as the euphoric “golden” middle 8, makes listening to 'Touch' a truly religious experience."

Music video

The music video was released to Little Mix's YouTube account on 19 January 2017. The video was directed by

Director X Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian filmmaker, commercial director, music video director, and television director. Having directed more than 100 music videos, he is widely known as a pr ...

and

Parris Goebel Parris Renee Goebel (), also known professionally as Parris, is an Emmy Award winning New Zealand Choreographer, Dancer, Singer, Director and actress. She is the Founder and main Choreographer of the Dance School, “The Palace Dance Studio", ...

. The video takes place at a colourful maze, where the girls perform choreography with their male dancers. The music video was ranked as one of the sexiest music videos of 2017 by MTV.

Promotion and live performances

On 5 December 2016, Little Mix announced via their social media that "Touch" would be the second single from ''Glory Days''. The song was performed as a medley with "Oops", featuring

Charlie Puth Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song videos uploaded to YouTube. Puth initially signed with the record label eleveneleven after p ...

, on 11 December 2016 on ''

The X Factor UK ''The X Factor'' is a British reality television music competition, created by Simon Cowell. Premiering on 4 September 2004, it was produced by Fremantle's Thames and Cowell's production company Syco Entertainment for ITV, as well as simulc ...

'' to coincide with the fifth anniversary of Little Mix winning the show. The band started off by performing the intro of the acoustic version of the song before switching to the original version of the song for the chorus. Little Mix performed "Touch" on the ''

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It w ...

'' in the US on 28 February 2017 and on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28a ...

'' on 28 March 2017. The group performed the song with modified lyrics at the

2017 Kids' Choice Awards The 30th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards was held on March 11, 2017, at the Galen Center on the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles and was broadcast live on Nickelodeon and either live or with tape delay across all of ...

as a medley with their song "

Shout Out to My Ex "Shout Out to My Ex" is a song recorded by British girl group Little Mix. It was released on 16 October 2016 by Syco Music, as the lead single from the group's fourth studio album '' Glory Days (''2016). A dance-pop and power pop song, it wa ...

" on 11 March 2017. On 19 April 2020, the group performed an acoustic version of the song on the UK exclusive broadcast of the One World: Together at Home concert. On 1 February 2017, the group posted behind the scenes footage of their "Touch" music video shoot on YouTube. The group released a maze game inspired by the song's music video with the song playing all throughout the game to celebrate their nomination for British Artist Video Of The Year at the

Chart performance

Before "Touch" was released as the second single from the album, it debuted at number 62 on the

. The song re-entered the charts at number 23 following its official release, and the following week the song peaked at number four, where it stayed for three weeks, becoming the group's tenth top-ten single in the UK. As of June 2019, it ranked as the seventh-best selling single by a girl group in the United Kingdom. Elsewhere "Touch" debuted within the top five in Scotland and Ireland and the top twenty in Australia. It charted in a further ten other countries including Canada and the Netherlands.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

* British singer-songwriter

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

covered the song during

BBC Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cotton ...

in 2017. * Anne-Marie performed a mashup of "Touch" and "Shape of You" for Capital in 2018. * In 2018, "Touch" was covered on the show ''

Produce 48 ''Produce 48'' () was the third season of the South Korean reality competition series '' Produce 101''. It was a large-scale project in which the public "produces" a girl group by voting for members out of a pool of 96 contestants from South Ko ...

'', a South Korean reality competition. * Yoohyeon from the South Korean girl group

Dreamcatcher In some Native American and First Nations cultures, a dreamcatcher ( oj, asabikeshiinh, the inanimate form of the word for 'spider') is a handmade willow hoop, on which is woven a net or web. It may also be decorated with sacred items such as ...

covered the song in 2017. * Mabel released a stripped back cover version of the song during

in 2019.

Release history

References

{{Popjustice 20 2016 songs 2016 singles Little Mix songs Syco Music singles Music videos directed by Director X Tropical house songs Songs written by Shungudzo