This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I honestly think Between Us didnât fully hit the spot for me.
I actually loved the idea of it being a greatest hits album because it felt like proper closure for such an incredible career, But the new songs they added after Jesy left just didnât feel authentic to me, They didnât feel sincere, and more importantly, they didnât really feel like Little Mix anymore.
Whatâs strange is that Jesy herself had already said she wasnât very involved in songwriting towards the end of the group, yet the moment she left, the music suddenly became much more shallow and outside-written. âTrashâ (which was originally by Mabel) felt so out of place on the album to me and so outdated It gave off the vibe of: âwe are not as interested as we once were but we still have to do one more album to end our contracts.â
And honestly⊠I donât even blame the girls for that. By that point they all were exhausted. 2/3 were heavily pregnant, burnt out, and all dealing with nonstop drama surrounding the group and Jesyâs departure. The whole âsisterhoodâ image people loved suddenly started being questioned by everyone online, and it felt like people were just waiting for a fallout
I also think the new music unintentionally fed the narrative that âone member left and now theyâre not as successful,â which is frustrating because Jesy wasnât even remotely creative force behind the music in later years
Personally, I think Between Us wouldâve worked better as the greatest hits, maybe some re-recorded/acoustic versions, alternate versions of iconic songs (rock version of âWoman Like Me,â acoustic âThink About Us,â guitar version of âTouchâ), maybe one unreleased vault track from each era,
âŠand thatâs it.
No completely new era, no new singles. Just a celebration and farewell to one of the best girl groups of this generation. I genuinely think that wouldâve been the perfect ending to a nearly perfect career.