Ariana Grande and Little Mix: Their adoring friendship so far

Girl power! ❤️

Author: Alex RossPublished 2nd Jun 2020
Last updated 21st Jul 2020

They are two of the biggest artists on the planet and often make their opinions clear about important matters in the world, so it's no surprise that Little Mix and Ariana Grande have formed an amazing friendship over the years.

After Ari defended Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock on Twitter back in 2018, following Piers Morgan's public attack on the band over their naked photoshoot for their single 'Strip', the girls created a very strong bond.

Have Ariana Grande and Little Mix ever collaborated together?

Although both Ariana and Little Mix have worked with some of the biggest artists on the planet, they've not yet teamed up and worked together for a track of their own.

However, during an interview with Northsound 1 back in June 2019, the Little Mix girls did admit they'd love to work with the American singer.

Whilst reading out tweets from fans, one tweet read, 'All I want is Little Mix X Ariana, is it too much to ask???'. (sic)

And by the sounds of their response, Perrie, Jade, Jesy and Leigh-Anne would be totally up for it! Leigh-Anne shouted, "No, it's not too much to ask," with Perrie saying, "That would be fantastic."

Holding the tweet, Jade then joked, "We should put this in a message in a bottle and put it in the sea and hope it finds Ariana."

What have Little Mix said about Ariana Grande?

As if the above wasn't enough evidence that the girls NEED to work together, in November 2019 backstage at Hits live, Little Mix sprinkled tonnes of praise onto Ari, admitting it would be a 'dream' to work with her.

When presenter Sarah-Jane Crawford asked about the potential of Ariana and Little Mix working together, Jesy said, "That's the dream," with Perrie adding, "We would love to!"

Speaking about Ariana, Jesy also said, "Aww, we love her, she's our Queen."

So, hopefully we can expect a Little Mix and Ariana Grande collaboration some time in the future. 🙏

When did Little Mix support Ariana Grande on tour?

In September 2016, as Little Mix were branching out to fans across the world, Ariana announced Little Mix would be supporting her on her 'Dangerous Woman' tour for the North American leg.

Little Mix first joined the tour in February 2017, performing at dates in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Omaha, Tulsa, Nashville and Uncasville, before later moving on to shows in New York, Cleveland, Washington, Philadelphia and Boston.

Little Mix joined Ariana again in March 2017, this time playing dates in cities such as San Jose, Denver, New Orleans, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta and Orlando.

Have Ariana Grande and Little Mix ever performed together?

Although Ariana and Little Mix haven't actually performed together, the two artists have shared the same stage.

Little Mix were invited to take part in the One Love Manchester concert on 4th June 2017, a benefit concert set up by Ariana and her team to raise funds for the victims of the tragic Manchester bomb attack which took place at Ariana's show on 22nd May 2017.

After performing some of their own songs, Little Mix were invited back up to the stage with the likes of Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Niall Horan, to join Ariana as she performed her song 'One Last Time'.

Check out Little Mix's biggest collaborations to date:

Little Mix and Missy Elliot - 'How Ya Doin'?

One year after being catapulted to fame on The X Factor, the Little Mix girls teamed up with American rapper Missy Elliott on the massive hit 'How Ya Doin'? in 2012.

Little Mix and Sean Paul - 'Hair'

He's worked with some of the biggest artists on the planet, so Little Mix couldn't wait to work with Sean Paul on their 2015 track 'Hair'.

Little Mix and Jason Derulo - 'Secret Love Song'

The girls also teamed up with the one and only Jason Derulo in 2015, dropping 'Secret Love Song'. It's since become the band's anthem for the LGBT community.

Little Mix and Charlie Puth - 'Oops'

Jade, Perrie, Leigh-Anne and Jesy worked with singer-songwriter Charlie Puth in 2016, releasing the amazing 'Oops'.

Little Mix and CNCO - 'Reggaetón Lento (Remix)'

In 2017, all three of the singles they released were collaborations! Little Mix and Latin American boy band CNCO worked together to release the super-catchy 'Reggaetón Lento (Remix)'. The track has since been a massive favourite with fans.

Little Mix and Stormzy - 'Power'

It was one of the biggest collabs of the year when Little Mix teamed up with Stormzy for their hit 'Power' in 2017. He later joined them on stage in London on one of their 'LM5 - The Tour' dates.

Little Mix and Machine Gun Kelly - 'No More Sad Songs'

'No More Sad Songs' has been a constant feature on Little Mix's set lists since the girls teamed up with Machine Gun Kelly in 2017.

Little Mix and Sharaya J - 'Strip'

Featuring on their 'LM5' album, 'Strip' was Little Mix's amazing female empowerment track with American rapper Sharaya J.

Little Mix and Cheat Codes - 'Only You'

Little Mix worked with American electronic music DJ trio consisting of KEVI, Trevor Dahl, and Matthew Russell in the Summer of 2018, dropping 'Only You'.

Little Mix and Nicki Minaj - 'Woman Like Me'

The girls enlisted the help from the one and only Nicki Minaj in 2018, releasing the amazing single 'Woman Like Me'. The collab, co-written by Nicki, Ed Sheeran, Jess Glynne and producer Steve Mac, reached Number 2 in the UK charts.

Little Mix and Ty Dolla $ign - 'Think About Us'

Little Mix teamed up with Ty Dolla $ign to release their first single of 2019! The girls dropped 'Think About Us' in February.

Little Mix and Nathan Dawe - 'No Time For Tears'

Little Mix worked with DJ Nathan Dawe on 'No Time For Tears', released on Friday 27th November 2020 - just a few weeks after releasing their sixth album 'Confetti'!

Little Mix and Saweetie - 'Confetti'

Little Mix's first single as a trio was a collaboration with Saweetie - 'Confetti' dropped on 30th April with an absolutely banging music video which featured the girls in dual roles as themselves AND male alter egos: Lenny, Pez and J-Dog. It also starred Bimini Bon Boulash, Tayce and A'Whora from RuPaul's Drag Race!

Little Mix, David Guetta and Galantis - 'Heartbreak Anthem'

Just one month after dropping 'Confetti', Little Mix teamed up with superstar DJs David Guetta AND Galantis on their massive single 'Heartbreak Anthem'.

Little Mix and Anne-Marie - 'Kiss My (Uh-Oh)'

After teasing it way back in 2020, July 2021 saw the release of Little Mix's hugely anticipated collab with the one and only Anne-Marie.


Featuring on Anne-Marie's second album 'Therapy', 'Kiss My (Uh Oh)' samples Lumidee's early 00's R&B classic 'Never Leave You'.


And the gals didn't stop there, releasing a 'Girl Power' remix of the track on 26th August 2021, featuring other huge names Becky Hill, Raye and Stefflon Don.

How did Ariana Grande defend Little Mix against Piers Morgan?

If you cast your minds back to 2018, outspoken news anchor Piers Morgan publicly blasted Little Mix when they posed naked for their single 'Strip'. At the time, Piers accused the girls of 'using sex' to sell records and claimed they'd 'copied' US band Dixie Chicks.

After seeing Piers' comments, Ariana Grande's mum Joan waded into the debate with a sassy tweet, Ariana also had her say, tweeting Piers and criticising him for his comments about Little Mix.

She initially tweeted him that she too used her sexuality, and added that she would 'keep fighting til people understand', before commenting, 'also @piersmorgan, i look forward to the day you realize there are other ways to go about making yourself relevant than to criticize young, beautiful, successful women for everything they do. i think that’ll be a beautiful thing for you and your career or what’s left of it. 🖤' sic

She also posted a separate tweet to Little Mix, writing, 'Keep fighting the fight divas @LittleMix 🖤 your sisters have your back' sic

Did Little Mix respond to Ariana Grande's comments about Piers Morgan?

They sure did! After receiving support from both Ariana and her mum, Little Mix publicly tweeted the singer, writing, 'Thank you ♥️ what we do with our bodies is our choice and we felt liberated owning the negative words thrown at us as women. We’ll never stop talking/writing music about issues that affect so many women around the world. We have a voice to use it! we love you Ari 🖤 the girls x'. sic

Fans loved the exchange between the strong women, and praised them for having each other's backs and not being afraid to express their opinions.

You can hear hits by both Little Mix and Ariana Grande on Northsound 1.

For great music, brilliant banter and incredible competitions tune into Northsound 1 on 96.9, 97.6 or 103.0 FM, online, on our Northsound app, your DAB digital radio, or say ‘Play Northsound 1’ on your Smart Speaker. We give you the biggest hits from the world’s hottest artists. You’ll find new favourites every day and hear the songs you've missed from the last few years.