X Factor has a new girl group! Rhythmix changes name to Little Mix following protest from Brighton charity
By Holly Thomas
Last updated at 5:00 PM on 28th October 2011
X Factor girl group Rhythmix have changed their name in the face of protests from a Brighton charity of the same name that works with disabled and vulnerable children.
The group is to be known as Little Mix from now on.
The four girls said they came up with the new name after talking it over with their mentor Tulisa Contostavlos.
Mix up: Little Mix, pictured at the The Shooting Star Hospice in Guildford this week, changed their name as Rhythmix is trademarked to a children's charity
'When we came up with the name Rhythmix, we had no idea that there was a charity with the same name,' the girls explained.
The group consists of Jesy Nelson, 20, Perrie Edwards, 18, Jade Thirlwall, 18, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, 19.
'We decided to change our name to Little Mix as we do not want to cause any problems for the charity, and we're happy that this has now been resolved,' they explained.
Excited: The girls hope that fans will like their new moniker
'We're the same girls as we've always been and we want to thank all of our fans for their continued support of us.'
'We came up with some ideas for our new name which we discussed with Tulisa and she had some ideas too. We all agreed on Little Mix as it just felt right, ' the girls continued
'We're so excited to perform on Saturday and hope everyone is impressed with what we do.'
The Rhythmix charity, which was set up in 1999 and is based in Brighton, organises musicians to work with hundreds of disabled and vulnerable children every year.
Come to an agreement: The girls decided on their new name with the help of their mentor Tulisa Contostavlos, who they partied with at London's Whisky Mist club on Monday
The charity addressed an open letter to show supremo Simon Cowell asking him to intervene after the mix-up was revealed.
The letter was written by Mark Davyd, chief executive of Rhythmix which is a charity that helps vulnerable young people to create and perform their own music.
Just change the name: The letter from the charity urged Simon Cowell to find a new moniker for the girl group
Davyd claimed that Cowell's company Simco had applied to trademark the name Rhythmix while aware that it was already in use by the charity.
The letter, which was posted on Facebook today, said: 'Rather than seeking any discussion with the Charity, considering any of the moral implications of their actions, or checking with the Charity whether the pursuit of an exclusive trademark might have a negative impact on the activities of the Charity, Simco and their legal representatives apparently sought a way to use the law to circumvent the trademark of the Charity.'
The letter recognised Cowell's charity work and praised it but said the X Factor's decision to use the name threatened the charity's work.
It said: 'Rhythmix the charity has worked with over 40,000 young people in the last twelve years. All of that work is placed at risk by the actions of your company.'
Davyd ended the letter with a simple and blunt request to Cowell that said: 'Just change the name.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2054764/X-Factor-new-girl-group-Rhythmix-changes-Little-Mix-following-protest-Brighton-charity.html#ixzz1c6VftI1c