Jade Thirlwall has defended Little Mix's saucy new tone, insisting their songs are all about empowering women.

The four-piece band, comprising Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, shot to fame when they were formed on the 2011 series of U.K. talent show The X Factor.

The girls hit headlines with their new offerings earlier this year (16), including Shout Out to My Ex, in which Perrie Edwards appeared to hint her ex Zayn Malik wasn't all that in the bedroom.

Little Mix also found themselves at the center of criticism following several raunchy performances on The X Factor earlier this year (16), for which they wore skimpy, barely-there ensembles.

But while the group has been criticized for their more adult look and song messages, Jade insists it's just part of them getting older.

"We’re a bit saucier, naughtier," she told Britain's The Sun newspaper. "We’re a bit more grown up and we can say things now that maybe four years ago we would have been scared to say.

“There’s a couple of songs that are a bit naughty – but in a good way."

The girls released their album Glory Days in November (16), with Touch the second single taken from the record. Lyrics from the song include, "I feel like for the first time I am not faking, Fingers on my buttons and now you're playing, Master of anticipation, Don't you keep it all to yourself", but Jade says their offerings are all about empowering women.

"They’re songs that make women feel empowered," she added. "Blokes have songs like, ‘Oh yeah, girl in the club, yeah,’ It’s like our version of that, but in a really empowering way for a woman, because it doesn’t always have to be a man that sings about naughty things, does it?", she smiled.