She missed a few public appearances and was absent from some sections of the video for Sweet Melody, released in November. A month later, she announced she was leaving the group to look after her mental health.
She had hit rock bottom; today she explains just how bad it was. O ur conversation starts with a guided tour of her many tattoos. She has been obsessed with music and dancing since she was a little girl. Who were her heroes?
She always had this little girl in her videos and I so wanted to be her. Nelson, 30, is the second youngest of four children who grew up in Essex. Her parents separated when she was five, and the kids were brought up by her mother, Janis, a police community support officer. Nelson attended the Sylvia Young theatre school, where she specialised in dance. Astonishingly, she says she had only once sung publicly before The X Factor , when she was eight. Which takes us to the next tattoo — XIX. I assume it must be a recent tattoo about self-empowerment — a two-fingered salute to the haters.
She smiles. No, she says, actually it dates back to the earliest days. She shakes her head. I was actually like a little lamb.
I do believe as you get older you learn not to give a shit. Listen to Nelson tell her story, though, and it seems anything but a linear progression towards self-belief.
As a little girl, she says, she was perfectly at ease with herself. In her early teens she was bullied and developed alopecia. By her late teens, she was working at a bar in Romford, east London, hugely popular and loving life.
Then it all fell apart. O n The X Factor, she got through the audition on a vote. Gary Barlow, who was head judge in the absence of Simon Cowell, gave her a big thumbs down. Your voice is very gen-e-ric.
She says The X Factor did nothing to support her when the trolling started. We were like babies: Perrie was 17, I was What should reality shows such as The X Factor provide by way of support?
The group developed a reputation for poppy hits about empowerment, independence and confidence; they spoke about sisterhood and girl power. There were 30 Top 40 singles; all six albums have made the top four in the UK with the first two, DNA and Salute, reaching numbers four and six respectively in the US charts ; and they are the only girl group to spend weeks in the UK Top I ask Nelson when she was happiest in the band.
Her answer leaves me flabbergasted. There was no bad. It was all good. I would be very shocked to hear of any band where everyone felt equal.
It was always about how I looked. Alongside the abuse came adulation. While Nelson has experienced shocking abuse, she also has an army of supporters 8. Things reached a nadir in She convinced herself that there was a logic to it — knowledge was power and she was arming herself. Now she knows just how unhealthy it was. I was just thinking no one would get why I left. But my sister told me to turn them on because people were being so nice about it.
I turned them on and I cried. That, paired with not having control over my life. It was like I was a robot with no feelings. It was like I was disregarded as a human being. I love music. I can genuinely say that. The X Factor was the root of the trolling for you. How do you feel about the show ending after 17 years? It ended when it needed to. Do you think pop stars should have to be stoic and put on a brave face?
The show must go on? Fuck that! I tried to do that for ten years and look where it got me: I tried to [attempt] suicide. What is your relationship like with social media now? I only really go on it if I need to post something or if I want to talk to my fans.
You have direct conversations with them? All the time. Does your team have access to your social media? They do, but I mostly post myself. What do you fear the most? Do you feel protected now? I cried for a month in the studio. A lot of it [is also about] what I was going through in the band and how I was feeling. Prior to getting her on your debut single, had you gotten to know Nicki from working together in the past? We performed with her at the EMAs, and I loved her from there.
I screamed when I heard [her verse]! I just love her so much. Given this is such a big moment for you and you will want things to go well, does the backlash to her vaccine hesitancy make you anxious about having her on your song? Not at all. Regaining control as a solo artist now streamlines the onus placed on her that could have once been shared four ways. Nelson is now the sole occupier of the spotlight, gearing up for her first single release with none of the original Little Mix women for immediate support.
She seems confident that this will be fine, having removed herself from any discourse that could potentially eat her alive. Perhaps having spent half of that era shielding herself from the internet for her own protection has left her vulnerable to self-sabotage. Good nerves. The band gave a very powerful speech at the Global Awards, hitting back at press backlash for their stage costumes and dance moves.
All of the girls except Perrie have tattoos. You can check them all out with our handy Little Mix tattoo guide right here. See more Latest Little Mix News. Taylor Swift. Jesy has a sister called Jade and two brothers called Joesph and Jonathan. Jade has a brother called Karl and Perrie has an older brother called Jonnie.
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