Jade Thirlwall has opened up on her feelings surrounding Little Mix’s hiatus and embarking on her solo career, as she admitted it took her a moment to get used to going it alone.
The singer, 32, launched her solo career last summer with her debut single, Angel of My Dreams, reaching the top 10 in the UK and recently won Best Pop Act at this year’s BRIT Awards.
She is now currently working on her first solo album since she and her Little Mix bandmates, Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, announced a hiatus in 2022.
But despite her success, Jade admitted the foodie podcast, Dish from Waitrose, that she’d had to work hard to learn to stand on her own and start appreciating being able to make her own decisions for the first time.
Speaking to hosts Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett, she admitted that she didn’t feel a sense of freedom after the group’s split ‘at first’, because she’d loved being in the band and it felt like being in a relationship that suddenly ended.
Jade candidly confessed she’d been ‘so conditioned’ to having decisions made for her that she had to ‘get used to existing on my own’.
Jade Thirlwall has opened up on her feelings surrounding Little Mix’s hiatus and embarking on her solo career, as she admitted it took her a moment to get used to going it alone (seen last month)
The singer, 32, is currently working on her first solo album since she and her Little Mix bandmates, Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, announced a hiatus in 2022 (seen together in November 2021)
She launched her solo career last summer with her debut single, Angel of My Dreams, reaching the top 10 in the UK and recently won Best Pop Act at this year’s BRIT Awards (seen)
She explained: ‘Well, we did our last show in 2022? I remember the night after the show I went home back to my flat, and then the next day I woke up and I looked at my diary, and for like the first time in eleven years, there was nothing in it.
‘And the spiral that I had because I was like, what? My life had been planned out for me for years in advance sometimes.’
She continued: ‘I think because I was so used to that being my life, and I was so conditioned to being told where I’m going when and all that stuff.
‘And it’s hard, isn’t it, because when you love it as well, like we didn’t go on a break because we hated each other. We just always said that we’d take a break when it was still on a high. We were doing really well. We still adored each other.
‘So it was the right time to do it. But it did feel like I was like, in a relationship and it just, stops. We just weren’t together anymore.
‘So I really had to get used to existing on my own, and then be like, “okay well what do I want to do? What music choices do I wanna make? Who am I on my own?”‘
Jade explained that as she began handpicking her team and writing music about her own personal experiences, she began to feel that sense of freedom at last.
She recalled: ‘So then I flew to L.A., looked for a new team. And I was really proud of myself for doing that because, I don’t know if you know, but when we got signed, we didn’t really get a choice. When we were that young, and on the X Factor, it’s like you sign here, here and here.
But despite her success, Jade admitted the foodie podcast, Dish from Waitrose, that she’d had to work hard to learn to stand on her own and start appreciating being able to make her own decisions for the first time (seen with Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett)
She candidly confessed she’d been ‘so conditioned’ to having decisions made for her that she had to ‘get used to existing on my own’
‘So I really wanted to make sure for my own solo journey, I was picking and choosing exactly who I wanted on my team. Everything.
‘And then I just started writing loads. And the more I wrote, the more I did feel like liberated, like “oh gosh I can write about my own personal experiences”. Now I love it.
‘I still have moments, like when I did the BRIT Awards, and I walked in the room for the first time on my own, I was like “Oh my God, this is so scary”. Because we were just so used to having each other and doing press on my own is weird.’
Discussing the reaction she’s had since going solo, Jade said she was grateful that her Little Mix fanbase had always been behind her and cheering her on to do well, despite some people writing her and her bandmates off.
She said: ‘I’ve definitely felt the love from people. I think that was always the thing with the Little Mix girls as well, I think we were dark horses at the beginning of our career on X Factor.
‘And then we exceeded expectations by doing well from that. And then as a girlband in the industry, again it was like this constant like dark horse mentality. Of proving to everyone why we deserve to stick around.
‘So I think as the years have gone by, I feel like our fan base was always rooting for us, or just wanted us to do well. And I’ve felt that on my own as well, which has been really lovely.
‘You know, I think people could sense that from us, that we were just like four normal girls just like trying to do well, change our lives and it happened.’
Discussing the reaction she’s had since going solo, Jade said she was grateful that her Little Mix fanbase had always been behind her and cheering her on to do well, despite some people writing her and her bandmates off (Perrie, Jade, Leigh-Anne and Jesy Nelson pictured in 2015)
Despite all her global success however, Jade insisted she makes sure she stays humble by surrounding herself with ‘the right people’, from her family, friends and boyfriend Jordan Stephens.
She said: ‘I am always with my family and friends, I always like to stay grounded. Like my mam will always be the first to humble me if I do anything.
‘But you need that. You need that around you. I’ve been in the industry for so long now, I see it all the time. It’s hard not to change when people are blowing smoke up your a**e all the time.
‘So I’ve really had to keep the right people around us. And I think people maybe do rate that I’ve just went for it. I was like, if I’m going to do it, I might as well go all out’.
The podcast comes off the heels of Jade’s confession that ‘a weight lifted off her shoulders when she turned 30’ in interview with Puss Puss Magazine earlier this month.
The musical artist opened up about how creating her upcoming solo album helped her ‘find herself again’.
She explained: ‘The album is a culmination of all the things I’ve wanted to say over the years. I wanted this album to literally sound like I’m finding myself again, and I think you can hear that sonically.
‘I wanted the fans to be let in on that experience because that’s the truth, that was the process of this album – figuring out what my sound is.’
Despite all her global success however, Jade insisted she makes sure she stays humble by surrounding herself with ‘the right people’, from her family, friends and boyfriend Jordan Stephens (seen together last month)
She admitted: ‘Literally the minute I turned 30 it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders and I stopped caring as much about what people think.
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Jade Thirlwall reveals a 'weight lifted off her shoulders when she turned 30' as star opens up on how her upcoming album helped her 'find herself again'
‘Which is lucky, because I feel like now I’m on my own, I’ll obviously get more scrutiny. There’s more of a magnifying glass.
‘I think people still expect me to look like the 20-year-old girl that I was, but obviously, my body has changed.
‘I’m more than ready for my album to be out there. I get to do my own shows this year and I’ve got a bunch of festivals coming up. I’ve really missed being on stage. I just want the album to be out in the world so I can start writing again.’
Last month saw the star release another new dramatic track, called FUFN (F**k You For Now).
Written by Jade with music icon RAYE and Dave Hamelin, and co-produced by Lostboy, she sings:’Don’t you tell me to calm down.’
The song was teased during the new Fendi campaign for their Mamma Baguette bag, which Jade stars in.
Detailing the meaning of the tune, she said: ‘FUFN is the escalation of an argument we’ve all had, knowing it’s not the end but feeling all the anger in the moment.
‘It’s the channelling of female rage into a bada** big pop banger.’
The singer’s debut single, Angel Of My Dreams, has been a huge commercial success, accumulating over 100 million streams to date.
It entered the UK Official Singles Chart at No.7, marking the third-highest new entry for a British artist last year.
Since then she has followed it up with tracks Midnight Cowboy, Fantasy, IT Girl and FUFN.
And she is set to go on her first ever solo tour this autumn, performing at medium-sized venues, including the 3,600-capacity Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, West London.