THEY have spent 11 years as a group, had five No1 singles, won three Brit Awards and released seven hit albums.
But as Little Mix prepare to bow out – for now, at least – they have insisted they are doing it as the best of friends and are doing everything they can to ensure they aren’t pitted against each other as they prepare to launch their post-band solo careers.
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In an exclusive final print interview with The Sun, just a week before they go their separate ways, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall have revealed their timetables will be carefully managed so there is no way they will put new music out at the same time.
Perrie, 28, said: “We’ve all said we will let each other know when we’re going to release so we don’t end up clashing in the charts. We’re rooting for each other, not competing against each other.”
Jade, 29, who has signed a solo deal with RCA, added: “It’s just not going to happen. There will be a conscious effort from all of us to make sure of that.”
Leigh-Anne, 30, said their friendship was too precious to risk a head-to-head and the fact they remain so tight-knit will mean they’re able to be open with each other about their solo plans.
She has recently signed with Warner and said: “We are so close and that’s the thing. We’re all going to be in communication about this the whole time.”
In the 11 years since Little Mix were first brought together on The X Factor, they have become Britain’s most successful ever girl band, selling more than 50 million records worldwide and collecting over 22 million monthly Spotify listeners.
Next Saturday will see the final performance of their sold-out Confetti tour — which is their first as a trio since fourth member Jesy Nelson quit in 2020.
It will end with an emotional show which will be livestreamed around the world from London’s O2 Arena – the last chance to catch the girls before they bow out for their hiatus.
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Perrie, who has also already started working on solo music, said: “Even though it’s a massive, epic show, I think knowing everyone is watching it is going to make it feel super intimate.”
However, they are already plotting their comeback as a band and promise they won’t follow the lead of One Direction, who went on their “hiatus” in 2015 and show no signs of reuniting.
Perrie said: “Honestly, we haven’t even parted ways yet and we’re already talking about when we’re coming back! We’re like: ‘is two years away enough? Two and a bit years?’.”
Jade points out they are parting as the closest of friends and so there’s every reason to get back together sooner rather than later.
She said: “You can’t deny our relationship – whenever anyone comes to watch the show or sees us in interviews or on social media it’s pretty obvious that we can’t actually live without each other.
“We know how phenomenal we are together, so why would we never want to do that again? Change has to happen in life, you have to move on at some point and try new things, but it’s such a comfort to know we have each other to come back to.
“We don’t know how long this will be for but I’m already ready for that reunion!”
MAKING HISTORY
There have been plenty of record-breaking Little Mix moments over the last decade, not least when they made history in 2021 by becoming the first girl group to win Best British Band at the Brits.
They used their moment to pay tribute to the likes of All Saints, the Spice Girls and Girls Aloud who came before them but were always overlooked.
Perrie said: “We couldn’t get our heads around the fact that a girl group hadn’t won it before. There were incredible girl bands before us who deserved that award, but it always went to males. We’d thought there was no way we were ever going to win simply because we’re female, which is kind of s**t.
“So we were really shocked when we won and we wanted to shout out all those women who were so deserving of it. We’re so grateful to have won that award and it’s a huge deal for us. But it should have happened sooner.”
Huddled together in their hotel room today, it’s clear how close the three of them are.
Leigh-Anne says that after all the success, they no longer feel like they have anything to prove.
She said: “As a girl group we’ve been constantly trying to prove that we’re credible. But this tour I feel like we’re all up there just having fun because we frickin’ earned it.”
Jade agrees and says the bond between them is stronger than ever.
“People have come and gone throughout the last ten years but this relationship we have has remained and I think that’s very telling.
“We’ve come through a lot together, all the ups and downs and to get to this point and be as close as we are, I think says a lot about how we’ve grown as women.”
MUMS ON TOUR
They all laugh when talking about how different the atmosphere is on tour now compared to the party days of the past.
Leigh-Anne and Perrie both became mothers within a week of each other last August and say the backstage booze has all been replaced by baby paraphernalia.
Perrie said: “It’s all baby bouncers, highchairs, you name it.
“Life has changed. I mean, we were never exactly rockstars before – it wasn’t like you’d walk into bottles of Jack Daniels all over the place with us having it large. But it is a different dynamic.”
Perrie has a boy Axel with Liverpool star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 28, while Leigh-Anne has twins with fiancé Andre Gray, 30, who plays for QPR, although she hasn’t made the babies’ names or sex public.
She said: “I’m just trying to keep it as private as possible for as long as possible. It was a decision we made at the time because [the attention] was freaking me out a little bit.”
Both say that going into rehearsals so soon after giving birth was a challenge.
Perrie said: “I feel like me and Leigh-Anne should have had a note from the doctor saying: ‘Perrie and Leigh have baby brain, go easy on them today’
“Baby brain is real! Jade would pick up the routine in two seconds and we’d be there for an hour doing the simplest of things and then totally forget what it was.
“I’ve never struggled so hard for a tour. I thought I was going to die! Our bodies weren’t ready, our minds weren’t ready.
“If it wasn’t for Jade, keeping the morale up and the positivity going then I don’t know if we’d have made it.”
However, Jade said she was in awe of how well the new mums managed everything.
“Perrie and Leigh-Anne have had to adapt after having kids and being able to go into full-on rehearsal mode while breastfeeding and having the babies there was so amazing.
“And then to get on stage and these fabulous costumes! They’ve been incredible.
“I struggled with rehearsals, never mind having to look after children as well. So I know I’ve had an easier ride.”
As for what’s next, they are all playing their cards close to their chests but say they are excited and nervous in equal measure about what the future holds.
Jade said: “I’m just stepping into the unknown, I don’t really have a plan!
“We all sort of have an idea what we want to do and how we want to do it. But personally, I’m going to enjoy not putting pressure on myself to have to do something by a certain time.”
Perrie added: “As long as I can sing somewhere and at least someone is listening, I’m happy.”
Leigh-Anne said while they hoped to explore lots of avenues, music is where their hearts remain.
She said: “I feel like we’ll probably all dabble in a bit of everything, I don’t think we’d ever want to restrict ourselves. But being on stage is everything to me and I can’t picture myself being anywhere else. It’s what we do, isn’t it?”
Tickets for the Little Mix global livestream event The Last Show (for now…) on May 14 from The O2, London are available now from https://driift.link/LittleMix
Tickets include access to on-demand replays for 48 hours.
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