Pop girl band senasation Little Mix was undeniably one of the biggest girl bands of the 2010’s and since Jesy Nelson’s departure In 2020 it has sadly never been the same commercially.
The girl group, formed in 2011 by Destiny’s Child alum and the X Factor at-the-time judge Kelly Rowland was made up of vocalists Perri Edwards, Jade Thirwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and ex-band member, Jesy Nelson.
The girl pop band was a trailblazer and redefined girl bands, going up to become one of the most successful girl bands of it’s era and was often pit against similarly successful girl group, Fifth harmony.
However, in 2020, the famous girl band was hit with the ‘split syndrome’ popular amongst music bands in the industry as Jesy Nelson announced her departure In December of that year.
The singer cited struggles with mental health and her body image triggered by persistent trolling about her appearance and unflattering comparisons with the rest of her teammates. Nelson further took some stick – enough stick, in fact, to fill the hour-long BBC documentary “Odd One Out†in 2019.
Since her departure, the band continued to make music and announced a hiatus in 2021 to pursue their solo careers and fans have speculated this was due to the girl band declining in sales, charts and popularity since estrangement from their former band mate.
In contrast, things haven’t been looking up for the newly turned solo artist either as her career seems to have ‘dipped’ before it took off.
Her debut single, “Boyzâ€, was overshadowed by allegations of blackfishing and a promotional video featuring Nelson and Nicki Minaj ignited an ignoble feud with former bandmate Leigh-Anne Pinnock, after Nelson appeared to allegedly laugh at Minaj calling Pinnock “a clownâ€.
Now, with the release of her new single Bad thing she seems to have taken a different approach with her sound, aesthetics and production but sadly, the song still hasn’t made enough sales and buzz the singer would’ve hoped for.
In a recent interview with The Sun, the 31 year old singer revealed that she hasn’t been in communication with her former bandmates in 2 years, since she her exit in 2020.
“No, we haven’t talked since then. Never say never, but I honestly wish them the best on their solo journeys now, which is so exciting,†she said.
With Jesy’s enthusiasm when referencing her former bandmates, fans speculate that the estrangement between them could be from their end and not hers.
It’s sad to think that despite the English singer’s attempts to re-invent herself she may sadly always be remembered as the one who fell out with Little Mix and her career would likely almost always be overshadowed by this single event.