{"id":550933,"date":"2025-11-05T15:21:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/550933\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T15:21:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:21:15","slug":"jade-thirlwall-interview-life-after-little-mix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/550933\/","title":{"rendered":"Jade Thirlwall interview: life after Little Mix"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tucked away in Manchester\u2019s Gotham Hotel between tour stops, Jade Thirlwall<\/a> is catching her breath. She is in the midst of her first solo tour, and is still high from the adrenaline of the shows \u2013 the same rush she once knew when she was part of the phenomenally successful pop group Little Mix, only now it is hers alone. “The goal,” she tells me, “is simple: to make sure people can\u2019t be bored. I live for the drama \u2013 and while I don\u2019t quite have a Beyonc\u00e9 or Taylor Swift budget yet, I\u2019m making it work.”<\/p>\n

Thirlwall\u2019s sold-out theatrical run is the vehicle for That\u2019s Showbiz, Baby! \u2013 her self-authored, critically acclaimed debut album, a gleeful sprint through distorted pop, disco and big balladry. When it was released in September, it became 2025\u2019s fastest-selling debut, marking the latest victory in what has been a momentous year for the singer. In March, she won a Brit Award<\/a> for Best Pop Act \u2013 earned off the back of one release, the anthemic \u2018Angel of My Dreams\u2019. With its sly lyric \u2018selling my soul to a psycho\u2019 \u2013 a pointed dig at her former label Syco \u2013 the track drew a line under the Simon Cowell-led pop machine and represented the moment Thirlwall took full creative control. “So many people had no idea what I do musically, who I am outside a group,” she says now. “It\u2019s one thing to have a good voice, but another to show you\u2019re an artist with vision. I\u2019m not just a pop princess dancing around on stage.”<\/p>\n

\"jadeJem Mitchell for Harper’s Bazaar<\/p>\n

Jade Thirlwall wears dress; bra; matching briefs (just seen), all Marc Jacobs. White gold earrings; matching ring, \u00a35,900; white gold and diamond ring, all De Beers.<\/p>\n

Thirlwall is one of a long line of artists who have broken away from the group that launched their career, but few who have successfully reimagined themselves as solo acts. It was 2011 when she burst onto the scene as part of The X Factor’s Little Mix, alongside Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson, who went on to sell more than 50 million records and became the first girl band to spend 100 weeks in the UK Top 10. Anyone who has watched the documentary Girlbands Forever will be keenly aware of how brutal the life of a pop-group member can be. “It was cut-throat,” she says. “You were always on a tightrope of success. If you fell out of the Top 10, there was a lot to worry about. I look back at times when we were huge, before ‘Get Weird’ came out, and we had a big sleepover, all crying, ‘If this isn’t a Top 10 song, we’ll get dropped.’ It’s wild to think about now because we were so big at the time.” <\/p>\n

What to Read Next<\/p>\n

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“Since I was 18, I lived and breathed Little Mix. It just took me a minute to adjust.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nine years of chart hits followed before Thirlwall\u2019s bandmate Nelson left the group in 2020, citing the toll on her mental health. Two years later, the trio announced an indefinite hiatus \u2013 and Thirlwall, for the first time, stood still. “I struggled the most to adapt to life after the group \u2013 the other girls had better distractions: families, kids. They went into a new chapter willingly. It was just me. I didn\u2019t know what to do with myself. Since I was 18, I lived and breathed Little Mix. It just took me a minute to adjust.<\/p>\n

“There were so many spirals. I kept thinking ‘Will I still be relevant by the time [my music] comes out? Will everyone forget about me?’ And being 30-plus, you do wonder, ‘Is that old to start as a solo artist?’.”<\/p>\n

Looking back, she realises she was what she calls “avoidant”. “I went out with friends, and travelled. When I got back home, I was like, ‘Okay girlie, let’s get some therapy going, get in the studio and start figuring out who I am.'” <\/p>\n

She was the last to release solo music, taking two years to find her voice. Her boyfriend Jordan Stephens of the band Rizzle Kicks, whom she began dating in lockdown, helped her to navigate her imposter syndrome. When doubt crept in, he would remind her: “If the music\u2019s good enough, it doesn\u2019t matter how long it takes.”<\/p>\n

In the studio, she found a kindred spirit in MNEK (a Little Mix, Madonna and Kylie Minogue collaborator) and co-wrote \u2018FUFN (Fuck You For Now)\u2019, \u2018Midnight Cowboy\u2019 and \u2018Silent Disco\u2019 with Raye, before spending a year quietly grafting. In the end, she stayed with RCA, her former Little Mix label, which created a wellness fund for therapy, coaching and nutrition \u2013 anything to keep her steady in the spotlight.<\/p>\n

For Thirlwall, ‘Before You Break My Heart’ is the record’s emotional centrepiece. Built around a sample of The Supremes’ Stop! In the Name of Love, it doesn’t just honour her idol Diana Ross, it also resurrects her younger self. The track features an actual recording of the eight-year-old Jade, singing that very song for a Stars in Their Eyes audition. <\/p>\n

\"jadeJem Mitchell for Harper’s Bazaar<\/p>\n

Jacket,Miu Miu. White gold earrings; matching necklace; matching ring; white gold and diamond rings, all De Beers<\/p>\n

“I still see [that girl] every time I go on stage,” she says. “I get really bad nerves, so I imagine her in the front row cheering me on, saying, ‘We’ve made it \u2013 we did what we dreamed of.'”<\/p>\n

Ross was her North Star \u2013 the kind of woman in whom she could see herself. Growing up without Arab representation, Thirlwall clung, as she puts it, “to anyone who was brown or Black that I felt proximity to”. The power of seeing a woman of colour command a stage showed her what was possible, long before she felt it for herself. <\/p>\n

Born in South Shields to a Yemeni-Egyptian mother and an English father, Thirlwall recalls a childhood that was wholesome and culturally rich. However, it was when she started at a mostly white Catholic secondary that, she says, she “started to feel othered”. <\/p>\n

“My early teen years were tough and that was the dawn of me almost feeling ashamed of who I am,” she says. “When you\u2019re from the North East, you hear slurs constantly. You don\u2019t become immune, but you get used to it. Being called the P-word was just part of growing up, which is awful to say. Entering the industry at 18, I\u2019d mostly seen negative stereotypes of Arab and Muslim people in the press \u2013 I was scared to embrace that side of myself. I still carry that shame.”<\/p>\n

Today, she lights up when talking about the new generation of forthright girl bands who are proud of their backgrounds. “It\u2019s amazing \u2013 there\u2019s one called Katseye [a multinational group from the United States, South Korea, the Philippines and Switzerland] \u2013 they\u2019re open about who they are and their heritage,” she says. “That honesty brings me so much joy. There\u2019s a shift in acceptance.” It is the kind of space in which she wishes she had started out.<\/p>\n

\n

“Lily Allen literally DM\u2019d me and said she really loves the album and the topics I sing about”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

She credits social media for broadening the picture, but knows it can turn fast. “The paparazzi have died down, but they\u2019ve been replaced by keyboard warriors. I\u2019ve banned myself from Twitter [now X] \u2013 it\u2019s just a hellhole of awfulness. My heart goes out to newer artists. I don\u2019t think I could\u2019ve coped as a solo artist had I not been in a group for 10 years. It gave me a thick skin\u2026 I reach out to people who are just starting. I\u2019ll DM people if I see they\u2019re struggling, especially women. There\u2019s room for everyone to support each other.”<\/p>\n

That generosity has come full circle. “Mel C was so lovely to me \u2013 and Lily Allen<\/a> literally DM\u2019d me and said she really loves the album and the topics I sing and write about,” she says. “She\u2019s out- spoken and, sometimes, she has to suffer the consequences of that. People love to berate outspoken women.”<\/p>\n

\"jadeJem Mitchell for Harper’s Bazaar<\/p>\n

Dress, Givenchy. Flats, By Malene Birger. White gold earrings; matching ring; white gold and diamond ring, all De Beers<\/p>\n

Next year, Thirlwall will take the album across Europe and America but, for now, her focus is on her follow-up. “I don\u2019t want to wait as long as I did for this record,” she says. “I\u2019m inspired by the main pop girlies of the 2000s \u2013 Britney, Madonna, Janet Jackson. I love pop artists who reinvent themselves with every campaign. That\u2019s what I\u2019ll be aspiring to.” <\/p>\n

And if her rider is anything to go by, it\u2019s already begun. The woman once fuelled by Malibu and mayhem now travels with an electric blanket, Yorkshire Tea and bath salts. “I\u2019m like Nanny McPhee! Maybe it\u2019s because I\u2019m wiser,” she laughs. “I\u2019m smart with my choices. I\u2019ve got my self-soothing bits \u2013 a colouring-in book, acrylic pens from a TikTok shop, jigsaws.” <\/p>\n

For Thirlwall, reinvention doesn\u2019t mean starting over \u2013 it means finally feeling at home in her own skin.<\/p>\n

The original interview was originally published in the December\/January 2026 issue of Harper\u2019s Bazaar, celebrating our Women of the Year.<\/p>\n

\"jade<\/p>\n

Jem Mitchell for Harper’s Bazaar<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tucked away in Manchester\u2019s Gotham Hotel between tour stops, Jade Thirlwall is catching her breath. She is in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":550934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3936],"tags":[2083,176515,1331,77,1330,269,176514,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-550933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-content-type-default","9":"tag-contentid-8975a19e-717e-49a7-bffd-7de6664a1716","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-locale-gb","13":"tag-music","14":"tag-shorttitle-jade-thirlwall-has-finally-found-her-voice","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115497775316621880","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/550934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}