The Untold Truth Of Little Mix
In 2011, Little Mix made history as the first girl band to win the long running series, "The X Factor."
After a decade of being in the spotlight, the girl group has made headlines with their charity work, platinum albums, and sold-out tours. The band is currently composed of three members: Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock. Little Mix was originally four members, with their former fourth member, Jesy Nelson, leaving the group in December 2020 due to mental health issues (via Sky News). In a statement released on Instagram, Nelson wrote, "The truth is being in the band has really taken a toll on my mental health. I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard." Nelson's departure was understood by her fans and groupmates, who released a statement on Twitter which read in part, "This is an incredibly sad time for all of us but we are fully supportive of Jesy."
Of course, fans continued on with their Little Mix love and support, falling more in love with the group's style, strong vocals, and unifying messages, (via CelebMix). In November 2020, the group released a studio album titled "Confetti" which features hits including "Not a Pop Song" and "Happiness," (via Genius). After so long in the limelight, a lot of fan still don't know everything there is to know about the popular girl group.
Jesy developed alopecia from intense bullying
In December 2020, Jesy Nelson left the group due to overwhelming stress, (via CNN). Unfortunately, Nelson has been the victim of bullying for all of her school years and a lot of her time with Little Mix.
The online abuse ranged in her weight and skin color. Her school bullying got so bad that it led to her developing alopecia, a condition that causes intense hair loss. Nelson recalls that she started losing hair at age 13, but despite the condition, she's stayed proud of who she is. "I've never really wanted to fit in with everyone else," she explained, (via Bullyville). "I like being an individual. I think it's cool. I think the world would be boring if everyone looked the same."
In 2019, BBC came out with a documentary, "Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out" where Nelson led us through her journey of dealing with online abuse and prioritizing mental health.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
Jade auditioned to be a princess in this live action Disney remake
While Little Mix fans already see Jade Thirlwall as a princess, she nearly played one on the silver screen. Long-time fans know Thirlwall loves a good Disney film, with "Aladdin" being one of her favorites.
Along with being a phenomenal singer, she's been working on getting into the acting world. Rumors circulated that she auditioned for Jasmine in DisneyLand, but that's not the case (via YouTube). Thirlwall actually auditioned for the role of Jasmine in the live "Aladdin" remake in 2019. In an interview with Capital FM, she recounted auditioning at director Guy Ritchie's home.
"Obviously me and the girls were so busy at the time with the Glory Days tour but I did the audition, it went really well," she recalled. "I actually had such a good time doing it." She continued to say, "I auditioned in Guy Ritchie's living room, I had to sing 'A Whole New World' for him which was very bizarre." Unfortunately, she missed out on the role as it was given to Naomi Scott.
Perrie almost quit Little Mix because of the choreography
Along with the group's amazing vocals, fans love their iconic dance movies. However, one member hated doing the dance routines so much to the point that they almost quit.
In May 2020, Little Mix sat down with Buzzfeed in a Zoom interview, where the question came up: Which one improved the most with choreography? To which, Perrie Edwards didn't even hesitate to give her answer. "It's gotta be me, surely," she confessed. "I absolutely despised dancing, I did want to leave the group! Do you remember when I sat down with our management in the first few years and I was like, 'Just FYI, if we have to keep dancing, I don't think I can be in this group anymore!' I cried the whole time, every rehearsal we ever had."
Apparently, Edwards had low confidence when it came to professional choreography despite dancing throughout her school years.
Leigh Ann is terrified of flies more than any other insect
Now all of the girls have their odd fears, but Leigh-Ann Pinnock probably takes the cake for the oddest of the bunch.
It seems as though nothing could spook the tough R&B vocalist, but that's not the case. According to multiple interviews now on YouTube, Leigh-Ann Pinnock's phobia is Muscaphobia, or a fear of flies. In the interviews, she's shown to have a great hatred and fear for flies, or really anything that flies, except for butterflies.
While she's stated that she's afraid of almost all insects, flies are by far her least favorite. Pinnock announced on social media, on May 4, 2021, that she is expecting her first child with long-time boyfriend, Andre Gray. So who knows, maybe their first born will also have Muscaphobia or be able to kill all the bugs in the house with no problem.
The girls were originally in two different girl bands
The group Little Mix, and it's ultimately stage group name, had a long time coming.
All of the girls originally went into "The X Factor" as solo act and went through a Boot Camp to come together. However, despite what most people think, the girls didn't get together until after Boot Camp. Jade Thirlwall and Leigh Ann Pinnock were originally in a group called Orion, (via Planet Radio), while Jesy Nelson and Perrie Edwards were in a group called Faux Pas, (via Planet Radio).
However, their groups didn't go on, so the one judge put the four girls together. Specifically, Kelly Rowland decided to put the four together, because she wanted to see a fresh girl group, (via Planet Radio). Rowland, a former member of the internationally successful girl group Destiny's Child, put them together with the original group name being "Rhythmix." Apparently, that name couldn't work because it was the name of a child's music charity. And thus, Little Mix was finally born, (via Capital FM).