Jesy Nelson is facing another career disappointment as her latest single Bad Thing has failed to land in the UK’s Top 100.
The former Little Mix star released the track independently on April 14 and generated a buzz around it, which includes getting praise from women’s groups because it centres around an abusive relationship.
Despite this it has failed to make a ripple on the charts.
The single has so far garnered 424,000 views of its music video on YouTube and under 426k streams on Spotify, figures dwarfed by those of her fellow pop stars.
Lewis Capaldi, who scored his fifth UK number one with Wish You the Best, released on the same day as Nelson’s song – has over 9.8million streams on Spotify and more than 3.1m views of the official music video on YouTube.
This is the second solo career blow for the singer whose debut single Boyz in 2021 failed to enter the US 200 despite backing from major record label, Polydor, and it having featured rap superstars, Nicki MInaj and P Diddy.
It was reportedly hoped that the song would have given Nelson her big break in the US and was primarily aimed at that market.
While the song fared better in the UK landing at number four, it still underperformed in light of the hype and expectations.
In July 2022, the label parted ways with the singer and explained: “Polydor have amicably parted ways with Jesy.
“We have enjoyed working with her and everyone at the label wishes her nothing but the best for the future.”
In her Little Mix heyday, she gained five UK number one singles, including Wings and Black Magic, and 19 top 10 tracks overall.
The star, who hasn’t been signed up by any other big label since, announced that she independently finished her first solo album in August.
“There’s things I’ve written on there that I’ve never spoken about, I’ve poured my heart and soul into this,” she shared on Instagram.
“I just hope you love it as much as I do and the people that have worked just as hard on it with me,” she added.
Nelson quit Little Mix at the end of 2020, blaming mental health issues as the reason.
She recently sobbed over reports that she and her bandmates Perrie Edwards, 29, Jade Thirlwall, 30, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, 31, were feuding.
“We haven’t spoken for two years but I honestly wish them all the best,” she said. “We’re all on our solo journeys, it’s such an exciting time for us all right now.”
