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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Lisa McLoughlin

Perrie Edwards hints 'really sad song' on new album is about Jesy Nelson

Perrie Edwards hinted she's written a track about her former bandmate Jesy Nelson for her debut solo album.

The singer, 30, revealed the song reflects “a friendship that I no longer have” and said it brings her to tears whenever she listens to it.

Edwards and Nelson, 33, rose to fame in Little Mix from The X Factor in 2011, alongside Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall.

After Nelson left the band in 2020 citing mental health reasons, she hasn't kept in touch with her former bandmates.

The Forget About Us hitmaker discussed her solo career on The Zach Sang Show, sharing that the track is about someone who was once a significant part of her life but with whom she no longer sees eye-to-eye.

Jesy Nelson pictured far left alongside Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall in 2017 (Getty)

While she didn't explicitly name Nelson, she described them as someone who was a “big part of my life”, adding: “There’s a friendship that I no longer have. I wrote a song about that. That song – I can’t even listen to it without crying.”

She continued: “It is about them and how we didn’t see eye-to-eye. It’s a really sad song. We don’t talk any more.

“They were a big part of my life so it’s sad how it all ended up.”

When host Sang asked if she would ever be willing to make up with the ex-pal, Edwards admitted: “I’m open to it. I don’t know if they would be after they hear the song.”

Previously, Nelson explained her departure from Little Mix was due to mental health struggles, citing the relentless pressure and expectations of being in a girl group. She told The Sun: “For me my mental health issues were an ongoing thing while I was in Little Mix. I was struggling with my body issues, I was constantly being trolled and I really, really struggled.

Edwards pictured on The Zach Sang Show (YouTube/The Zach Sang Show)

“I was in it for nearly 10 years. I think I was never prepared for what was to come. I didn’t have social media or any of that. I was just a barmaid working in Dagenham.

“I needed support and help to overcome that, and there wasn’t the time while I was in the band. I don’t have any regrets because I had to do what was right for me and I will always cherish the memories I had in Little Mix.”

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