Sometimes you need to disappear before making a fresh start. This was the rationale behind British singer Jade Thirlwall’s move to become the last member of girl group Little Mix to launch a solo career since their break-up nearly three years ago.
The result is her debut single, Angel of My Dreams, a bold statement of intent from an artist keen to showcase a personal and creative identity largely hidden within the confines of the chart-topping girl group.
Thirlwall was born to an English father and has Egyptian and Yemeni heritage from her mother's side. She describes her solo career as the “bonus round", allowing her to take more creative risks without fan and industry expectations.
"I know what kind of artist I want to be and the music I am interested in," she tells The National. "It would have been easier to do a safe pop song but I have done that and lived that whole career releasing pop bangers. So why not experiment in this bonus round? My mantra now is just 'why not'. I already had the success and I don't need to chase the numbers so much."
Angels of My Dream landed in seventh place on the UK charts this week. It is the highest-placing song from all former Little Mix members, as Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards also released solo material this year.
Produced by Mike Sabath, who scored hits with Camila Cabello’s Don’t Go Yet and Shawn Mendes’s It’ll Be Okay, Thirlwall's latest is both a so-called “banger” while not being a readily digestible piece of pop music.
It begins with an ethereal rendition of the chorus before the beats drop with a scuzzy synth riff. Thirlwall then speak-raps in verses assailing the fickle nature of the music industry and celebrity culture.
“Got you a car, got you a house, got you a suit, it's Gucci,” she says in a cold and mechanical tone. “If I don't win, I'm in the bin. You say you never knew me but when I pop off you sue me ... so sue me.”
The shape-shifting nature of the song is an attempt to capture the highs and lows of life in the limelight, she says, an aspect she grew into when Little Mix formed in the 2011 season of X Factor.
Only 18 at the time, Thirlwall was part of what became one of the UK’s biggest pop groups, going on to sell more than 60 million records and hosting their own television talent quest Little Mix The Search in 2019.
The years since the group’s dissolution left Thirlwall reflecting on the nature of the music industry.
"It is bittersweet because on one hand I feel really lucky that Little Mix, as a girl band, had that longevity and looking back at that decade of my life I am only starting to realise how insane it was, “she says.
"Don't get me wrong, I genuinely loved our music and am grateful for being in the band but you realise that as an artist you are very much aware that you are just part of this pyramid of power and success. So Angels of My Dreams talks about that bittersweet feeling of enjoying the success while knowing that you are ultimately disposable and there is always somebody else around the corner ready to take your place. It is a savage industry."
Now seasoned in the industry’s machinations, Thirlwall says she used her clout in getting a favourable record deal with Sony Music. Meetings are shorter now and recording sessions for a coming and an untitled solo album have also been fruitful.
"I guess I have earned my flowers because I never really had a choice before," she says. "When I came out of the X Factor I was 18 years old, had a contract pushed in front of me and it was like 'sign here' and 'this is your label and your team'," she says. "So to have the power to determine that myself is liberating and makes me even more proud of the music."
Part of that evolution also extends to Thirlwall’s Arab heritage, which she plans to show more of as a solo artist.
“A lot of what I am doing now with this record and phase of my career is about pleasing my younger self and trying to be the representation that I wish I had as a little girl growing up,” she states.
“I would've absolutely loved to have seen more Arab artists in the western world, especially female artists. Unfortunately, it played a role in a lot of my confidence issues growing up. That lack of representation did take its toll on me. And even when I entered this industry, I was definitely scared to promote my heritage.
"All I'd ever seen was negative stereotypes or bad representation in the press. But I also can't blame myself. I was so young and I just wanted to do well. I feel like I'm making up for the last time in that sense.”
She notes that rediscovering her rich Arab ancestry, whether through taking Arabic classes or listening to the latest tunes from Arab indie artists, has been a form of inspiration and healing. She recalls being part of the crowd of Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna’s sold-out show in London as being a particularly resonant experience.
"I felt so emotional and I cried because it was the first time in my life that I was in a room pretty much full of young people of Arab heritage singing along to Arabic music," she recalls. "I remember thinking: 'Oh my God, I wish I'd had this growing up,' and how it's still never too late to be part of that. I am just really excited to delve into more of my background and celebrate the success of Arab artists."
