Leigh-Anne Pinnock felt "undervalued" in Little Mix. The former band member revealed this as she dropped her debut solo single "Don't Say Love."
The 31-year-old pop star shot to fame in the girl group formed on "The X Factor" in 2011, and on her debut solo single "Don't Say Love," she chanelled the "frustration, sadness and anger" she felt about being "overlooked and undervalued" with a "predominately white" fanbase and pop world.
She told Vogue.co.uk that the pop industry is very white and the group undoubtedly had a predominately white fan base. She added that it took her a long time to understand why she was feeling so undervalued. Sge just blamed myself. Her family would be like all of them were getting the same money so it's fine. But she just could not accept that.
One place Leigh-Anne - who was joined by Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall, and formerly Jesy Nelson in the band that disbanded in 2022 - did feel appreciated was Brazil.
She recalled how fans were chanting my name and she remembered how she never had a response like that while being in a group for nine years.
Her deeply honest upcoming debut studio album is all about the highs and lows in the 'Shout Out To My Ex' group, her relationship with footballer husband Andre Gray - with whom she has young twins born in August 2021 - and motherhood.
And Leigh-Anne - who has dropped her surname for her solo releases - admits she's feeling confident as she embarks on a new chapter as a solo artist.
She said that the first single, "Don't Say Love" is about wanting to be loved wholeheartedly, [like] the love that she has for herself. If it's not that, then she does not want it. That's a journey, getting there.
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Within the group and in her career, she really felt like a lot of the time I was overlooked and undervalued. Therefore, she really wanted to get that emotion across in the video: frustration, sadness, anger. She wanted to get that across in her first single, so I could just leave that girl and that feeling in the past.
The song is a celebration of every type of love: owning who she is and stepping into her solo career and this new being, who gained all of her confidence back and knows who the f*** she is."
Leigh-Anne says making her fans feel "inspired and empowered" is her ultimate goal, while she is looking forward to doing her own tour in the future and sharing the experience with her children.
She added that she just wanted to make music that people are inspired by and people are empowered by and to continue to use my voice and platform.
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