Jade Thirlwall ditches the bra for Beat magazine cover shoot as Little Mix star prepares to release her first single as a solo artist
Jade Thirlwall has made her solo cover debut in Beat magazine, becoming the latest Little Mix member to release music with upcoming single Angel Of My Dreams.
The star’s single, set for release on July 19, follows Jesy Nelson’s 2021 hit Boyz, Leigh-Anne Pinnock’s 2023 hit Don’t Say Love and Perrie Edwards’ Forget About Us in April.
Jade, 31, said Beat magazine about her debut: ‘I wanted Angel Of My Dreams to feel like a brutal, huge, fat slap in the face.’
She said of the founding: ‘I was in LA and feeling a bit lonely anyway, and then someone called to say the head of my label, the guy who signed me, was leaving. I was in a real mess.
‘I went to the studio and thought about how fickle the music industry is, and how much I love this job, but also how much I hate it. I explained the concept to [producer] Mike Sabath, where it’s kind of a love-hate relationship with the industry, but it sounds like it’s a relationship.’
Jade Thirlwall, 31, has made her solo cover debut on Beat magazine as she becomes the latest member of Little Mix to release music with upcoming single Angel Of My Dreams
The star’s single, set for release on July 19, follows Jesy Nelson’s Boyz in 2021, Leigh-Anne Pinnock’s Don’t Say Love in 2023 and Perrie Edwards’ Forget About Us in April.
Jade explained that she initially wanted the song to be about a loving but toxic relationship, but decided to be more explicit in the lyrics.
She also said she’s obsessed with pop music and wants to be the next big name, but found it difficult to step out of the safety net that came with being in a girl group.
Jade wants to follow in the footsteps of S Club’s Rachel Stevens, who had solo success with songs like Some Girls and Sweet Dreams My LA Ex.
Her former group Little Mix formed during The X Factor and won it in 2011, making them the first group in the talent show’s seven-year history to achieve this.
Originally a four-piece band, Jesy left Little Mix in 2020 to protect her mental health. The girl band officially split two years later.
Jesy, 33, has had her most successful debut album to date with Boyz, which peaked at number four in the UK charts.
Boyz, ft. Nicki Minaj, is followed by Perrie’s Forget About Us, which peaked at number 10, and Leigh-Anne’s Don’t Say Love, which peaked at number 11.
Jade announced Angel Of My Dreams on Tuesday and Leigh-Anne, her boyfriend Jordan Stephens from Rizzle Kicks and her mentor from The X Factor, Tulisa Contostavlos, all responded with their congratulations.
Jade said of her debut: ‘I wanted Angel Of My Dreams to feel like a brutal, massive, fat slap in the face.
Jade said she’s obsessed with pop music and wants to be the next big thing, but found it hard to step out of the safety net that came with being in a girl group
Jade announced Angel Of My Dreams on Tuesday and Leigh-Anne, her boyfriend Jordan Stephens and her mentor from The X Factor Tulisa Contostavlos all responded with congratulations
The star has dropped her surname, following in the footsteps of pop icons Cher, Madonna and former Girls Aloud star Cheryl.
Angel Of My Dreams is described as a ‘frenetically shifting, gloriously OTT banger that explores her love-hate relationship with the pop industry’.
Jade said: ‘What I want is a slap in the face. I want people to say ‘oh my god, I didn’t expect that’ – but then want to hear it again.’
The single was written in LA by Jade, along with Steph Jones, who wrote Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso, Pablo Bowman, the man behind Calvin Harris’ Miracle, and the aforementioned Mike, who has collaborated with RAYE.
Jade continues: ‘I didn’t want to make a safe first single, that was really important to me,’ she explains.
“I set the tone of who I am as an artist. I want people to hear it and think ‘what’s that song?’. My worst nightmare is someone hearing my song and thinking ‘that’s cool.'”
The hit will be powerful and unvarnished, with Jade saying it brings “big pop girl energy” after she ‘long, carefully chosen path’ to write it.
She added: ‘It is OTT, it’s ridiculous and it’s gloriously WTF. I’m so proud of it and I can say that with my chest.
“The fans have waited long enough, so now we just want to give it to them.”
Jade releases Angel Of My Dreams on July 19th.