Jesy Nelson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jesy Nelson
Nelson in 2017
Nelson in 2017
Background information
Birth nameJessica Louise Nelson
Born (1991-06-14) 14 June 1991 (age 32)
Romford, London, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active2011–present
Labels
Formerly ofLittle Mix
Websitejesynelsonofficial.com

Jessica Louise Nelson (born 14 June 1991) is an English singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Little Mix, who took part on the eighth series of The X Factor in 2011. As part of Little Mix, Nelson achieved nineteen top-ten singles and five number-ones on the UK Singles Chart.

In 2019, Nelson released her documentary titled Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out, which was focused around her struggles with body image, mental health and online bullying. It won Factual Entertainment Award at the 25th National Television Awards and also a Visionary Honour Award for Documentary of the Year. Both her private and personal life has received media attention in the UK, including her departure from Little Mix. In October 2021, she released her debut single "Boyz", featuring rapper Nicki Minaj, which received negative reviews but debuted at number four on the UK Singles Chart. In April 2023, she released her follow-up single "Bad Thing".

Early life[edit]

Jessica Louise Nelson[1] was born in Romford, East London,[2] on 14 June 1991,[3] to John Nelson, a businessman, and Janis Nelson, a police community support officer. Her parents separated when she was five. She is the second youngest of four children with an older sister Jade, an older brother Jonathan and a younger brother Joseph.[4][5]

Nelson attended Jo Richardson Community School and Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College in Hornchurch, London.[6] She also attended the Sylvia Young and Yvonne Rhodes Theatre Schools.[7] Prior to auditioning for The X Factor, Nelson worked as a barmaid in Dagenham.[8] In 2020, Nelson said that, as a child, she had non speaking roles as an extra in About a Boy (2002) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).[9]

Career[edit]

2011–2020: Little Mix[edit]

Nelson (furthest left) with Little Mix in 2014

Her first audition was "Bust Your Windows" by Jazmine Sullivan, and successfully auditioned as a soloist for the eighth series of the UK version of The X Factor in front of judges Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow, Tulisa Contostavlos and Kelly Rowland, but failed the first challenge of the "bootcamp" section to progress through to the Girls category (solo females aged 16–24).[10] Nelson and Perrie Edwards were put in a group called "Faux Pas" while Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock were to be put in a group named "Orion". Both groups, however, failed to progress. A later decision by the judges recalled two members from each group to form the four-piece group Rhythmix, sending them through to the "judges' houses" section. They eventually reached the live shows and were mentored by Tulisa Contostavlos.[11] On 28 October 2011, it was announced that the band's new name would be Little Mix.[12] On 11 December 2011, Little Mix were announced as the winners, making them the first band ever to win the British version of the show.[13]

Nelson performing during Little Mix's The Get Weird Tour in 2016

After winning the show, Little Mix signed a record deal with Syco Music, owned by Simon Cowell. Since joining Little Mix, Nelson has faced cyber-bullying and struggled to cope during her time on The X Factor.[5] Nelson released six albums with the group; DNA (2012), Salute (2013), Get Weird (2015), Glory Days (2016), LM5 (2018) and Confetti (2020) The last of which was released a month before she left the group.[14]

Nelson released her documentary on BBC Three in 2019, titled Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out. The documentary was based on her experiences with body image and online bullying. It was BBC Three's top factual title since the channel moved online and on BBC One it was watched by 3.3 million viewers.[15] The documentary won the Factual Entertainment Award at the 25th National Television Awards.

In December 2020, she announced her departure from the group due to prolonged issues with her mental health. She said: "I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard."[16]

2021–present: Solo projects and upcoming debut album[edit]

In May 2021, Nelson announced that she had signed a record deal with Polydor Records and that she would be releasing solo music later that year.[17] On 8 October 2021, Nelson released her debut solo single, titled "Boyz", which included a feature by US rapper Nicki Minaj. The single, which was an interpolation of "Bad Boy for Life" and the music video featured a cameo of the original singer Diddy, was met with a mixed reception and peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.[citation needed] On 29 July 2022, it was announced that Nelson had split from Polydor Records, amid "creative differences" fourteen months after signing with them.[18]

On 3 April 2023, following a clearance of her social media, Nelson announced her new single "Bad Thing" which was released on 14 April 2023.[19] Upon its release, Nelson attracted praise from the charity Women's Aid due to the song's themes of domestic abuse.[20] On 17 April 2023, the Official Charts Company published their midweek chart predictions; they placed "Bad Thing" at number 98.[21] "Bad Thing" did not end up charting on the UK Top 100, but instead peaked at number 15 on the UK Official Singles Downloads Chart on 21 April 2023.[22]

Personal life[edit]

Nelson has said that being bullied at school may have contributed to her suffering from stress-induced alopecia as a teenager.[23][24] In her BBC documentary Odd One Out, Nelson was vocal about her struggle with body image. She said she would starve herself before TV performances or video shoots, then later binge eat. She said that abuse from online trolls on Twitter drove her to attempt suicide in 2013, stating: "I felt that I physically couldn't tolerate the pain any more."[25]

In 2012, Nelson began dating Diversity dancer Jordan Banjo, but separated in 2013.[26] In 2014, Nelson began dating Rixton lead singer, Jake Roche. The couple became engaged on 19 July 2015,[27] but broke up in November 2016.[28] She had a brief relationship with Chris Clark in 2017,[29] followed by a 16-month relationship with musician Harry James that ended in November 2018. In January 2019, Nelson began dating Love Island contestant Chris Hughes;[30] they split in April 2020. In November 2022, Nelson began dating rapper Zion Foster.[31]

Nelson has 15 tattoos, including a quote on her upper right arm: "Music is the strongest form of magic".[32]

In June 2018, Nelson posted an image of herself on Instagram wearing her hair in dreadlocks. The photo was later deleted after she was criticised over accusations of cultural appropriation.[33] In May 2021, Nelson was accused of "blackfishing" (a form of cultural appropriation).[34] Her name trended on Twitter after some users realised that she is white, having previously believed that Nelson was a woman of colour. In 2021, after the release of "Boyz", Nelson faced criticism online for her appearance in the music video, with comments on her accent and darkened skin. This led to further accusations of blackfishing.[35]

In November 2020, Little Mix's publicist stated that Nelson would take an extended break from the pop group for "private medical reasons".[36] On 14 December 2020, Nelson announced her departure from Little Mix due to struggles with her mental health.[16]

In August 2021, Nelson spoke in an interview about her time on The X Factor and criticised the show for the lack of support she received after being subjected to online trolling. In the interview she spoke about the eating disorder she had developed through extreme dieting during her time with Little Mix, and the panic attacks she would experience.[37] Two months later, she explained her voluntary childlessness, saying "It's just not in me".[38] She further claimed that being body shamed on social media (which she was subjected to since 2020) had greatly "destroyed" her chances of starting a family.[39]

Online bullying and body image[edit]

In 2019, Nelson spoke about her experiences with body image and the impact of online bullying on her life and mental health.[40] Before Little Mix's 2020 studio album Confetti was released, Nelson took some time out of the group's promotion schedule, citing a private medical matter.[41] On 14 December 2020, she announced she was leaving the group due to the impact on her mental health. In a statement, she said: "I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard."[42]

In August 2021, Nelson told The Guardian that since her first appearance on The X Factor with Little Mix she had been trolled about her physical appearance on social media. Although the group supported Nelson's frailties, she said that The X Factor should pair a therapist or psychologist with the coaches. Nelson underwent therapy, where she was told she had an eating disorder.[43]

After the COVID-19 pandemic, Little Mix began work on the "Sweet Melody" music video. Nelson had gained weight and did not feel fit for filming, deciding to go on a drastic diet without getting results.[44][43] After she was hospitalised, her mother told the other members that she had to leave the group.[43][45] She said that some backstage people associated with Little Mix were glad to see her go.[43]

Discography[edit]

Singles[edit]

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[46]
IRE
[47]
NZ
Hot

[48]
US
Bub.

[49]
WW
[50]
"Boyz"
(featuring Nicki Minaj)
2021 4 16 4 13 86 Non-album singles
"Bad Thing"[19] 2023 [a]

Songwriting credits[edit]

List of songwriting credits, with year released and album shown
Year Artist Album Song Notes
2012 Little Mix DNA "Wings" Co-writer
"DNA"
"Change Your Life"
"How Ya Doin'?"
2013 Salute "Salute"
"Move"
"Little Me"
2015 Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea Non-album single "Pretty Girls"
2016 Little Mix Glory Days "Shout Out to My Ex"
"Freak"
2018 LM5 "Strip"
2021
Jesy Nelson Non-album single "Boyz"
2023 Non-album single "Bad Thing"

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2002 About a Boy Extra Uncredited [52]
2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Extra Uncredited [52]
2011 The X Factor Contestant Winner, Series 8 [53]
2012 Styled to Rock Celebrity mentor Season 1; Episode 3 [54][55]
2017 Glory Days: The Documentary Herself Tour documentary [56]
2019 Celebrity Gogglebox Herself One episode [57]
Eat In with Little Mix Herself Web series [58]
Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out Herself Documentary [59]
2020 The Voice UK Herself Guest mentor [60]
Little Mix The Search Judge Music competition series [61]
One World: Together at Home Herself Television special [62]
How To Be Anne-Marie Herself Documentary [63]
LM5: The Tour Film Herself Tour film [64]
2023 The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off Herself Charity Special

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award ceremony Category Nominee(s)/work(s) Result Ref.
2019 CelebMix Awards Biggest Inspiration Herself Nominated [65]
2019 Metro UK Awards Celeb of the Year Herself Won [66]
2019 I Talk Telly Awards Best Documentary Odd One Out Won [67]
2019 OnSide Awards Gold award Odd One Out Won [68]
2020 National Television Awards Factual Entertainment Odd One Out Won [69][70]
2020 Visionary Honours Awards Documentary of the Year Odd One Out Won [71]
2020 PLT Awards Inspirational Influencer of the Year Herself Won [72][73]
2020 CelebMix Awards Biggest Inspiration Herself Nominated [74]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Bad Thing" did not enter the UK Top 100 but instead peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Downloads chart.[51]

References[edit]

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External links[edit]