We chatted to Little Mix star Perrie Edwards as she prepared to release Perrie, her eagerly-anticipated debut album, about "starting from scratch" as a solo artist, learning to trust her intuition and her love for her former bandmates.
Perrie Edwards had to alter her approach to making music as a solo artist in more ways than one.
The 32-year-old British popstar, who came to fame alongside Jade Thirwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson when Little Mix won The X Factor in 2011, was used to creating music as part of the hugely popular girl group.
She admitted it "definitely does feel scarier" this time around with the release of her debut solo album, Perrie.
"When you're in a group you have each other to lean on, you make all the decisions together," she told RTÉ Entertainment. "With Little Mix, we had such a good routine. We knew what worked, we knew what didn't, we knew our strategies. We knew when to release and what to release and everything around it, because we'd done it for that long, it was like second nature.
"But when you go solo, you're starting from scratch. You don't know what the hell you're doing because you're like, 'What's my sound? Who am I as a solo artist?'"
"It is tricky and it is scary, but at the same time, I wanted to be in a place where I felt so confident and so good and so happy with my album, that if I put it out and nothing happens, that's fine, because I love it," she continued.
"All I can do is be myself, make music that I love, and if that doesn't catch on, it doesn't catch on. I can't be something I'm not. I think I'm just happy that I've stuck to my guns."
Perrie launched her solo career last April with the catchy pop ballad Forget About Us. In December, she decided to hit pause on her debut album to think about the direction of her music, a decision she is really glad to have made.
"I'm really proud of it. I took a while to get there," she said. "Now with my album when I hear it, I'm excited for people to listen. It just makes me really giddy and I'm just buzzing about it."
Similarly to her Little Mix bandmate JADE, taking a break from releasing new music was key to finding her voice.
"It's the best thing I could have done. I think at the time I was a bit scared. Because I think in this industry you need to be constantly one step ahead and constantly releasing things and constantly in the public eye," Perrie explained.
"It's a lot, because then the creative side takes a back seat and that's not how it should be - it should be the other way around. I took the pressure off and that's when the creative juices started flowing.
"It was a new year, fresh head, I just felt in a different place altogether. I'm so glad that I followed my intuition and my gut feeling."
As for the sound of the album, which includes the pop banger If He Wanted To He Would and the powerful ballad Miss You, Perrie said, "It's a bit more band driven, it's a bit more like anthemic, it's a bit more live sounding, with teeny hints of country, which just happens naturally when I write music."
Finally releasing the album feels "weird, because it's scary."
"I've been waiting for it for so long now, and I've mentally prepared myself for so long, that I actually just feel so relieved," she said. "It's my storytelling, it's my vocals. All that kind of stuff just made sense to call it Perrie - because it's very me, it's very authentic, it's very autobiographical."
Part of the process of becoming a solo artist was learning to embrace her own authority. She said it was "wild" getting used to "being in a room and everyone's just looking at you for the answers".
"It's my album, it's my sound, it's my concept, it's my ideas, it's my lyrics. Everything has to stem from the artist, the songwriter and producer can't just sit in the room and be like, 'Right, we're going to do this'. You have to own the room," she said.
"That was a bit tricky for me, because when you're in a band and in a group dynamic and there's so many people in a room, you just have a chat and come up with melodies. Whereas when it’s you - it's very personal, it's a bit more deep.
"I definitely struggled to take control at the start, because it's just really out of my character, it’s out of my comfort zone, I'm not really like that. But I'm glad I got to a place where I felt confident in myself to do it."
For over a decade, Perrie was caught up in the whirlwind of Little Mix, releasing six albums and scoring massive hits such as Wings, Black Magic, Shout Out to My Ex and Sweet Melody. Nelson left the band in 2020, citing the toll being in the band took on her mental health, before they went on hiatus in 2022 to focus on their solo careers.
She said their bond remains just as strong now.
"We still feel each other's energy and we still have each other to rant to," Perrie said. "Even though we're apart, we're still going through the same kind of dynamic in our solo careers, so it's nice to fall back on each other and have each other there because we just get it more than anyone else would."
One of the songs on her album, Goodbye, My Friend, is about Leigh-Anne and Jade. "It's saying even though we're not together anymore, I've still got all the memories. I'm such a fan of theirs and I want to see them do well, but I'll always be here if they need me," she said.
Perrie said the music industry is "completely different" compared to when they were starting out.
"I remember Little Mix would release music and we'd be sitting HMV signing the singles and the albums and people would buy it physically," she said.
"With all the different platforms and social media and everything like that, it is a complete different world now. I think this industry is a bit odd at the moment, but I think everyone's just trying to navigate it the best they can with all the different stuff coming into play.
"But you know, times change, things move really quick. So you've got to stay on top of it."
Perrie, who has a four-year-old son Axel with her fiancé, footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, is currently expecting their second child. The singer said it's "a lot" to navigate her career with life at home.
"For women it's really hard in particular, because we always feel torn on being the best possible mam we can be, but also not losing ourselves because we have something we're passionate about and that we want to succeed in," she said.
"I want to be a singer, and I want to be a pop star, and I want to do all these things, but the guilt that comes with it is horrendous. We constantly have that internal battle of 'Am I doing the right thing and doing both things to the highest spec possible, or am I lacking in one and not the other?'
"At the same time we have to understand that just because we have children doesn't change who we are, doesn't change our beliefs and our passions and our career paths. It doesn't change for a man, so I don't see why it should change for us women?
"For me, I like a balance. I don't want to work too much, I don't want to be away from Axel too much, but I don't want to not do what I do."
Perrie said she "honestly couldn't do it" without the support of her mum Deborah.
"If Debs wasn't in my life, I'd be like, well, that's it then, I can't do any of it," she said. "She helps keep my head above water a lot of the time, because trying to juggle my career as well as my personal life, my relationships, my friendships, being a mam.
"Being a mam is my main priority, I want to be the best I possibly can be and leaving Axel doesn't make me feel good, it doesn't make me feel excited. It makes me feel guilty and horrible, and I hate being away from him. But when I know my mam's with him, it's different. They get on so well and they've got the best relationship and the best bond."
Perrie, who is warm, relaxed and funny company, said she doesn't find it hard to keep her head on her shoulders despite her many years in the famously fickle pop industry.
"When you become famous or when you become a celebrity, everyone around you changes, it’s not you that changes," she said.
"I don't think I've changed at all, but I know certain relationships and friendships and people around me would change and it will become a bit awkward, or a bit uncomfortable. Whereas in my circle of people, my mam, my dad, my brother and my family, my friends, my partner, they're so normal and grounded.
"At home we don't think, 'Ooh Perrie the celebrity'. I'm lucky to have them around me because they definitely keep me grounded and they're just the best people. And they would definitely put me in check if I needed it!"
The popstar said that if she were to give advice to any up-and-coming artists, it would be to "trust your intuition". It's advice she certainly seems to be living by.
"Your gut is so powerful, and it's so strong and you're going to hear so many opinions, so many voices, so many higher people in the business that think they know better, and it is going to be hard because you're gonna want to follow their lead and listen to them," she said.
"But just always stick to your guns and always be true to yourself. And then if it's authentic, you just know you’ll feel much better."
Perrie Edwards' debut solo album Perrie is out now.
