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 were formed during the eighth series of The X Factor in 2011. As part of Little Mix, Nelson achieved seventeen top-ten singles and five number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart.
In 2019, Nelson released a documentary titled Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out, which focused on her struggles with body image, mental health and online bullying. It won the Factual Entertainment Award at the 25th National Television Awards and the Visionary Honour Award for Documentary of the Year. Nelson's private life and her departure from Little Mix in 2020, have been the subject of media scrutiny in the UK. In October 2021, she released her debut single titled "Boyz", featuring rapper Nicki Minaj, which was met with negative reception. It debuted at number four on the UK Singles Chart. In April 2023, she released her follow-up single, "Bad Thing".
Early life
Jessica Louise Nelson[1] was born on 14 June 1991[2] in Romford, East London,[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]
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 placed 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]
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
In May 2021, Nelson announced that she had signed a record deal with Polydor Records and that she would be releasing solo music later in the year.[17] On 8 October 2021, she released her debut solo single, "Boyz", which featured American rapper Nicki Minaj. The single, which interpolates the song "Bad Boy for Life" by Diddy who made a cameo appearance in a music video for "Boyz", was met with negative reception and debuted at number four on the UK Singles Chart.[18][citation needed] In June 2022, Nelson revealed that her debut album was almost finished,[19] but a month later it was announced that she had split from Polydor amid "creative differences",[20] and the record remains unreleased.
In December 2022, it was reported that Nelson had filmed a music video for a follow-up single titled "Cried Out",[21] which was later shelved in favour of her second official solo single, "Bad Thing", released independently on 14 April 2023.[22] Upon its release, Nelson received praise from the charity Women's Aid due to the song's themes of domestic abuse.[23] The single peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart.[24] Nelson next planned to release "Cried Out" as her third single, but in July 2023, it was reported that the single was scrapped.[25]
Nelson collaborated with Zion Foster on the single "Mine", which was released on 2 August 2024.
Personal life
Nelson has said that being bullied at school may have contributed to her suffering from stress-induced alopecia as a teenager.[26][27] 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."[28]
In 2012, Nelson began dating Diversity dancer Jordan Banjo, but they separated after a year together.[29] In 2014, Nelson began dating Rixton lead singer, Jake Roche. The couple became engaged on 19 July 2015,[30] but broke up in November 2016.[31] She had a brief relationship with Chris Clark in 2017,[32] 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;[33] they split in April 2020. In November 2022, Nelson began dating rapper Zion Foster.[34] In January 2025, the couple announced they were expecting twins.[35]
Nelson has 15 tattoos, including a quote on her upper right arm: "Music is the strongest form of magic".[36]
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.[37] In May 2021, Nelson was accused of "blackfishing" (a form of cultural appropriation).[38] 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.[39]
In November 2020, Little Mix's publicist stated that Nelson would take an extended break from the pop group for "private medical reasons".[40] 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.[41] Two months later, she explained her voluntary childlessness, saying "It's just not in me".[42] 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.[43]
Online bullying and body image
In 2019, Nelson spoke about her experiences with body image and the impact of online bullying on her life and mental health.[44] 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.[45] 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."[46]
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.[47]
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.[48][47] After she was hospitalised, her mother told the other members that she had to leave the group.[47][49] She said that some backstage people associated with Little Mix were glad to see her go.[47]
Discography
For Jesy Nelson's discography as a former member of Little Mix, see Little Mix discography.
Singles
As lead artist
List of singles as lead artist, showing year released, with selected chart positions and album name
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