Celebrities
jesy nelson

Jesy Nelson drops first solo single since leaving Little Mix – here’s how fans are reacting

Jesy Nelson drops first solo single since leaving Little Mix – here’s how fans are reacting

Jesy Nelson has released her first single as a solo artist after leaving girl group Little Mix last year.

The 30-year-old dropped her hip-hop-inspired song Boyz, which samples Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s 2001 track Bad Boy 4 Life and features a verse from rapper Nicki Minaj.

Co-written by Nelson, the song was penned while she was going through a painful break-up.

Being nice a little boring when you in between the sheets / I love bad boys for life, Nelson sings.

Before the release, the singer had warned fans that the song may be divisive. She described the track as “in your face” in an interview with Noctis Magazine.

And the music video very much appears to match this attitude.

Set in Southern California, the video includes a cameo from P. Diddy himself, who appears as an annoyed neighbour after Nelson breaks his window with her golfing antics.

Cruising through the streets in a low rider car, Nelson is accompanied by a baseball-wielding backing dancer.

When it’s time for Minaj’s verse, the pair pose together in front of a car.

Fans have been sharing their thoughts on the new song and video, with many sharing their love for Nelson’s first solo single.

Everybody was also talking about the cameos from both P. Diddy and Minaj.

As Nelson predicted, the song isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and some have shared their disappointment after listening to Boyz.

Earlier this year, some accused Nelson of “blackfishing” after people realised she was white and not mixed-race.

In response to these claims, Nelson said in an interview with The Guardian: “I would never want to offend anyone, and that was really upsetting. I wasn’t aware that’s how people felt.”

However, these claims have not gone away, with some accusing Nelson out of the same thing in her music video and song.

Meanwhile, the reference to Little Mix – which Nelson was in for nine years – has divided opinion.

During P. Diddy’s cameo, he says to Nelson: “Hey Jeezy, Jesy, Little Mix whatever you calling yourself these days.”

Back in December 2020, Nelson announced she was leaving Little Mix after nine years as part of the successful girl group, who have sold more than 50 million records worldwide.

Her reason for departing was the toll being in the band had taken on her mental health.

This week, Nelson confirmed she had not spoken to former band mates Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards.

“I haven’t spoken to the girls,” she told Glamour. “It is weird because for so many years we were as close as sisters, together every hour of the day for weeks, sharing beds, laughing, crying just 24/7 the four of us together and then… Nothing.”

“Hopefully at some point in the future we can all come back together. I love them. They are my sisters in so many ways, but for the time being we just don’t talk,” Nelson added.

Nelson’s struggles during her time with Little Mix are no secret after she opened up about them during her 2019 BBC documentary Odd One Out where she revealed abuse on social media got so bad she attempted to take her own life.

Nelson signed her solo deal with Polydor Records and her song is already climbing the charts.

She said of the new music: “I just want to be myself and be real. I want my fans to hear that they’re my stories because they genuinely are. No-one has come in and told me what to write about. This is the music I’ve always wanted to make.”

nicki minajfanslittle mixjesy nelson
The Conversation (0)