Jesy Nelson talks girl power, the new era of Little Mix and dealing with body shamers

How has your sound changed from Glory Days to now?

It has evolved in the sense that it’s so much more mature and it’s more stripped back with the production. There’s a lot more we’re doing vocally that is completely different than what we’ve done before. It’s the most girl-power album that we’ve ever written. I feel like it’s the album we’ve always wanted to write.

Your new song ‘Woman Like Me’ features the queen herself, Nicki Minaj. How did that come about?

We’ve always wanted to work with Nicki, literally since we first got together as a group, and it was just all about the timing and her being on the right song. She heard it and she loved it, and she was like, “I really want to work with the girls.”

What strong women inspire Little Mix?

Definitely our mums, who have to put up with a lot from us!

Glory Days has officially sold one million copies. How does it feel?

Amazing! We’ve been together for seven years and it just keeps going up, which is kind of unheard of for girl groups.

There are constant news articles written about your physical appearance. How do you cope?

It’s so important to be around people who are positive and make you feel good about yourself. As we’ve become women, we just don’t really care as much any more, but when you’re younger it’s a lot harder. We genuinely have found a self-love we never had before and it’s important for us to encourage girls to see themselves and love themselves for who they are, and remind them that everything on Instagram isn’t real.

 Do you guys hang out when you’re touring or recording?

Literally all the time! We can’t get away from each other. People think we’re weirdos because we literally spend every day together and even in our time off we still want to spend time with each other.

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Who is your favourite girl group of all time?

It’s got to be the Spice Girls! I think that goes for all of us actually. They were all about girl power as well.

What’s the cutest thing a fan has done for you?

Our fans always make us these amazing books with pictures and messages from all over the world – it’s just so cute!

How does it feel to grow up with your fans?

It feels so weird. When we started X Factor we had fans that were 15 and now they’re 22 – like they’re women now! But it’s so nice to see that they’ve stuck by us for so long.

If you could listen to one band for the rest of your life, who would it be?

Probably the Spice Girls and the song would be ‘Viva Forever’. I love it.

Who do you think is killing it in the music industry right now?

I love Rihanna. I think she’s so brave with everything that she does with her fashion, with her music and she doesn’t care what other people think. She’s a real role model to women in regards to just being you.

If you could see anyone perform, who would it be?

Missy Eliott. She’s literally my idol!