Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock signs a massive solo deal with Warner – two month after the group announce their break
SHE has already conquered the charts as one-third of the biggest girl band since the Spice Girls, but Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock is all set to go solo.
I am thrilled that the singer has signed a bumper deal with Warner Music - the home of Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran and Madonna.
The deal comes two months to the day that Little Mix announced they were going on a hiatus.
But it marks the start of an exciting and promising new era for her.
A source told me: “A number of labels were keen to bag Leigh-Anne but Warner seemed the best fit.
“She’s already been in the studio working on tracks for months.
“Leigh-Anne unequivocally loves Little Mix and always will, but the truth is she’s been ready to branch out on her own for some time.”
Leigh-Anne proved she has more than enough of what it takes to stand on her own two feet by wowing in her festive film Boxing Day.
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During the movie she performed a number of tracks including a new solo song produced by hit producer MNEK.
My insider added: “Little Mix have worked with MNEK for years and he’s helped craft some of their biggest tracks.
“But when it came to her solo career they wanted to do something special.
“They wrote Woman together and it’s used in Boxing Day but they’ve not made a big song and dance about it.
“They also have other tracks that could be used for her solo career - Leigh-Anne is so talented and really wants to build on her time in Little Mix.”
The group first formed on The X Factor in 2011 and have released six hit albums and scored five No1 singles.
But in December, Leigh-Anne, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards said they were taking time apart from the group to pursue solo projects.
The girls said: “We wanted to let you all know that after the Confetti tour in April/May next year we are going to be taking a break from Little Mix.
“It’s been ten amazing years, a wonderful non-stop adventure, and we feel the time is right to take a break so we can recharge and work on some other projects.
“We’re sisters and we’ll always have each other and you, the fans, in our lives. Little Mix is forever. See you on tour!”
Their final trek is due to kick off in Belfast, Northern Ireland on April 9 and will end at London’s O2 Arena on May 14 - after which they are all expected to launch their solo careers.
Their former bandmate Jesy Nelson has already gone solo and released her debut single Boyz featuring Nicki Minaj last year.
By the time 2022 is over, I am expecting Leigh-Anne, Jade and Perrie to have caught up.
Tom in trouble
DON’T ask Tom Holland to whip up a cocktail – his recent stint making them got him in trouble at a celebrity hotspot.
He plays a barman in new film Uncharted and told how he made drinks in secret at Chiltern Firehouse in West London.
Tom said: “I became good friends with the bar staff there, so while I was preparing for the film they would let me make drinks. Then the manager found out and it didn’t go down well.”
He added on The Chris Evans Show with Sky on Virgin Radio: “I don’t know if what I was making was very tasty, but we had a lot of fun .
Anne-Marie's struggles
ANNE-Marie may be riding high with a Brit Award nomination, but the candid star has revealed she has seriously struggled with her mental health since the start of the year.
The ten-time nominee told fans during an intimate Brits Week gig with War Child: “I have been having quite a bad time in this first bit of the year but I have brought myself out of it. You can get out of it. You will get out of it.”
She released her second album Therapy last year which spawned hits Our Song with Niall Horan and Don’t Play, with KSI.
Later in the year she said she was done writing songs for a while, but clearly she has had a U-turn since then.
Anne-Marie said: “I’ve written so many new songs that I am forgetting the old songs. I am so sorry for forgetting the words. I swear to God I have filled my brain with so much new stuff. When I am on tour later this year I promise I will remember the words.”
Candidly explaining about her mental health in the past, she said: “I have a lot of things going on.
I have anxiety, I have obsessive–compulsive disorder, I have attention-deficit disorder, I have dyslexia. I have a lot of things going on in my brain.”
Explaining how bad things got early in her career, she added: “It got to the point where I couldn’t answer the phone or walk into a room by myself.”
Celebrity Hunted
SHE made a name for herself on the box during the run of Netflix’s dating show Too Hot For Handle.
Now Chloe Veitch is trying her luck on Channel 4 series Celebrity Hunted – where stars go on the run, sleep rough and hide from a team of expers pursuers.
Chloe is still single and in an exclusive chat before she went off grid with her team-mate, drag queen The Vivienne, she admitted sharing her experiences being hunted probably wouldn’t help snare her a man.
She said: “I’ve been single for a while now and I know this show is not going to help me in that department.
“Let’s just say I don’t think I’ll be getting many right swipes on Tinder after the world has seen me going to the toilet on the side of the motorway.
“I think, ‘I’m the outdoors type,’ will have a whole new meaning on the dating profiles now they’ve seen me washing my stinky trainers in hand sanitiser. There is no Instagram filter to hide behind on the run.”
Cyber love
BASTILLE release their poppiest, and best, album tomorrow.
They’ve spent three years working on Give Me The Future, which has been inspired by their love of sci-fi and also hints at frontman Dan Smith's search for romance.
In one of the best tracks, Stay Awake, he sings: “Cyber love in the anxious age, Lord, need to get me laid.”
The album release gives fans plenty of time learn the songs ahead of Bastille’s UK tour next month.
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It starts in Bournemouth on March 31.