Jesy Nelson is hoping to crack the US market with her new solo single.
The singer – who left Little Mix last year – and her record label are reportedly keen for her to make her solo debut performance at the MTV Video Music Awards next month, singing her track ‘Boyz’ with rap superstar Nicki Minaj.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “The MTV VMAs is one of the biggest nights in music, watched by millions around the world, so everyone is working hard to get Jesy a performance slot. Nothing has been locked in yet but talks are happening right now and if her team pulls it off, it will be huge. If she pulled off a killer performance, it would show that she is here to take the pop world by storm.
“Her label thinks the single will appeal to people in the US as it samples Bad Boy For Life by P Diddy and features Nicki, so putting her in front of those audiences will give her career there a huge boost.”
Jesy announced in 2020 that she was quitting Little Mix after nine years after saying that being part of the group – which also features Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall – had “taken a toll” on her mental health.
She wrote at the time: “The truth is recently being in the band has really taken a toll on my mental health. I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard. There comes a time in life when we need to reinvest in taking core of ourselves rather than focussing on making other people happy, and I feel like now is the time to begin that process. So after much consideration and with a heavy heart, I’m announcing I’m leaving Little Mix. I need to spend some time with the people I love, doing things that make me happy. I’m ready to embark on a new chapter in my life – I’m not sure what its going to look like right now, but I hope you’ll still be there to support me.”