They were the envy of teenage girls everywhere, but Perrie Edwards says her meteoric rise to fame with Little Mix left her with debilitating panic attacks, shattered friendships and more than a hint of regret.
The singer became a household name after winning The X Factor with her bandmates Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson in 2012.
To date the only girl group to win the show, Little Mix enjoyed sustained success, winning multiple awards, amassing 15 billion streams and selling over three million concert tickets throughout their one-year reign. decade of modern pop.
But in 2022 they announced their hiatus, two years after Nelson announced his abrupt departure from the band due to long-term issues with his mental health.
Speaking to Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast the day after former One Direction star Liam Payne fell to his death from a hotel balcony, Edwards, 31, admits his shattered friendship with Nelson has inspired a new song.
Perrie Edwards has spoken on Fearne Cotton’s My Happy Place podcast about her struggle with panic attacks, her growing anxiety and her regret over losing her friendship with Jesy Nelson.
The singer became a household name after winning The X Factor with her bandmates Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson in 2012 (pictured on the show in 2017).
She said: “I wrote a song about that, a friendship I had that I don’t have anymore.” We don’t know how to talk about friendship breakups.
“It’s still just as heartbreaking when you go through all these things with someone, all the ups and downs and then they just disappear.”
But these things happen. Do we try to rectify things? Or just stay away?
The singer, who embarked on a solo career with the release of her debut single Forget About Us in April, also revealed she has been plagued by panic attacks since finding fame with Little Mix.
Citing a notable incident that took place while the band was in the United States, he explained. ‘My anxiety started when we were in Las Vegas a few years ago when something happened.
“I’ve been having panic attacks for a while. I thought I was dying, my heart hurt and I went to the hospital and they said “what drugs have you taken?” and I didn’t say anything!
‘I told them ‘something is happening to my heart, I’m going to die and I was having a panic attack.’
“Since that trip they kept coming and the situation got so bad that I had to ask my mother if she was going to put me in a psychiatric institute.”
The latest installment of Cotton’s podcast was recorded a day after former One Direction star Liam Payne fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires.
Edwards admitted his broken friendship with Jesy Nelson, who left the band in 2020, inspired a new song (LR: Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall)
He added: ‘Getting therapy has helped me enormously. I tried a lot of therapists and doctors. I mess up the normal things in everyday life, but when I’m on stage I’m fine.’
Edwards also broke his silence on the tragic death of Liam Payne while speaking in the candid new podcast interview, released Monday morning.
The Little Mix singer spoke of her heartbreak over his death and insisted artists in the music industry “don’t get enough care”.
One Direction singer Liam died earlier this month aged 31 after falling 45 feet from a third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, causing widespread grief from his distraught fans across the country. the world.
Little Mix and One Direction began their careers on The X Factor and Perrie dated her bandmate Zayn Malik, meaning the two bands had a close relationship.
She helps: ‘I think it feels weird. It’s so sad and heartbreaking and my heart aches for his family and friends, Cheryl, his little one.
‘It’s devastating. I can’t imagine how you must feel now. I didn’t think it was real when I read it, it’s in the air and everyone can feel it.
“The Little Mix girls and I were texting and Leigh-Anne (Pinnock) just said that it feels very close to home. Our careers were very aligned, we had a close relationship with them. Honestly, it’s very sad, my body is “It felt very strange when I saw the headline.”
Edwards also broke his silence on the tragic death of Liam Payne while speaking in the candid new podcast interview, released Monday morning.
Edwards and her bandmates with Tulisa Contostavlos after winning The X Factor in 2012. The singer says she has struggled with panic attacks and anxiety since finding fame.
He also talked about the price of fame during the interview, talking about online trolling and how people in the music industry aren’t taken care of enough.
Perrie said: ‘There are no consequences for people’s comments online. In this industry, people are not cared for enough, they are put on a pedestal.
“They treat them like a god and then everyone jumps on the ‘let’s take them down’ train.” But people are human. Can we establish rules with social networks?
“I can’t stand it; I try not to look as I can dig myself into a hole just looking at negative comments.” Success is good, but fame is different: it has a dark side.
‘It’s intense. Sometimes I bring my therapist to work with me because sometimes I can’t cope with the panic attacks.’