Is Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock launching a solo music career - and what happened to her bandmates?

Leigh-Anne Pinnock has racked up over 50,000 followers since setting up a Twitter account dedicated to music
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The 30-year-old singer, who found fame in girl group Little Mix, has gone viral after teasing that she is about to debut her first song as a solo artist.

Leigh-Anne Pinnock, from High Wycombe, has racked up over nine million followers on Instagram, since becoming a fan favourite during her time on stage alongside fellow band members Jesy Nelson, 31, Perrie Edwards, 29 and Jade Thirlwall, 29.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The mother-of-two shocked many earlier this week after setting up Twitter account ‘@LeighAnneMusic’, which has already gained over 50,000 followers.

Posting her first tweet, Leigh-Anne wrote: “Is this thing on? 👀”

Thousands of people have liked the post, but are we getting ahead of ourselves?

Little Mix's Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall attending the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena, London. (Image credit: Ian West/PA Wire)Little Mix's Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall attending the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena, London. (Image credit: Ian West/PA Wire)
Little Mix's Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall attending the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena, London. (Image credit: Ian West/PA Wire)

Music career: Born on 4 October 1991, Leigh-Anne, who has a bi-racial ancestry including Barbados and Jamaica, grew up in a Christian household. She studied at Sir William Ramsay School in Buckinghamshire and spent two years at the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Leigh-Anne began exploring her musical talents singing in a youth club and choir, before leaving her job as a waitress at Pizza Hut to join Little Mix. Having Mariah Carey and Rihanna as influences, Leigh-Anne auditioned for the X-Factor singing Rihanna’s ‘Only Girl (In The World)’. Little Mix was formed during the eighth series of the reality TV show and became the first band to win.

The group signed to Simon Cowell’s Syco Music record label, which helped them to become one of the world’s biggest girl bands of all time. They’ve released several albums with hit songs including ‘Wings’, ‘Shout Out to My Ex’ and ‘Power’.

Little Mix announced that they would be taking a break in December 2021, a year after Jesy Nelson quit the group to start a solo career.

Little Mix Little Mix
Little Mix
 Munya Chawawa and Leigh-Anne Pinnock hosting the MOBO Awards 2021 (Getty Images) Munya Chawawa and Leigh-Anne Pinnock hosting the MOBO Awards 2021 (Getty Images)
Munya Chawawa and Leigh-Anne Pinnock hosting the MOBO Awards 2021 (Getty Images)

It was revealed in February in 2022 that Leigh-Anne signed a solo record deal with Warner Records UK. The label, which is home to Ed Sheeran, Saweetie and Dua Lipa, took to Twitter advising fans to sign up to Leigh-Anne’s mailing list to stay updated on any news.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

An early demo of Leigh-Anne’s track ‘I Need You’ was leaked last month, but has since been removed from the internet with the record label investigating how it was able to appear online.

It is not yet known when Leigh-Anne’s first official song as a solo artist will be released, however she previously recorded two solo songs to feature in the film Boxing Day.

Leigh-Anne and her fiance Andre Gray have shared photos of their babies but kept their identities privateLeigh-Anne and her fiance Andre Gray have shared photos of their babies but kept their identities private
Leigh-Anne and her fiance Andre Gray have shared photos of their babies but kept their identities private
Leigh-Anne announced the safe arrival of her twins on Instagram saying “We asked for a miracle, we were given two... Our Cubbies are here 16/08/21"Leigh-Anne announced the safe arrival of her twins on Instagram saying “We asked for a miracle, we were given two... Our Cubbies are here 16/08/21"
Leigh-Anne announced the safe arrival of her twins on Instagram saying “We asked for a miracle, we were given two... Our Cubbies are here 16/08/21"

Her relationship: Leigh-Anne and her fiance Andre Gray welcomed twins 11 months ago. The couple have chosen to keep the names and genders of their children private, but have continued to warm the hearts of their fans with photos showing their family life on Instagram.

Leigh-Anne and Andre met at a club in Marbella in 2016 and began dating a few months later. The singer and footballer have shared loved up photos on social media, including spending Christmas together, celebrating birthdays and joint red carpet appearances.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Celebrating their four-year anniversary, the pair took to Instagram in May 2020 to announce that they had gotten engaged. Leigh-Anne told Bumble’s ‘My Love is…’ podcast that Andre proposed while they were watching a film at home.

Andre Gray and Leigh-Anne Pinnock at the ‘Boxing Day’ premiere in November 2021 (Getty Images)Andre Gray and Leigh-Anne Pinnock at the ‘Boxing Day’ premiere in November 2021 (Getty Images)
Andre Gray and Leigh-Anne Pinnock at the ‘Boxing Day’ premiere in November 2021 (Getty Images)

Money: According to Pop Buzz, Leigh-Anne has a net worth of around £18,000,000. In addition to her musical talent, she has collaborated with ASOS for a fashion edit, starred in a film, written a blog and remains active on multiple social media platforms.

Andre, who signed to Premier League club Watford in 2017 for an undisclosed figure, is believed to be worth an eye-watering £21million.

Leigh-Anne and Andre are in the process of transforming four tired-looking flats in Wolverhampton into properties for sale.

The couple’s own six bedroom house in Surrey was put up for sale for £4.95million after initially being bought for £4.575 million.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.