Jesy Nelson teases solo single 'Boyz' as she teams up with Nicki Minaj
Jesy Nelson has shared the first tease of her first solo single since leaving Little Mix.
The 30-year-old musician is set to release Boyz with US rapper Nicki Minaj later this month, and to get fans hyped has released footage of her rehearsing in the dance studio.
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Surrounded by men, Nelson is seen performing a street routine as a choreographer counts her in.
He’s heard saying the lyrics: “You can’t stop me I like bad boys for life!”
Minaj is heard in the final moments of the clip declaring: “It’s the UK baddie and the Barbie” while Nelson sneers at the camera showing off a metal grill in her mouth.
The clip confirms Minaj’s involvement in the song release, which until the teaser had only been rumoured.
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Nelson announced she was leaving Little Mix in December last year, saying at the time that she was doing so for her mental health.
After withdrawing from the band temporarily the month before, Nelson announced it would be a permanent thing so she could ‘focus on new things’.
As part of a long statement released on Instagram, she wrote: “You have always been there to support and encourage me and I will never ever forget it.
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“The truth is recently being in the band has really token 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 care 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.”
A few months later she had signed up to a solo record deal.
In a new episode of Reign With Josh Smith, Jesy says that she felt like she was ‘in a machine’ during her time in the band and had been constantly falling out with her band mates.
“I really didn’t want to upset people and I didn’t want people to think that about me, but I don’t care any more,” she said.
Read more: Jesy Nelson defends making solo music after quitting Little Mix over anxiety
“It was ten years of my life that I was very unhappy with and I needed to take myself out of that and genuinely do what’s going to make me happy.
“Some people may not understand that, but you live once and you have to do what makes you happy.”
However, she later added she considered the other three girls in the group - Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards - like ‘sisters’.
A release date for Boyz is still not known.
Watch: Jesy Nelson 'felt trapped' in Little Mix
