Little Mix’s gruelling workload as Jesy Nelson pulls out of EMAs and The Search
Little Mix are renowned for their hard work ethic and hectic schedule as they juggle a brand new album as well as their own TV show
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Little Mix have made a staggering six studio albums, have toured the world’s biggest venues and now even have their own TV show.
Fans recently became concerned after band member Jesy Nelson pulled out of tonight’s The Search final with a mystery illness.
The 29-year-old will also not be appearing Sunday night’s MTV European Music Awards with her bandmates, who are set to host the virtual ceremony.
A rep for the band said: “Jesy is unwell and will not be appearing on tonight’s final of Little Mix The Search.
“She will also not be hosting or performing at tomorrow’s MTV EMAs.”
No further information was given about Jesy’s condition.
The announcement came after a promotional clip for the band’s sixth studio album, Confetti, sparked concern.
But a rep told us: “The promo videos for Confetti were filmed months ago and are completely unrelated.”
The girls are renowned for their hard work, having put out six albums in just nine years.
They became household names in 2011 when they each appeared separately on the X Factor, only to form a group under the wing of head honcho Simon Cowell.
They went on to win the show, and the following year returned with a performance from their upcoming album.
And since then, they’ve pretty much worked non-stop with the release of their albums – all of which have been bestsellers – and constant globe-trotting as they hit up the world’s most prestigious venues.
But for Jesy, fame came with a dark side as she was targeted by cruel online trolls.
She told last year about how she had tried to take her own life because of the bullying.
“I wasn’t known as one of the singers from Little Mix,” she recalled in her eye-opening BBC documentary, Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out.
“I was always known as the ugly one.”
She told The Guardian how her management had offered her time off to deal with her troubles, but she refused over fears her absence would prompt even more negativity to come her way.
“Our schedule was so gruelling,” Jesy shared. “I was going to see a therapist at six o’clock in the morning, crying, and then going to a photoshoot.”
Jesy wasn’t the only band member to feel the pressure of their hectic schedule after Jade split from long-term ex Jed Elliott in August last year.
Their schedules had left them barely any time together.
Before they went their separate ways, Jade remarked: “I’m scared. He’s going to America and we’re headed all over the place, too. It’s going to be really hard but we will FaceTime and hopefully he will come and watch us. We’ll see.”
Leigh-Anne, meanwhile, has publicly spoken out about how she’s struggled with fame – particularly being targeted by racist trolls.
She appeared earlier this year on The Talk with her parents, in which Black Brits discussed their experiences of racism.
And last year she told Lorraine Kelly that having to deal with it “in the public eye” made it especially tough.
And Perrie, after rocketing to fame as a teen with the band, would often read the negative comments posted about her online.
“Someone once wrote that I had ‘cankles’ and now I have issues with my ankles,” she admitted.
In New York in 2015, Perrie broke down in tears on stage following her split from One Direction fiancé Zayn Malik.
But the girls have always been on hand to help each other.
At the BRITs in 2019, they told the Mirror: “We’re always stronger when we are together. That’s always been our line.”
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