Jade Thirlwall | |
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![]() Thirlwall in 2024 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Jade Amelia Thirlwall |
Born | South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England | 26 December 1992
Genres | Pop |
Occupation(s) |
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Discography | |
Years active | 2008–present |
Labels | |
Member of | Little Mix |
Website | jadeofficial |
Jade Amelia Thirlwall (born 26 December 1992) is an English singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Little Mix, which was formed during the eighth series of The X Factor UK in 2011. After becoming the first group to win the series Little Mix released six studio albums, and amassed nineteen UK top-ten singles, five of which reached number one. Before going on hiatus in 2022, they became the first girl band to win the Brit Award for British Group.
Thirlwall signed a solo recording contract with RCA Records in 2022, and released her debut single titled "Angel of My Dreams" to critical acclaim in 2024 and reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart. In addition to her solo work, she has co-written songs for other artists through her publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music. Noted for her political and social activism, she is an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and an ambassador for Stonewall. Her involvement with charity work earned her the Gay Times Honour for Allyship in 2021.
Jade Amelia Thirlwall was born on 26 December 1992 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England, to parents Norma Badwi and James Thirlwall. She has an older brother called Karl. [1] She has Egyptian and Yemeni descent from her mother's side and English descent from her father's. [2] Thirlwall identifies as mixed-race, [3] and has been learning to connect more with her Arab-Egyptian-Yemeni heritage and its language in hopes of travelling more to the Middle East. [2]
As a child, she attended Muslim school to learn how to read and write in Arabic and attended church. [2] [3] During her teenage years, she studied pop vocals and cosmetic makeup and completed three A-levels at South Tyneside College. [4] In 1943, Thirlwall's grandfather Mohammed Ahmed Saleh Badwi, a devoted Muslim, emigrated to South Shields, from Yemen, and worked as a firefighter in the merchant navy, and as a laborer at the docks. He met his wife Amelia in South Shields. Thirlwall's great-grandfather was from Egypt. [2] [5]
In 2008, at the age of 15, Thirlwall auditioned for The X Factor (UK), singing "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" by Whitney Houston, [6] but was eliminated at the boot- camp stage. She returned for a second time in 2010, but was unsuccessful. [7] In 2011, at age 18, Thirlwall returned for the show's eighth series and auditioned with "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles, and advanced to bootcamp stage. [8] After failing the first challenge she was placed into a group named "Orion" with Leigh-Anne Pinnock. Perrie Edwards and Jesy Nelson were in another group called "Faux Pas". Both groups were eliminated. Later, Thirlwall and the girls were called back by the judges and were placed into a supergroup originally known as Rhythmix. Without a performance, they automatically progressed to the judges' houses and reached the live shows where they were mentored by Tulisa Contostavlos. [9] On 28 October 2011, it was announced that the group name had changed to Little Mix, because of legal issues. [10] [11] [12] On 11 December 2011, Little Mix was announced as the first group to win the series. They also became the first girl group to make it past week seven of the live shows, the first girl group to reach The X Factor final and the first and only girl group to win the show. [13] [14] [15]
Thirlwall shares songwriting credits for more than 50 songs, across Little Mix's six studio albums. She has co-written two UK number one singles with "Wings" in 2012 and "Shout Out to My Ex" in 2016. In 2019, she was recognised as an official songwriter after signing with Sony/ATV. [16] Since Little Mix's debut they have been cited for helping the girl band renaissance in the UK and for re-defining girl groups. [17] They have gone onto become one of the best-selling girl groups and one of Britain's biggest selling acts. In December 2021, the group announced they would be going on a hiatus, after The Confetti Tour in 2022 to allow its members to pursue solo projects. [18]
On 1 March 2022, Thirlwall appeared as a guest judge on the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World . [19] On 2 March 2022, she made her acting debut and a cameo appearance in the British musical television drama series Mood . [20] [21] In the same month, she signed a recording contract with RCA Records in the UK and USA and with Full Stop Management. [22] [23] In May 2022, Thirlwall contributed to Sink the Pink's book titled Sink the Pink's Manifesto for Misfits, writing about her experiences with bullying, anorexia and her identity issues because of her mixed race. [24] On 24 June, she co-wrote a track for Nayeon's debut album, Im Nayeon , marking the second time she had worked with the artist after she contributed to Twice's album Taste of Love in 2021. [25]
In November 2022, Thirlwall appeared on Heat magazine's "UK and Ireland 30 under 30" rich list for the first time with an estimated net worth of £17.5 million. [26] In June 2024, Jade began teasing the release date of her debut solo single titled "Angel of My Dreams", which was released on 19 July 2024. [27] [28]
Thirwall's sound has been described as a combination of pop, R&B, and dance-pop with influences from other genres including tropical house, latin pop, and electronic music. [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] She grew up listening to motown music, with her grandfather playing arabic music to her as a child. [2] She cites Diana Ross as a music influence and has also expressed her love for Drag Culture, Drag Queens and is fan of RuPaul. [34] [35] [36] [37] In 2020, for an interview for Attitude magazine she added:
"Doing a lot of performing arts growing up and stuff, I've always been surrounded by a lot of LGBTQ+ friends that have been in theatre school with me or at school. When we used to go on holiday Benidorm, one of the favourite things was when me mam used to the drag shows. Me mam's always been into the glitz and the glamour [of drag] and her idol and my idols are Dana Ross, and all the big divas. And I think for me growing up, whenever I saw drag shows as a little girl, I associated drag queens with the big divas. It's something that we've always loved". [38]
Since 2020, Thirlwall has been in a relationship with British singer Jordan Stephens, from the hip hop duo Rizzle Kicks. The pair started dating in 2020 and were spotted together for the first time at a Black Trans Lives Matter rally in central London in July of that year. [39] [40]
Thirlwall has multiple tattoos. On her spine, she has an Arabic tattoo that reads "Anyone can achieve their dreams if they’ve got the courage" as a tribute to her Egyptian and Yemeni ancestry, as well as a tattoo on her ribcage that means "queen" in Arabic. She also has tattoos located on her feet, and in 2019 revealed a henna-style design on her right foot. In 2021, she got a tattoo on her leg to commemorate the day Little Mix were formed in celebration of the group's 10 year anniversary. [41]
Thirlwall is open about her struggles with body image, racism, bullying, and eating disorder, which she first developed at that age of 13. As a child and teenager she experienced prejudice and racism for her mixed ethnicity, recalling in an interview for Vogue Arabia :
"At school, I didn't fit into any group, and started to experience prejudice and racism. I was one of the very few people of colour in the school, so from the off I felt like an outcast. I used to get called the P-word, which I didn't understand as I'm not Pakistani. I was also called half-caste. During one incident someone pinned me down in the toilets and put a bindi spot on my forehead. There was a complete lack of education and understanding of different races and faiths. It affected my mental health. I became very depressed and it triggered the eating disorder I had throughout school." [42]
Thirlwall began recovery and left the hospital weeks before she auditioned for The X Factor in 2011. [43] In 2020, she was featured in a documentary titled Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power, and spoke about the time that she wanted cosmetic surgery after discovering her images were heavily edited to make her look as "white as possible" during her earlier days in Little Mix. [44]
Thirlwall is a patron for Cancer Connections and an ambassador for Stonewall. [45] [46] In November 2019, Thirlwall opened her own cocktail bar, called Arbeia, in South Shields. [47] In June 2020, she collaborated with Skinnydip London, a British clothing brand, with the money from her collection being donated to help struggling families in South Shields. In the same year she launched a second collaboration with them. [48] In August 2020, she was announced as the Honorary President for South Shields F.C. and became a shareholder for the club in the same year. [49] [50]
In September 2020, she was photographed alongside Heidi Klum, Lil Nas and Helen Christensen by fashion campaign Christian Cowan for his Spring/Summer 2021 collection. [51] On 10 September 2021, Thirlwall was announced as the new face ambassador of the Italian sportswear brand, Ellesse "Autumn/Winter" collection. [52] [53] On 11 October 2021, she released her own eyeshadow palette in collaboration with Beauty Bay. [54] [55]
She is noted for her political reviews and social activism, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and Black Lives Matter and against transgender conversion therapy in the UK. In May 2014, she donated a haul of clothes, with all of the proceedings going to the homeless. [56] In 2017, Thirlwall donated another collection of her clothes to help raise money for Cancer Connections. In the same year she helped raised money for Stonewall at her drag-themed 25th birthday party. [57] In May 2018, she also spoke at the Stonewall Youth Awards about what it meant to be an ally and encouraged more artists to do the same. [58] In 2018, she became an LGBTQ+ rights ambassador for LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, [59] and in 2018, attended Manchester Pride with them. [60]
In 2019, Thirlwall and Michelle Visage raised £10,000 for the Mermaids UK, and in the same year she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day with Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and other British celebrities. [61] In December 2019, she spent her birthday raising money for cancer charities which has become a yearly tradition for her. [62] In 2020, she attended a march with Stonewall during Manchester Pride and took to social media to call out someone who questioned the importance of pride month. [63]
In June 2020, Thirlwall attended a Black Lives Matter protest in the UK following the death of African-American man George Floyd, and attended the Black Trans Lives Matter march in London. [64] [65] In July 2020, she called out L'Oréal for not supporting the black trans community after their treatment towards model Munroe Bergdorf. [66] In 2020, she criticised the media after journalists mistook her for band member Leigh-Anne Pinnock. A journalist had used an image of Pinnock in an article that was focused around Thirlwall. In the interview she revealed that journalists often confuse the pair during interviews and that photographers often shout Pinnock's name at her whenever she is attending events. [67]
In January 2021, Thirlwall won one of The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off specials in the fourth series. [68] [69] In March 2021 she partnered up with UNICEF to learn about the war in Yemen. [70] In July 2021, she signed an open letter to the UK Equalities minister Liz Truss calling for a ban on all forms of LGBT+ conversion therapy. [71] In October 2022, she wrote an open letter for the Gay Times ' Sink the Pink book detailing her experiences with bullying and how she learned to use the "insults as fuel." [72] She also teamed up with a designer to create a limited edition community shirt for a North East football club, with all donations going to charity Cancer Connections. [73] Thirlwall attended the Not Safe To Be Me protest at Downing Street advocating for the ban on transgender conversion therapy in the UK, following the government's reversal on the issue. [74]
In November 2023, Thirlwall expressed support for Palestinian people and called for a ceasefire in the 2023 Israel-Hamas war. [75]
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [76] | IRE [77] | NZ Hot [78] | WW Excl. US [79] | |||
"Angel of My Dreams" | 2024 | 7 | 18 | 4 | 175 | TBA |
Year | Artist | Album | Song | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Little Mix | DNA | "Wings" | Co-writer |
"DNA" | ||||
"Change Your Life" | ||||
"How Ya Doin'?" | ||||
2013 | Salute | "Move" | ||
"Little Me" | ||||
"Salute" | ||||
2015 | Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea | Non-album single | "Pretty Girls" | |
2016 | Little Mix | Glory Days | "Shout Out to My Ex" | |
2018 | LM5 | "Joan of Arc" | ||
"Wasabi" | ||||
2020 | Confetti | "Break Up Song" | ||
"Holiday" | ||||
Nathan Dawe and Little Mix | "No Time for Tears" | |||
2021 | Galantis, David Guetta and Little Mix | Between Us | "Heartbreak Anthem" | |
Twice | Taste of Love | "First Time" | ||
Little Mix | Between Us | "No" | ||
"Love (Sweet Love)" | ||||
Billy Porter | Black Mona Lisa | "Children" | ||
2022 | Nayeon | Im Nayeon | "Candyfloss" | |
2024 | Herself | TBA | "Angel of My Dreams" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Skin | Sofie | Short film | [80] |
2011 | The X Factor | Contestant | Winner; Series 8 | [81] |
2012 | Styled to Rock | Celebrity mentor | Season 1; Episode 3 | [82] [83] |
2017 | Glory Days: The Documentary | Herself | Tour documentary | [84] |
2019 | Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out | Guest | Documentary | [85] |
RuPaul's Drag Race UK | Guest Judge | Series 1; Episode: "Girl Group Battle Royale" | [86] | |
Celebrity Gogglebox | Herself | One episode | [87] | |
Eat in with Little Mix | Herself | Web series | [88] | |
Alan Carr's Celebrity Re-play | Herself | Guest appearance | [89] | |
2020 | How's Your Head, Hun? | Herself | Guest appearance | [90] |
Served! | Presenter | Web series | [91] | |
Little Mix The Search | Judge | Music competition series | [92] | |
One World: Together at Home | Herself | Television special | [93] | |
2020 MTV Europe Music Awards | Host | Also a performer | [94] | |
How To Be Anne-Marie | Herself | Documentary | [95] | |
LM5: The Tour Film | Herself | Concert film | [96] | |
Chicken Shop Date | Herself | Web Series | [97] | |
2021 | The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off | Herself | Series 4, episode 4, Winner | [98] |
Since September: The Empty Seats Tour | Herself | BBC Web Series, Episode 1 | [99] | |
Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power | Guest | Documentary | [100] | |
Never Mind the Buzzcocks | Herself | Series 29; Episode 1 | [101] | |
2022 | RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World | Herself | Guest judge (Series 1) | [102] |
Mood | Jade | Guest role | [103] |
Year | Title | Artist | Director | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | "Mirror Mirror" | Kamille | RebekahBCreative | [104] |
2022 | "Big Bad Mood" | Jordan Stephens | Charlie Coombes | [105] |
2024 | "Starburster" | Fontaines D.C. | Aube Perrie | [106] |
"Angel Of My Dreams" | Herself | Aube Perrie | [107] |
Year | Award ceremony | Category | Nominee(s)/work(s) | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards | Most Entertaining Celebrity | Herself | Nominated | [108] |
2020 | PLT Awards | LGBTQ Influencer of the Year | Nominated | [109] [110] | |
Ethnicity Awards | Equality Award | Won | [111] | ||
Inspirational Personality | Nominated | [112] | |||
2021 | Broadcast Digital Awards | Best Short-Form Format | Served! with Jade Thirlwall | Nominated | [113] |
Gay Times Honours | Allyship | Herself | Won | [114] | |
2022 | British LGBT Awards | Celebrity Ally | Nominated | [115] |
Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Guardian | 2019 | Best Girl Group Members | 11th | [116] |
Heat | 2022 | UK and Ireland 30 Under 30 Rich List | 15th | [26] |
2023 | UK and Ireland 30 Under 30 Rich List | 11th | [117] |
Jessica Louise Nelson is an English singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Little Mix, who were formed during the eighth series of The X Factor in 2011. As part of Little Mix, Nelson achieved seventeen top-ten singles and five number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart.
Perrie Louise Edwards is an English singer. She rose to fame as a member of Little Mix, a girl group formed during the eighth series of The X Factor UK, which they eventually won. The group won three Brit Awards, becoming the first girl group to win British Group. As part of Little Mix, Edwards achieved five number-one singles and nineteen top-ten entries on the UK Singles Chart. The group went on indefinite hiatus in 2022.
Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the seventh series of The X Factor. They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, and originally Jesy Nelson, before her departure from the group in 2020. Regarded as the show's most successful winning act, their success led to a girl band renaissance in the UK. Little Mix's vocals and harmonies have garnered critical acclaim and the group have been ranked as one of the best vocal girl groups. They were often dubbed, by some media, as the "biggest girl group in the world", before going on a hiatus in 2022, allowing its members to pursue solo projects.
"Move" is a song recorded by British girl group Little Mix. It was released through Syco Music, as the lead single from their second studio album, Salute (2013). It was co-written by members Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards with Maegan Cottone and Nathan Duvall, and produced by Duvall.
"Salute" is a song recorded by British girl group Little Mix for their second studio album of the same name (2013). It was released on 2 May 2014 as the album's third and final single. It was co-written by the group alongside TMS and Maegan Cottone, and produced by TMS. Lyrically, "Salute" is described as a girl-power song, with military metaphors and war sirens, drawing comparisons to Destiny's Child and Beyoncé's "Run the World (Girls)".
"Secret Love Song" is a song released by British girl group Little Mix, featuring guest vocals from singer-songwriter Jason Derulo. It was released as the third single from the group's third studio album, Get Weird, by Syco Records and Columbia Records. The single was co-written by Derulo along with Jez Ashurst, Emma Rohan, and Tich. It is a slow ballad consisting of pounding bass and melancholic strings. It was met with mixed reviews from music critics, who praised the group for their vocal performance.
"Power" is a song released by British girl group Little Mix, featuring British rapper Stormzy. It was released as the fourth and final single from Little Mix's fourth studio album Glory Days. The remix version appears on Glory Days: The Platinum Edition, the reissue of Glory Days.
Leigh-Anne Pinnock is an English singer and actress. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Little Mix, who were formed, and won the eighth series of The X Factor UK. As part of the group she won three Brit Awards—becoming the first girl group to win British Group. They also achieved nineteen top-ten singles and five number-ones on the UK Singles Chart, before going on hiatus in 2022. In 2021, she made her acting debut in the film Boxing Day.
"Joan of Arc" is a song recorded by British girl group Little Mix, and appears as the sixth track on their fifth album LM5 (2018). It was released on November 2, 2018 as the album's first promotional single. It was written by group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, along with Loosechange handling the production.
"Think About Us" is a song by British girl group Little Mix. The original version appeared on their fifth studio album, LM5 (2018). A remixed version featuring American singer Ty Dolla Sign was released on 25 January 2019 as the second and final single from the album. The song was written by Kamille, Goldfingers, Frank Nobel, Ty Dolla Sign and Victor Bolander, and produced by Kamille, Goldfingers and Louis Bell.
Little Mix The Search is a British reality television music competition that was announced in October 2019, and began airing on BBC One on 26 September 2020, concluding with the final on 7 November 2020. The series was judged by British girl group Little Mix, with the winning act from the series joining them on The Confetti Tour (2022). In August 2021 it was announced that the show had been put on an "indefinite hold" after one series.
"Break Up Song" is a song by British girl group Little Mix. It was released on 27 March 2020 as the lead single from the group's sixth studio album Confetti (2020). The group co-wrote the song with Frank Nobel and producers Kamille and Goldfingers a year before it was chosen as the album's lead single. "Break Up Song" received positive reviews from critics and it has been described it as a synth-pop track influenced by 1980s pop music. The song addresses themes of heartbreak and independence after overcoming an ex.
Confetti is the sixth studio album by British girl group Little Mix, released on 6 November 2020 by RCA Records. It was largely recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic, which interfered with the promotion plan for the album. Group member Jesy Nelson announced her departure from the group in December 2020. Confetti is their first to be released under RCA Records, following their departure from Syco Music. Confetti is a pop and R&B record that lyrically addresses themes of self-acceptance, self-worth, freedom, and independence.
"Sweet Melody" is a song by British girl group Little Mix, released through RCA Records on 23 October 2020, as the third single from the group's sixth studio album Confetti (2020). Little Mix worked with notable names and frequent collaborators Tayla Parx, Morten Ristorp, Robin Frid, Brian Garcia, and MNEK, who co-written and co-produced the track. It has since been regarded as one of the group's best releases.
"Confetti" is a song by British girl group Little Mix. It was released through RCA UK on 4 November 2020, as the third promotional single from their sixth studio album of the same name. The song was written by MNEK, Kamille, Maegan Cottone and TMS, and was produced by the latter. "Confetti" is a pop song with elements of R&B, pop rap and hip hop, which sees the group celebrating independence after a break-up and their individual enjoyment of life.
"Wasabi" is a song recorded by British girl group Little Mix. It was released from their fifth studio album LM5 (2018), on 16 November 2018 by Syco, and appears as the tenth album track. It was co written by group member Jade Thirlwall, with MNEK, Mike Sabath, and Shungudzo, with production handled by Sabath, John Hill, and Joe Kearns.
Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power is a 2021 British documentary film directed by Natasha Gaunt that follows English singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock opening about racial issues and colourism she experienced in her life and in the music industry. The documentary aired on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer on 13 May 2021. The documentary was filmed in 2020 after conversations about racism raised awareness following the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. The documentary also shows Pinnock participating in protests in the UK against racial injustice and discussing the issue with fellow activists and artists including Alexandra Burke and Sugababes' Keisha Buchanan.
Between Us is a greatest hits album by English girl group Little Mix, released on 12 November 2021 through RCA Records Described by the members as a celebration of sisterhood, friendship and fun, the announcement was made as part of the group's celebrations commemorating the 10th anniversary since their formation on the eighth series of The X Factor UK. It was supported by the release of two songs, "Love " and "No".
"Love (Sweet Love)" is a song by British girl group Little Mix. It was released on 3 September 2021 through RCA Records as a single in support of their greatest hits album Between Us. The song was written by group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, along with Lauren Aquilina, MNEK and Sakima; the latter two also produced the song.
"No" is a song by British girl group Little Mix. It was released on 12 November 2021 through RCA Records as the second single from their first greatest hits album Between Us. It was written by group members Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards, along with Tre Jean-Marie, MNEK and Camille, with production by Tre Jean-Marie and MNEK. It was the group's last single release before their hiatus in May 2022, and reached number thirty-five on the UK Singles Chart. It was performed for the first time during The Confetti Tour the same year.
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