Leigh-Anne Pinnock excites fans with video in the studio
She's signed a solo deal
Just a few weeks after announcing she'd signed a solo record deal off the back of Little Mix's hiatus, Leigh-Anne Pinnock has now delighted her fan base by sharing a teaser video from the studio.
Leigh-Anne, who gave birth to twins back in August last year, posted the clip to her TikTok page, featuring song writers Dyo and aB Keen, as the trio completed the iconic Yonce challenge on the popular social media site.
Although Lee Lee didn't share any audio footage from any potential solo songs, the sight of her in the recording studio was enough to get fans excited.
Singer-songwriter Dyo has written huge hit singles for the likes of Fifth Harmony, Iggy Azalea and Luis Fonsi, whilst ab Keen, who is the sister of pop star RAYE, has worked with KSI.
Leigh-Anne first confirmed the exciting news she'd signed a solo record deal with Warner Records UK back in February. Sharing the news to her Instagram Story, 30-year-old Leigh-Anne wrote: 'So excited for what's to come 😍🙏🏽'.
Check out Leigh-Anne Pinnock's amazing career below:
2011 - Leigh-Anne Pinnock wins The X Factor as part of Little Mix
Prior to auditioning for The X Factor, Leigh-Anne Pinnock worked as a part-time waitress at Pizza Hut. In 2011, she chased her pop stardom dreams and auditioned for the show as a solo artist. Leigh-Anne was soon put into a girl group along with Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Jesy Nelson, originally named Rhythmix. They soon changed their name to Little Mix as they continued with the show.
On 11th December 2011, Leigh-Anne, Jade, Perrie and Jesy became the first group to win The X Factor, with Little Mix crowned the champions under the leadership of their mentor Tulisa Contostavlos.
2021 - Documentary, film debut and Little Mix hiatus
Leigh-Anne took part in a documentary, entitled Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop and Power, which aired in May 2021. The documentary centred around Leigh-Anne talking about racial issues, and also featured RAYE, Keisha Buchanan from the Sugababes and Alexandra Burke. She received a nomination at the National Television Awards for Best Authored Documentary.
After the documentary, Leigh-Anne and Andre launched a charity called The Black Fund. The charity works with existing charities to deliver support to the black community.
In October, Leigh-Anne appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race UK as a guest judge. The series featured many famous guests throughout, including Emma Bunton, Steps, Matt Lucas and Oti Mabuse.
Leigh-Anne's film Boxing Day was released on 5th December. Not only did Leigh-Anne's Pinnock Productions contribute to the film, but the singer also starred in it. After filming wrapped in early 2021, the movie was released in UK cinemas on Friday 3rd December 2021.
Then, later in December 2021, Little Mix announced they would be going on a hiatus in 2022, following their 'Confetti Tour'.
2022 - Leigh-Anne announces solo record deal
In February 2022, Leigh-Anne confirmed she had signed a solo record deal with Warner Records UK, sharing their announcement with the caption: 'So excited for what's to come 😍🙏🏽'. Later that year, she shared pictures from Jamaica where she could be seen with other writers and producers, confirming she was working on new music.
2023 - Honorary doctorate, debut solo single and memoir
In March 2023, Leigh-Anne announced that she'd narrated the original Hans Christian Anderson version of The Little Mermaid for Audible UK.
In July 2023, Leigh-Anne received an honorary doctorate from Buckinghamshire New University in recognition of her anti-racism and racial equality work. She returned to her home town of High Wycombe to collect the accolade.
Leigh-Anne delighted fans by dropping her debut solo song 'Don't Say Love' on 16th June. Speaking about her new music, Leigh-Anne told us: "I would love to sell out shows on my own. That would be a dream. Just to have fans, just for me I think is gonna be... Ah yeah, there's gonna be tears."
In July 2023, Leigh-Anne received an honorary doctorate from Buckinghamshire New University in recognition of her anti-racism and racial equality work. She returned to her home town of High Wycombe to collect the accolade.
She released her second single 'My Love' on 7th September 2023. The song features Nigerian singer Ayra Starr.
Leigh-Anne released her memoir Believe on 26th October 2023, announcing the news on social media with a clip of herself reading it. She wrote in the caption that she'd felt as though she'd been in a "whirlwind" since winning The X Factor, and hadn't had "chance to process," adding that she wanted to "respect her past" before embarking on a "new journey".
2024 - 'No Hard Feelings' EP and first solo show
Leigh-Anne released 'Stealin' Love' on 28th March, a new song which featured on her EP called 'No Hard Feelings', released on 31st May. Leigh-Anne described her EP as a collection of songs which: 'While not part of my album, have helped inform my direction as an artist, a songwriter and a musician.'
Leigh-Anne took to the stage for her first headline show since going solo in Lafayette London, a live music venue near Kings Cross.
On Friday 22nd November 2024, Leigh-Anne took to the stage of Birmingham's bp pulse LIVE arena for Hits Radio Live, performing solo hits and new music. The 'Don't Say Love' singer wowed audiences with her incredible vocals and energetic dance breaks. Check out all the pics here.
2025 - More songs and leaving her record label
In May 2025, Leigh-Anne began teasing new music, sharing pictures of herself in the studio and featuring what appeared to be a clip of new music.
In September 2025, Leigh started to tease another song, which fans believed was called 'Dead and Gone'. It was later released on 17th October, following pop banger 'Hello' on 3rd October, for which she teamed up with Sigala and Jonita.
Her last song of the year was released on 21st November, called 'Friends' and featured Jamaican singer Rvssian. In an email to her fans, Leigh-Anne explained what it was about: 'We've all had that one friend who turns out wasn't actually your friend. This song for me captures that feeling of the weight off your shoulders after finally cutting them off ❌.' (sic)
Leigh-Anne reflected on a busy 2025 in a New Year's Eve Instagram video featuring footage recorded earlier that year, opening up about her decision to leave her record label. She said: "So, long story short, the label have said no basically. They don't have the budget to put my album out. So I'm ready to just take the reigns. It'll be a new chapter and I just can't wait. And I'm leading this s---."
2026 - Debut album release
Leigh-Anne released her debut album on 20th February, telling Hits Radio: "This is a massive moment, I think it's just because it's taken so long to get here. It's been two years in the making and I think the fact that I'm doing it my way, like my terms, and I've done it myself, and got it over the line myself, I just feel like it's just even sweeter."
On the day Leigh-Anne announced her debut solo album, 'My Ego Told Me To', the singer also revealed she will also be going on tour in April 2026. She will be performing in Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol and London as part of a wider European tour.
Leigh-Anne isn't the only Little Mix girl to branch out onto solo projects since Little Mix announced they'd be taking a break following the end of their 'Confetti' tour in May.
Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards have also signed deals, with Pez also launching her brand new clothing brand Disora.
After 10 years together, Little Mix confirmed they would be taking a break following the departure of Jesy Nelson.
In a statement released at the time, the girls said: 'We wanted to let you all know that after the Confetti tour in April/May next year we are going to be taking a break from Little Mix. It’s been 10 amazing years, a wonderful non-stop adventure, and we feel the time is right to take a break so we can recharge and work on some other projects.
'We can’t thank you enough for your love and never-ending support since the beginning. We love you all SO much.
'We are not splitting up - Little Mix are here to stay 💫 We have plans for more music, tours and performances in the future. We’ve made so many incredible memories with you all, and we can’t wait to make so many more.
'We’re sisters and we’ll always have each other and you, the fans, in our lives. Little Mix is forever ♥️ See you on tour! Jade, Leigh-Anne and Perrie x'. (SIC)
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