Leigh-Anne opens up about the inspiration behind 'Dead and Gone'
The song features on her upcoming album
Last updated 22nd Oct 2025
This year Leigh-Anne has released several songs including 'Been A Minute', 'Burning Up' and 'Hello' with Sigala... And now the singer has dropped another bop called 'Dead and Gone'. After starting to tease a new song earlier this year, everything went quiet, however after another tease in September, it has finally arrived.
Taking to her socials to share the details, Leigh-Anne told fans she would be releasing her new song on Friday 17th October, writing part of the caption with an upside down font. The singer also confirmed the name saying: 'ʇno ǝɯ ʇǝl ɹǝʌǝu ǝʌ,plnoɥs noʎ
'dead and gone out friday 🥀' (sic)
Fans were left super excited by the news, with her fellow Little Mix member JADE liking her post. A fan also wrote: 'I'm so excited for this, this whole concept and promo has been absolutely phenomenal 🔥🙌🏻❤️🔥', another commented: 'The old Leigh-Anne may be gone, but the new one? She’s ALIVE and ready to dominate 🔥🖤'.
What is the inspiration behind the song?
Opening up in an interview with Hits Radio, Leigh-Anne explained the inspiration behind her new single.
"I wrote ‘Dead and Gone’ at a time where I was feeling very frustrated with my label at the time, lots of back and forth and it just felt like I was literally banging my head against the wall," she explained. "I had a vision of what I wanted my solo career journey to look like and it just wasn't aligning with them.
"So I went in the studio and I just 'word vomited', said everything I felt and we literally just, there's just no filter on it and I just let loose, I think and Coffee (Clarence Coffee Jr.) is just incredible and I worked with Owen Cutts on it as well."
She continued: "It's about killing off this version of myself that I guess no longer is serving me for this industry. I think it's like this ego is coming in and she is a force to be reckoned with. She walks into a room, she knows exactly who she is, she doesn't take no for an answer. And it's like this version of myself that I feel I've been suppressing over the years and now it's time to revive her."
Is there a music video?
The official visualiser dropped at 4pm BST on Friday 17th October, the same day the song was released. The video features two Leigh-Annes, one wearing green, while the other dressed in red.
How did Leigh-Anne announce the song?
In September, Leigh-Anne shared a black and white video, along with a cryptic caption, saying: 'the story begins….'
While the singer didn't confirm the name or release date for the new track, fans speculated on social media that the song was called 'Dead and Gone', one that she had first started to tease back in May.
Earlier this year, Leigh-Anne posted a video which featured a clip of a song in reverse and fans were quick to put it the right way around and 'reveal' it was called 'Dead and Gone'.
In last month's tease, Leigh-Anne could be heard singing the lyrics: 'She's dead and gone, ohhh, she'd dead, she's gone, she's dead and gone, ohhh she's dead and gone.'
This prompted fans to speculate that the song she teased earlier is now near release. One fan wrote: 'I just know this is gonna sound so good live!!', with another saying: 'VOCALS!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥'.
A further fan commented: 'OH MY GOD THIS SOUNDS INSANE'. (sic)
In addition to releasing her new song, Leigh-Anne has also recently announced the name and release date for her debut solo album, along with a tour for 2026. Her album 'My Ego Told Me To' will be out on 20th February 2026. The album will be supported by a UK tour starting on 7th April 2026, in Glasgow, before the singer travels to Manchester, Bristol and London.
What is Leigh-Anne's new song called?
After much speculation, the song's name has been confirmed as 'Dead and Gone'.
When was it released?
The song was released on Friday 17th October.
Take a look through Leigh-Anne's amazing career:
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.
Now read:
Leigh-Anne drops hot new single 'Burning Up' 🔥
Leigh-Anne Pinnock drops new tune 'Been A Minute' along with the music video
Leigh-Anne Pinnock: Everything you need to know about the Little Mix-turned-solo singer