Little Mix's Perrie Edwards has 'odd' good luck ritual before every solo show

Little Mix star Perrie Edwards is heating up her solo career with a top ten debut single and an upcoming album release later this year.

Despite having spent the past year as a solo recording artist, writing and performing tracks without her former bandmates Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Jesy Nelson, she confesses that she still experiences stage fright. Interestingly, she has a unique good luck ritual she performs before each show.

In a chat with The Dish from Waitrose podcast, she revealed: "I always have to put my left shoe on first. But zip up the right. Promise you, it's bizarre. So, usually, I'd have boots, Little Mix tours. I'd put the left boot on first, then the right boot, but I'd zip the right, then the left. And if it goes wrong, and if someone like, is getting me dressed, and they do it, they'll take it all off, start again. I don't know, I'm very odd like that."

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Her pre-stage routine seems to be working wonders. Last month, she impressed fans with her powerful vocals and performance at the Capital FM Summertime Ball at Wembley stadium. Perrie also stunned the audience as she danced in a dazzling gold dress, reports the Mirror.

Perrie Edwards, from South Shields, has candidly spoken about the challenges of maintaining a healthy diet, especially due to her fondness for burgers. On The Dish From Waitrose podcast, she discussed the difficulties of eating well while on tour, confessing: "I'll be like, I'm eating healthy, nobody talk to me, and then I'm like, Five Guys, what's going on? I literally, I'm a foodie and I do try to eat healthy."

The star rose to fame as part of Little Mix, who became household names after their victory on The X Factor in 2011, delivering hits such as 'Black Magic' and 'Shout Out to My Ex'. Yet, in 2021, the group decided it was time for a hiatus, with Perrie acknowledging that they had to "put their foot down".

She described the decision to take a break as a "gradual thing", adding: "I don't think it was like an overnight 'I'm gonna go solo now', because I never knew what I would do in my future."

"I just knew that Little Mix had me tired. We love each other and we're so supportive of each other and we just want to see each other win. So it wasn't like, do you know what? You're driving me nuts. I need a break. It was almost like we've done this for so long now, I was seventeen when I was put in the band. That's all we ever knew in [our] lives was Little Mix."

Focusing on motherhood also played a significant role in her life, as she expressed: "I was just so focused on being a mum as well. Just enjoying him and just doing what I loved, and then I started slowly, but surely writing music, recording, and then it kind of just happened."

However, despite their mutual support, Perrie reveals that there were moments of doubt among the members, as they shared concerns over their decision in their WhatsApp group, admitting to each other that they were bored.

"We were like, I'm bored. What are you up to today? And Leigh-Anne'd be like, 'I'm actually sick of this.' And Jade's like, 'Yeah, why did we push for this again? '".

However, they agreed that they had to see it through, and soon enough, they all embarked on exciting new ventures. Perrie has been busy crafting her debut solo album over the past 18 months, with its release scheduled for later in the year.

Her first solo single, "Forget About Us," dropped in April, followed by the second track, "Tears," which came out in June. Describing her solo songwriting journey, Perrie said it was "like the fastest form of therapy ever."

Initially hesitant, she recalled, "I'd be in there with these big songwriters and producers and think, oh, I'll just let you take the lead, and I'll just be like, 'Ooh, yeah, that sounds good'."

But as she grew more comfortable, her approach changed: "And then as I started becoming more comfortable with the people I was in the room with, I'd walk in in the morning and be like, 'Right, I wrote this down in my notes yesterday, what do you think of this as a concept? What do you think of this as a lyric? ".

She began to assert herself more: "And then I started taking charge a bit more, which I'm not used to doing. And I just really enjoyed it. And if it was like a rubbish idea, I'd be like, alright, cool, like, next one."

Yet, Perrie admits that rejection could be tough, confessing that unsuccessful ideas would "eat her alive".

Among the "big songwriters" she collaborated with were Ed Sheeran, penning two songs together, and Raye.

Perrie Edwards couldn't hide her excitement about collaborating with Raye, saying: "I did a session with Raye, which I was buzzing about. I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm in the same room being creative with Raye, like everything that comes out of her mouth is like incredible to me."

Though Perrie's album is a solo venture, she did involve someone very close to her heart her baby son Axel, shared with footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. A recording of Axel's laughter is featured on one of the tracks, with Alex playing a huge supporting role in the creation of the album.

Perrie spoke fondly of her partner's involvement: "I think Alex probably knows my album more than I do! " She shared how Alex's attentiveness extends to the album's details: "If a demo comes back and they've changed something, he's like, where's the guitar gone? Where's that gone? And I'm like, wow."