Little Mix: "How dare they accuse us of trying to be sexual!"

TThe past six months have been particularly propitious for the UK-based Little Mix group, which has achieved a global turnover of $ 50 million and which retains its initial alignment since 2011 and who has survived its All Saints, Spice Girls ancestors , Atomic Chaton and Sugababes. Since last November, when they released their fifth album, the short title LM5, the only time X factor the winners battled the big beasts of music and media and won.

First came their split from Syco, the label owned by Simon Cowell, apparently because of a dispute over generic writing (they signed with RCA shortly thereafter). Later, after the release of their ode to body positivity, "Strip," whose video shows that they sit naked with the insults inflicted on them on social media painted on their skin, they were charged to have used nudity to make money. defender of female purity, Piers Morgan. After Morgan called them "fools without talent and allergic to the garment," Jesy Nelson, originally from Esbad and known to be the most talkative of the group, called him "idiot" in an interview on Radio 1 .

Today, the group – which, along with Nelson, includes Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall – remains on the subject of Cowell and Syco. All they will say is, "It did not work." And, repulsive to search the nest of hornets, they are equally suspicious of mentioning Morgan. However, alluding to the fury that followed the release of "Strip", they are clearly indignant about how male and female pop stars are treated differently. "There, we tried to send this incredible and inspiring message and these people say," Watch them try to be badual, "exclaims Pinnock." How dare they! We try to help people and you tell us. I have seen countless images of boys' groups practically without clothes and they are celebrated. It's unfair. "

We are in a small meeting room at the head office of their record label in London, where, dressed in elegant jeans, jackets and heels, they make promo for "Bounce Back", their new single that takes the songs from Soul II Soul, "Back to Life" and stamped summer stamped everywhere. "Everyone knows the sample and our moms love it," says Edwards proudly.

They are funny and friendly, each greeting me with a hug rather than a handshake. Foreigners seeking to detect signs of discord will have their work cut out. Certainly, the way they all four sink into a two-seater couch – and say "sorry, baby" when they stop, suggests a united force.

They tell me that the way they were gathered in 2011 – they auditioned for The X factor individually; it was the idea of ​​the judges to form a group – created a unique friendship. Deeply deep within themselves, they quickly became involved with the strangeness of their situation and formed what they called their "little wall Mix", behind which they could share their anxieties. The fact that they did not adhere to the popular girl / boy group model of one of them leaving the group and telling their years of misery is, according to them, not only because of their link, but also because they are equal. "Nobody wants to outdo the others," says Nelson. "And then, it's scary to imagine doing this job alone," adds Pinnock. "[As a group] we have each other for each other. "

In the years following their X factor win, a lot of decisions have been made behind the scenes without their say. Now they are closely involved in all aspects of their work, from songwriting to clothing to video making. This practical approach has coincided with a newfound confidence and a stronger voice on the issues that interest them, whether they are LGBT + rights – they recently played "Secret Love Song" in Dubai, where homobaduality is illegal, under a rainbow flag – or taking on the body-shamers and misogynists of the music industry. "It took a few years to find our brands and the confidence to talk more about the issue," says Thirlwall. "[It comes from] age, maturity and knowing that we have a strong fan base. Now, I feel that the world is aware that artists have a lot of influence, especially on younger people, so I feel we can talk more, be heard and be taken seriously. "

Pinnock remembers a first experience of badism during a visit to a radio station during a promotional trip to America. "We were told to go to this room and flirt with these men. It's always a question of whining and sucking [though] this time the word was "flirt". We all thought "urgh", but we thought, "OK, whatever." When you look back, you think, "I should have said something, it's disgusting." But it's hard. "

Now aged between 25 and 28, Little Mix started their careers young; looking back, they say, it’s not surprising they were slow to speak up. Edwards, the youngest in the group, was 16 the first time she auditioned for X Factor. Rejected in an early round, she returned a year later, and had just turned 18 when she and the band reached the final. “The whole thing only became real to me after we had won and we were whisked away,” she recalls. “I had badumed we’d go home for a bit after the show, but it didn’t happen like that. People were telling us, ‘Right, this is going to be your lives from now on. This is your schedule.’ I remember I was in a room with Jade and I rang my mum and I was, like, ‘Mum, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to do it. I’m not ready for this.’”

In the end, she decided to “ride the wave” and moved to London with the rest of them. They chose a flat in Notting Hill because it was the only place they’d heard of thanks to the Hugh Grant film. After moving in, they would ring their mothers 10 times a day. “It was ‘Mum, how do we turn [the cooker] on?’” recalls Thirlwall. “Oh, we were terrible,” agrees Nelson. “We would put all our washing out on the line and then go to get it the next day and we’d be, like, ‘Oh, it’s rained. It’s all dirty again.’”

When I ask what, if anything, was offered in the way of aftercare following The X Factor final, they laugh ruefully. At the very least, they say, it would have been an idea to have some financial advice. Nonetheless, they are big fans of reality TV and can’t get enough of Love Island, despite being alert to its pitfalls. “When you’re young, it’s a lot,” says Nelson, of the difficulties facing contestants when they return to real life. “Particularly when you’re branded a villain. That’s a lot to deal with for someone who never thought of themselves as a bad person. On these shows, you have no control over how people see you.”

Little Mix are among the first British pop bands to have evolved in the glare of social media, something they see as a blessing and curse. They love being able to talk directly to fans – “it’s just like you’re texting your mates” – and are agog at the idea of the Spice Girls having to reply to fan letters one by one. Still, they worry about the effect of “Insta perfection” on young girls and would like to see the end of the “like” button. More generally, the sight of youngsters permanently on their phones makes them sad. “We were saying the other day that kids are never going to go round and knock for their mates any more,” says Nelson. “There’ll be no [adopts awkward teenage voice] ‘Errrrr, is Liam around?’ They’re not going to experience what we experienced.”

We talk for a while about the expectation that female singers should set a positive example to their young fans, and the pressure that can bring. “We want to just live our lives normally,” says Nelson. “We are going to f**k up sometimes and do silly things. People say, ‘You’re meant to be a role model’. And I’m, like, ‘Well no, I didn’t take on that role actually. You gave that to me.’” What keeps them sane, apart from each other, is their families and the friends they’ve known since childhood. “They’re the escape for us,” says Thirlwall. Even so, I tell them, the day to day of their job doesn’t sound especially fun. They can’t remember the last time they had a day off and they are permanently knackered from the late nights followed by early mornings. From time to time, their mums will join them for a few days at work. “Like, they’ll come to LA and they start out all excited,” says Edwards. “It’s all, like, ‘Oooh, we’re going to see what the girls are up to.’ Then, after day three, they’ll say: ‘I think we’re going to stay at the hotel today.’”

“Obviously we love it, but we work bloody hard,” explains Nelson. “People don’t see the amount of effort that goes into what we do. In a normal job, you’d clock off, go home, put the telly on and switch off. But you can’t un-famous yourself. You can’t go ‘Actually, I’m not working today’, and pop to Tesco to fill up on snacks.”

And yet, on they go: undaunted, indefatigable, hungry for more. The next plan, they say, is to crack America – “That’s one of the biggest dreams for us,” says Edwards. “I mean, we’re talented and we’re ambitious. We feel like our music should be huge over there.” “Totally,” agrees Thirlwall. “Definitely,” chorus Pinnock and Nelson. And off they troop to their next interview, the next step in their plan to conquer the world.

“Bounce Back” (RCA/Sony) is out now