Jesy Nelson tells us all about her highly anticipated solo debut single ‘Boyz’ with Nicki Minaj, going solo, and more in an exclusive Southeast Asia press conference.

On how’s it like being a solo artist…

It’s very hard to tell your personal stories when in a group so being a solo artist is challenging but really fun as I get to express myself. I love what I’ve done in Little Mix but that’s not necessarily the type of music I’ll listen to.  Hence, making the music I want is liberating

On the inspiration for ‘Boyz’ and the music video…

I went through a rough breakup and thought why do I choose all these bad boys and that so many girls can relate to this i.e. Why when you’re with someone who treats you like a princess you just don’t have any interest in them but you gravitate towards the bad boys?

On working with Nicki Minaj…

I couldn’t have asked for a better guest. We are label buddies and she was fun to work with. It was nice to actually be on set with her and work with her. 

On sampling 90s and 00s music…

My Apple Music and Spotify is 90s and 2000s R&B. It was the best music ever created and it heavily influenced my new album. ‘Boyz’ is a rough indication of how the album is going to sound as overall it’s a mixture of sounds but it all gels well together. The general sound of the album is mainly 90s and 2000s R&B.

On favourite lyric from ‘Boyz’…

Every lyric in it relates to me 100%. But “my mama won’t see what I see in you” is the most honest and true lyric as every boy I bring home to meet my mom, Jan, she would always say he’s not for me.

Full video interview below!

In the meantime, here’s the official ‘Boyz’ music video: