Leigh-Anne Pinnock has teased her debut solo album might be out in 2024.
The former Little Mix star - who has dropped her surname for her solo career - has so far released her debut solo single 'Don't Say Love', 'My Love' with Ayra Starr, and she is also featured on Jon Batiste's track 'Running Away'.
The 31-year-old singer has been busy preparing her first studio effort and is also planning to hit the road.
Appearing on Amazon Music's +44 podcast with hosts Zeze Mills and David 'Sideman' Whitely, she spilled of her record: “Well, I mean, it's definitely in the works. Yeah, to be honest, coming together quicker than I think anyone thought, which is good. I reckon next year for sure. Because I want to tour like I want to perform, I belong on stage.”
Leigh-Anne admits it's been hard building her solo career, especially with the rise of TikTok, despite the huge success of Little Mix.
She said: “It's been a hard sort of transition. I remember, when we did ‘Shout Out To My Ex’ and when streaming started taking over and it really started coming in. I'm so old school, I'm trying to kind of get used to it I guess but with social media and TikTok, that is such an important part of any campaign. We have to set time aside for that. Whereas before it'd be like oh, forget time, we’ll figure it out.”
Leigh-Anne has accepted that not all Little Mix fans will like her solo tunes.
She added: “It's incredible what Little Mix have done and what we've achieved, we've absolutely killed it. But now I am on my own and not all of the Little Mix fans are going to come along with me, I have to build a new fan base. Yeah, so I do feel like a new artist to some extent…”
Leigh-Anne previously revealed that her debut solo album will be a mixture of different sounds, even though she's had so much success making pop music.
She told Billboard News: "Everyone knows that I’m an old-school RnB girl.
"At the same time, though, I really do want to incorporate the other genres that I love, so we have some reggae stuff on there. I think I am a pop girl at heart, too, so I just feel like that stamp is always going to be in the mix."
As well as new music, Leigh-Anne has been auditioning for more movie roles after landing her big-screen debut in the festive rom-com 'Boxing Day' in 2021.
She said: “I have done a couple of auditions. But I am just kept so busy right now I want to focus on my solo era and do that.”
The full episode can be watched on Amazon Music +44. Podcast via https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/08c66966-12a5-4713-9c0c-412a7df9b15d/episodes/e60331f3-b689-4c43-ad2d-f3c85cb42818/44-podcast-episode-1---leigh-anne-and-abra-cadabra.
