Little Mix have learned over the years not to care as much about what other people think, and now are happy being "unapologetically exactly who we want to be".
The girl group - now comprised of Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards following the departure of former member Jesy Nelson - opened up to NYLON magazine for their first Stateside interview as a trio, and reflected on just how far they've come in their career.
"When we first got put together, we were so excitable and a bit naive to everything. We sort of went along with what we thought we should be,” Jade explained.
“We were just figuring out who we were ourselves. We had to grow into women in the public eye, which was a lot to take on. In the middle of all that, we had a little bit where we felt constantly scrutinised and judged for who we were and what we sounded like and tried to like gain credibility as a band coming from a reality show, and just being a girl band in general," she went on.
Admitting: "As the years went on, we just started to care less and less," Jade contemplated: "Now, we're at this point where I feel like we've earned the right to be exactly who we want to be unapologetically, and use our voices more than ever, and wear what we want, look how we want, and not really care as much about what other people think."
And when it comes to what Little Mix are delivering to fans in their "new era" as a three-piece, Jade promised there's a lot to look forward to.
"We're feeling a lot of creative freedom. We're pushing the boundaries, and we’re doing things creatively that we maybe hadn't done before,” she said, adding: "We just want to have good energy, good vibes this year."
