Jade Thirlwall is getting brutally honest about the cost of fame.
The Little Mix alum, now 32, admitted that she might’ve “sold her soul” when she first shot to stardom as a teen on The X Factor. Speaking on an upcoming episode of The Assembly, a show where all questions are asked by neurodivergent individuals, Jade was asked if she felt like she’d handed over her soul to the industry. Her response? “Maybe a little bit in the beginning. I was so young and I just signed on the dotted line.”
Jade was only in her late teens when she and her bandmates Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jesy Nelson won the UK version of The X Factor as Little Mix. At that time, she didn’t fully grasp what she was signing up for. But she said that as she’s grown older and more experienced, she’s started to “collect parts of [her] soul back.” Comparing herself to Marvel’s Thanos, she explained, “I’ve been collecting parts of my soul back as I’ve gained more creative freedom.”
And Jade isn’t just throwing shade, she’s reflecting. In fact, she’s made peace with how she got her start. “I don’t want to sit here and bash the last 13 years of my life. I’m very happy and content,” she told Beat magazine. “Like with any job, there are highs and lows. That’s just life, and it’s my reality, but it’s about writing it in a way that’s not ‘woe is me.’”
Jade also talked about her new song Angel of My Dreams, which includes the lyric “sold my soul to a psycho.” Many fans speculated it was a dig at Simon Cowell, who created The X Factor and founded Syco Music. But Jade was quick to clarify: “It’s not specifically about that.” Instead, she said the song is about her entire journey, from the excitement of winning the show to the chaos of being thrown into the industry. “The opening is like the music to that montage bit on The X Factor after you’ve won, and you’re just catapulted into the industry,” she said.
She also admitted that she thinks the era of massive music labels and talent show launches is basically over. “I think it’s the end of that kind of TV show or music label. I think it’s the end of that era,” she said. “But I don’t know if Simon Cowell specifically has ended.”
So while she may have once signed her name without thinking twice, Jade is now reclaiming her voice, one lyric, and soul stone, at a time.
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://themusicessentials.com/entertainment/jade-thirlwall-jokes-she-sold-her-soul-for-fame-on-x-factor/&media=https://themusicessentials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/JadeThirlwall1.webp&description=Jade Thirlwall admits she may have "sold her soul" during her X Factor days but says she’s reclaiming her power now.){kind=link}