The songstress opened up to ET about forging her solo career and growing as an artist.
Stepping out into her own spotlight! Leigh-Anne has a smash hit single on her hands -- the first of her newly formed solo career -- and she has her sights set on a big, bold musical future ahead of her.
The English singer and songwriter sat down with ET's Denny Directo on Monday and opened up about what its been like to venture off on her solo path after her former group, Little Mix, announced they were going on an indefinite hiatus last year.
"It's been amazing. It's been scary, I'm not gonna lie, 'cause, I mean, if you imagine 11 to 12 years being in a group with my sisters and having their hands to hold at all times, literally," the mononymous songstress shared. "So I mean, it's different. It's scary, but it's so the right time. Like, it just feels so right."
Leigh-Anne's first solo single, "Don't Say Love," has been charting across the globe after its release on June 16, and the singer admitted that the positive response from her fans has really meaningful.
"It feels good. I think like, there's just so much expectation about what we're going to come out with, like our sound, like individually," she shared. "So to know that everyone's just loving it and that the response has been just unbelievable, it's been wicked."
The excitement fans have had for her first big offering has sparked a real vision for Leigh-Anne, when it comes to her future as a solo artist taking center stage.
"Just the joy that [the song] is bringing to people, I cannot wait to see a whole arena or like just a stadium of people singing it," she said. "That is what I can just see in my head right now. I can't wait for that moment."
The single is off her forthcoming debut solo album, whose name has yet to be announced, and Leigh-Anne teased that the album is going to feature a lot of different genres and unique sounds.
"For me, I just wanted the album to be a mix of genres that I loved listening to growing up, and that I love to listen to now," she shared. "So whether it be reggae, R&B, a bit of Afrobeats, I wanted to sort of merge these different genres and put my Leigh-Anne stamp on it."
"I've got a couple reggae songs on the album and it just feels amazing," she continued. "I love pop music. I love what I've been doing for the last like 10 to 11 years in the group, but to be able to explore these genres that are very close to who I am, and are a part of me is incredible."
Being a solo artist meant having much more control when it came to doing what she wanted to do with her individual sound, and that level of autonomy was a thrilling experience.
"There was no better feeling than walking into the studio and just saying, 'I'm gonna write about this today. This is how I'm feeling, like, this is what I've been through. These are my experiences. This is what I want to say,'" she explained. "That is just such an empowering thing."
For Leigh-Anne, getting to dictate her own musical direction allowed her to get personal with her new music, and she explained that there are "definitely a couple themes to the album" -- including her experiences with being a mom to 1-year-old twins.
"I always wanted it to feel like an open letter. So, really personal. I talk about motherhood, like the highs, like the hardships of it," explained Leigh-Anne. "I talk about my relationship, things that people don't even know. And then I guess a lot about my experience as well, going from this girl who lost a lot of confidence, and lost her shine a little bit, to regaining it and stepping into being this grown, empowered woman."
As she begins to see the road of her solo career laid out ahead of her, Leigh-Anne is also starting to think about some dream collaborations she would like to manifest in the future, and she opened up about the artists who she's most excited about possibly working with.
"I mean, my favorite artist right now is SZA, just because [she's] so unique and ... both of her albums are just like nothing I've ever heard," she shared. "And I love Halle and Chloe, I would love to do something with them.
That being said, Leigh-Anne also said she was "100 percent" down to collaborate with her former Little Mix bandmates -- Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall -- in the future.
"I mean, how iconic would that be?" she said, beaming.
In fact, Leigh-Anne said she could even see the three of them touring together, but still performing their own music as solo artists.
"I think that would probably be a plan. I think so, yeah. I mean, I guess we're gonna be doing our own thing, so it kind of makes sense to do that on the tour," she added.
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