PERRIE 'I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE I WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO WRITE MY OWN MUSIC'

As she releases her debut solo album, Perrie Edwards explains how she overcame impostor syndrome to establish a sound that's all her own

- NICK REILLY

When Perrie Edwards was enjoying her Christmas break last year, she had a realisation. The material she had been working on for her debut solo album after Little Mix, wasn't truly the avenue she wanted to go down. When combined with a degree of impostor syndrome about her songwriting abilities, she realised it was time to reset the dial on her solo career.

The excellent results can be seen on her self-titled debut record, which arrives at the end of September. The album is inspired by Edwards' “rock’n’roll-influenced childhood, Motown, disco, country, 80s and, of course, bright, bold pop”, and that’s only too clear on its latest single ‘If He Wanted To He Would’, which speeds off in that aforementioned country direction with wild abandon.

“I’m really proud of the album,” explains Perrie. “I’m glad I stuck to my guns. I felt in my gut that the first try didn’t feel 100 per cent like it was me. Now I feel like it’s really autobiographical. It’s just about my life, my experiences, and it feels a lot more genuine to me.”

Now, as she reveals below, she’s gearing up for a whole new chapter instead.

How's it going, Perrie? Excited to return?

I'm good! I'm so excited to come back with ['If He Wanted To He Would']. I feel like the time I took away was very much needed, and this song is the most confident I've felt releasing a song so far. There were a few times at the start of my solo career when I met with my label and my team where I just had this impostor syndrome, and I didn't feel like I was good enough to write my own music and create the music from scratch. I thought I'd be an artist that sings songs that other people have written, and I really thought that was the right avenue for me.

So, what's changed?