Having already secured herself as part of the pop canon as one-quarter of Little Mix, Jade Thirlwall, the 32-year-old from South Shields who rocketed to fame on The X Factor, is now carving out her own path in the music industry.

She’s just released her third solo single, IT Girl (the follow-up to pop banger Angel Of My Dreams), has been nominated for two Brit Awards – best pop act and song of the year – and will be performing at the ceremony next month.

But despite the whirlwind of solo success, when Stylist sat down with Thirlwall for her cover interview – which is available to read now – the pop star spoke candidly about the pressures of existing as a woman, both in the music industry and in the public eye.

“As a woman in pop music, you’re navigating this space of not being overly sexualized, but then wanting to feel empowered, wearing what you want to wear, but that doesn’t mean I’m asking for you all to comment on my body,” she says.

“On shoots I’d be told: ‘Be yourself, but not too much like yourself.’ I was told how to smile. How to act. And there were all these men saying: you can’t wear that, you have to do your hair like that, this isn’t pretty.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Thirwall also tells Stylist about taking back control of her music and image, and speaking out about issues close to her heart, for the sake of teenage Jade who entered the music industry and was powerless: “I’m speaking up for 18-year-old-Jade, because she couldn’t do it. I’m coming back to myself.”

You can now read the full interview with Thirlwall here. When you sign up for a Stylist+ subscription, you’ll also get access to exclusive online articles, digital editions of Stylist magazine and much more.

“I’m speaking up for 18-year-old Jade because she couldn’t do it”: Jade Thirlwall on the pressures of living in the public eye