12 times Leigh-Anne Pinnock from Little Mix was iconic
20 October 2020, 12:50
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Leigh-Anne Pinnock is one quarter of Little Mix and one whole of a legend.
Leigh-Anne Pinnock is an icon. Ever since Little Mix first formed, she's been showing the rest of the pop girls how it's done.
Before auditioning for The X Factor in 2011, Leigh-Anne Pinnock worked in House of Fraser and Pizza Hut. Since then, she's not only become a member of one of the biggest girl groups of all time, but she's also launched her own business, become a registered songwriter, and used her platform to speak out against racism in the music industry and the UK at large.
READ MORE: Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock opens up about her experience of racism in powerful video
From her undeniable talent to her superstar aura, it's easy to see why so many people have fallen in love with Leigh-Anne. With that in mind, here are just a few of Leigh-Anne's most iconic moments since she first rose to fame.
1) When Leigh-Anne revealed that she never listened to the haters.
Throughout Little Mix's career, Leigh-Anne has always encouraged fans to believe in themselves and never let the haters get to them. This couldn't have been clearer than during Jordan's audition on Little Mix: The Search. Jordan opened up about people not believing in him and Leigh-Anne gave him the best advice.
Tearing up, Leigh-Anne said: "So many people in my hometown said that I couldn't do it, didn't believe in me, said I wasn't good enough and I never ever listened. I got "believe" tattooed on my neck and I kept believing and now I'm here."
A sage and a sweetheart. More people be like Leigh-Anne challenge.
2) When Leigh-Anne opened up about her experiences of racism in the music industry.
Before 2020, Leigh-Anne had touched on her experiences with racism multiple times. However, in June this year, in the wake of recent Black Lives Matter protests, she posted a video on Instagram explaining in detail what it's like being a Black girl in the music industry and the racism she's faced since joining Little Mix.
Leigh-Anne said: "My reality is feeling lonely when performing to predominantly white countries. I sing to fans who don’t see me or hear me or cheer me on. My reality is feeling anxious before fan events or signings because I always feel like the least favoured. My reality is constantly feeling like I have to work 10 times harder and longer to mark my place in the group because my talent alone isn’t enough."
The video was viewed more than three million times and stars, such as Normani and Ariana Grande, praised Leigh-Anne for her candour. Leigh-Anne hasn't stopped the conversation there either. She's since appeared on Channel 4's The Talk and she is currently making a documentary about racism and colourism for the BBC titled: Leigh-Anne: Colourism & Race.
3) When Leigh-Anne elevated 'DNA' with the middle eight of the century.
Day one Little Mix fans will know that Leigh-Anne is an underrated rapper. In the group's first X Factor performance, Leigh-Anne added her own bars to 'Super Bass' and, since then, she's rapped on multiple of Little Mix's own tracks, including their third single 'DNA'.
The song itself is pop perfection but it's Leigh-Anne's middle eight that makes it magic. Leigh-Anne raps about being so obsessed with a man that he gives her cardiac arrest and her delivery is so good that it will give you cardiac arrest.
Little Mix - DNA
4) When Leigh-Anne rocked this mullet.
Leigh-Anne is an undeniable fashionista. Whether she's on the red carpet or on stage, you can always rely on her to turn out a look. The boots in the 'Power' video, her impromptu holiday photoshoots, every single BRITs outfit... she did run her own fashion blog - Leigh Loves - after all.
There are too many looks to choose from but special mention has to go out to her 'Break Up Song' mullet. Few people have the range to pull off such a look but Leigh-Anne has the range and then some.
5) Whenever Leigh-Anne slays her high note in the acoustic version of 'Touch'.
Little Mix have the rare gift of being able to perform acoustic versions of their songs without making them boring and Leigh-Anne steals the show on 'Touch'. She opens the song and leads the final chorus. Her vocal control is always insane, but on top of that, her high note is out of this world.
What's even more adorable is that, whenever Little Mix perform it, you can always see Jade, Jesy and Perrie smile because they know Leigh-Anne is about to kill it.
Little Mix - Touch (One World: Together At Home)
6) When Leigh-Anne launched her own inclusive bikini brand.
In April 2019, Leigh-Anne launched her own luxury bikini brand, In 'A' Seashell, with her friend Gabrielle Nikita, and it quickly became a huge success. Since being set up, the brand has been worn by superstars like Kelly Rowland and Maya Jama, as well as many other famous faces.
Most importantly though, In 'A' Seashell champions inclusivity. The brand always features a diverse range of models within its campaigns, in terms of both size and race. In 'A' Seashell also works with models with disabilities and makes clear that ANY body is a bikini body.
7) When Leigh-Anne won Eat in with Little Mix.
In 2019, Little Mix held their very own Come Dine With Me competition called Eat in with Little Mix and Leigh-Anne came out on top. As well as having the most amazing house (seriously, we need Leigh-Anne to do a feature with Architectural Digest), Leigh-Anne had the most amazing cooking skills.
Leigh-Anne cooked jerk chicken spring rolls for her starter, mutton curry, mac and cheese and coleslaw for her main and she made a chocolate and salted caramel ice cream bomb for dessert. She won with a score of 514 and we've been desperate to have her cook for us ever since.
Eat in With Little Mix - Episode 4 (Leigh-Anne)
8) When Leigh-Anne played Wilma in The Curious Case of Betsy and Wilma.
Just like Jade, Jesy and Perrie, Leigh-Anne has a natural comic ability and flair for acting. This is perhaps best displayed in her performance in The Curious Case of Betsy and Wilma, which Little Mix filmed on the set of 'Black Magic'.
Leigh-Anne played Wilma, a woman whose husband Girth cheated on her with Betsy (Jesy) and it was every bit as dramatic and funny as you'd expect. The Academy is yet to explain why Leigh-Anne never won an Oscar for her acting in this. We shall update you if/when they do.
The fact that Little Mix are yet to have their own Spice World movie is a pop culture travesty.
The Curious Case of Betsy & Wilma (Starring Little Mix)
9) When Leigh-Anne climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief.
Leigh-Anne doesn't mention it quite as much as Jade (we love you, Jade) but in 2019, she and Jade teamed up with nine other celebrities to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Comic Relief. Together, they made it to the top and helped raise £63,548,668.
Even more iconic, Leigh-Anne and Jade performed at the Global Awards just days after getting back to the UK.
Little Mix, Dani Dyer, Ed Balls (and more!) climb Kilimanjaro
10) When Leigh-Anne marched at Pride in London.
Little Mix have always been vocal allies of the LGBTQ+ community and they never fail to put in the work. In July 2019, both Leigh-Anne and Jade marched at Pride in London for UK Black Pride, Stonewall UK, Together in Pride and Mermaids. So many celebrities speak about acceptance but so few go out of their way to be allies like this.
Leigh-Anne has also marched at multiple Black Lives Matter protests. Seeing her use her voice and platform for important causes never fails to be inspiring.
11) When Leigh-Anne signed a publishing deal as a songwriter.
As well as singing the hell out of their songs, Little Mix co-write most of them too. They even co-wrote Britney Spear's single 'Pretty Girls'. In 2019, Leigh-Anne and Jade signed a deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing which recognises them as official songwriters. In other words, expect to see Leigh-Anne and Jade write for other artists, as well as Little Mix, very soon.
Leigh-Anne co-wrote Little Mix's first Christmas single 'One I've Been Missing' and, on top of that, she also co-wrote six of the tracks on LM5 and six of the tracks on Little Mix's upcoming sixth album Confetti, including 'Break Up Song', 'Holiday' and 'Not a Pop Song'.
12) When Leigh-Anne did this.
Mic drop.
This contestant seems real familiar? @Little Mix The Search - BBC
