Jesy Nelson's first independent single flops

Jesy Nelson's first single as an independent artist has been an enormous flop as it failed to chart in the UK.

The song, entitled Bad Thing, failed to reach the Official Singles Chart Top 100.

It was her first single since leaving Polydor Records in 2022 and released in conjunction with Women's Aid and details Nelson's experiences with her father who was in and out of prison during her childhood.

Read more: Jesy Nelson responds to claims of Blackfishing after leaving Little Mix

Nelson said of the single: "I just feel like so many women in my life have been through horrific experiences like this and I just really wanted to raise awareness about it."

While Bad Thing failed to land on the main chart, it did reach number 15 on the download chart and 17 in the sales chart.

Bad Thing is also Nelson's second solo single since leaving Little Mix. Her first single and its video – Boyz – released in 2021, was criticised for blackfishing and cultural appropriation.

Nelson was criticised for tanning her skin to make herself appear racially ambiguous.

She later defended herself in an interview with Vulture: "The whole time I was in Little Mix I never got any of that. And then I came out of [the band] and people all of a sudden were saying it. I wasn’t on social media around that time, so I let my team [deal with it], because that was when I’d just left.

"But I mean, like, I love Black culture. I love Black music. That’s all I know; it’s what I grew up on. I’m very aware that I’m a white British woman; I’ve never said that I wasn’t."

The single also underperformed commercially, dropping out of the UK chart after seven weeks and failing to chart in the US at all despite the appearance of Nicki Minaj on the track.

Watch below: Jesy Nelson hasn't spoken to Little Mix bandmates for two years