For all the brash bravado of its title, My Ego Told Me To, the debut solo album from Leigh-Anne has a surprisingly tender meaning at its heart. “It’s been a bit rocky, my solo journey so far,” she tells Apple Music. The pop singer-songwriter, who cut her artistic teeth in one of Britain’s most successful girl bands, Little Mix, signed a major-label record deal and released her first solo single, “Don’t Say Love,” in 2023, a year after the group went on extended hiatus. Creative tensions between Leigh-Anne and her label had already arisen, even at this early stage. “I was really sort of bumping heads with them and they weren’t seeing my vision,” she says. “I went a whole year without releasing a song because there was so much back and forth.” They parted ways in 2025. A timely studio session with “dream team” producer/songwriters Clarence Coffee Jr (Beyoncé, Dua Lipa) and Owen Cutts (Stormzy, Clean Bandit) provided an outlet for her frustrations around this period, resulting in the blistering defiance of the album’s opening run of tracks: “Look into My Eyes,” “Dead and Gone,” and “Revival.” Writing those songs, their lilting island vibes toughened up with thumping percussion, reawakened a sense of self she had long suppressed. “[My ego] is based on my younger self,” says Leigh-Anne. “She went into The X Factor, dyed her hair red and she had so much fearlessness and boldness. She just knew who she was. I looked back at the treatment that I faced with my previous label and I just thought: ‘She would have stood up for herself!’ So I needed to bring her back.” Leigh-Anne’s ego, it turns out, has great musical instincts. The album it has pushed her into creating as a fully independent artist is a fresh, cohesive spin on the pop sounds that have formed the foundations of her career, exploring new vocal textures and incorporating elements of reggae, dancehall, Afrobeat, R&B, and more. Among the strongest moments: “Goodbye Goodmorning,” an electrifying ode to a lover she can’t bring herself to leave; softly smoldering midtempo “Sunrise”; and “Heaven,” a soft, piano-based R&B ballad dedicated to her twin daughters, whose voices bring the album to a close. Poetically, these tracks were rescued from her previous label deal, lending credence to Leigh-Anne’s early conviction in the sonic identity she had crafted. “This whole era is all about trusting my gut and my intuition,” she says. “I know what I’m doing.” Read on as she takes us through the album, track by track. “Look into My Eyes” “It’s the perfect intro to the album. I feel like it’s super unexpected. It’s a track that feels like it’s unapologetic and taking up space. Even the lyrics, ‘What do you see when you look at me?’ like, see what you want. This is me, this is what I’m doing and no one’s going to stop me.” “Dead and Gone” “It’s this idea of me killing off a version of myself that is no longer serving me—the softer side, the more vulnerable side. With everything I’ve experienced in this industry it’s like, ‘We don’t have time for that. We need the ego to come out and take over, at this point.’ When I was going through all the drama with the label and all that frustration and everything else, I went in [to the studio] with Coffee and this was one of the moments where I actually felt like, ‘Oooh, this really does sound like my thing.’ I was really searching for that when I first went solo and to stumble on it and to get that feeling like, ‘This feels special and something of mine,’ felt incredible.” “Revival” “‘Revival’ is my clapback song. I don’t feel like I’ve really given that energy in a song before, so it felt quite empowering to stand up for myself and say how it is. I feel like so many artists can relate to that as well. Just being treated like you’re disposable and not a human. There’s so much to navigate and I didn’t take the easy option, I didn’t fall in line. I wanted to do my own thing. I’ve got so many incredible fans that do love me and do see me, and I’m doing it for them.” “Been a Minute” “This was my reintroduction to the industry, the kickoff to my independent career. It was summer [2025] and I felt like I needed to get this banger out there. It feels nostalgic. I remember blasting [sample track] ‘Work’ by Masters At Work in the car with my best friend just after she got her licence, so it reminds me of those times.” “Goodbye Goodmorning” “I wrote this with Khris Riddick[-Tynes], who produced ‘Folded’ for Kehlani and ‘Snooze’ for SZA. He’s a genius, he’s incredible. I’ve had it for a very long time, but I always knew it was special, the moment I heard that guitar riff. I love R&B and an electric guitar, to me that is the perfect combination. I was going through different riffs with Alex Goldblatt, who works with Khris, and he landed on this one. The guitar solo at the end? Oh my god.” “Burning Up” “I did a camp in New York with some incredible writer and producers with no brief, no pressure—I just went in to have fun. I went into a room with [singer-songwriter] Guylaire and heard those unique melodies…and the production as well, it just lifts me. I love production that feels euphoric.” “Most Wanted” (with Rvssian, Valiant) “This was the track that made me realize I had to leave my label and go independent. There were so many different versions and it was just getting to the point where the essence was being removed from the song. I went into the studio with [Jamaican producer/artist] Rvssian, thinking I was finishing it, and he threw a curveball and was like, ‘I think we need [dancehall star] Valiant on it.’ We FaceTimed Valiant, he did his verse and I was like, ‘This is it, this is the version, I am obsessed with it.’ And then we played it to the label and they said no. It was soul-destroying. I’m so happy I’ve managed to get this out independently—the version that I love. It’s a great feeling.” “Best Version of Me” “I wrote this about leaving Little Mix and having all those expectations and the pressure to be as successful as the group. It’s super personal, just where my headspace was at that time. It’s kind of my crying-in-the-club song—the production makes you want to move when you hear it but the lyrics are super deep. Everyone is telling me who they think I should be and what they think I should sound like, but the only thing I need to do is be the best version of me, which is my most authentic self. I’m excited for fans to hear this and hopefully feel inspired as well.” “Me Minus U” “I really wanted a vulnerable, stripped-back moment on the album. I did ‘Me Minus U’ with Fred Ball—who did ‘Love on the Brain’ for Rihanna—and [rising alt-R&B star] Kareen Lomax. I had the title ‘Me Minus U’ and Kareen just went to town. She started it, then I finished the chorus. It’s so beautiful.” “Sunrise” “I really love my voice placement in this track. A lot of fans now say my voice sounds like butter, but I never heard that before I went solo and I was able to explore my voice more and use those softer tones. I wrote this in LA with Bubele Booi—he worked on Black Is King with Beyoncé—and Hamzaa. He’s an amazing writer, and it’s just so nice to the ear, isn’t it? It doesn’t need to be too much. It just is what it is and it’s perfect in that sense.” “You ARE a Star (Interlude)” “My family always says, ‘You’re strong because you’re a Pinnock,’ and we’re quite patriotic about our surname. I asked my grandad to tell me where this comes from, but he can’t really use an iPhone like that, so my grandma helped him record the voice note. I didn’t tell him what to say, I just asked the question. I didn’t expect my grandma to say all this beautiful stuff. I don’t even remember saying it to her, but when I heard it back I was like, ‘God, this is literally my younger self, my ego. She was so deluded and determined.’ That interlude is the meaning of the whole album. It takes me back to who I was before Little Mix.” “FREE” “This album is such a special moment for me because it’s not just my debut. It feels like a reckoning, almost. I’m letting go and I feel real freedom. I’m going back to my delusional younger self. I have to trust in her again. There was loads of people that didn’t believe I could do it and I didn’t give a fuck, because I knew I could. And I did. I know who I am, I know what I want, I know my capabilities.” “Tight Up Skirt” “You just need to whine your waist when you hear this. It’s such a bop. Again, this came from my New York camp and the same amazing crew who did ‘Burning Up,’ and it’s just an absolute vibe. I’ve been having listening parties and it’s going down really well, so I’m excited. It has this blend of dancehall and pop that I feel is quite unique to me, and I feel excited about that. This needs to be bumped in the club, with your friends, everyone in their tight up skirts…” “Talk to me nice” “Another one I did in LA with Bubele Booi and Darius Coleman. It was so much fun. Some sessions are just good times and this was one of them, it all came super easy. It’s about my husband and the idea that we’ve been together for nearly 10 years but we still have the fire. Which is kinda crazy, but we’re still keeping that fire alive because I think it’s important to have that.” “Heaven” “My favorite song. Hearing my girls at the end will never get old for me. It makes me tear up every single time. It’s just such a perfect way to end the album, and my journey getting to this point…all those struggles have been worth it because it’s all for them. They’re the reason I do all this.”