Perrie Edwards tells us about new single ‘If He Wanted To He Would’ and hitting reset on her solo career
Exclusive: Perrie tells us about her return to solo life, why she wants to work with Bruno Mars and how she's got a girl song dedicated to Little Mix on her upcoming debut album.
By Nick Reilly
Perrie has told Rolling Stone UK about how some much needed time out has allowed her to refocus her solo career, as she gears up to release new single ‘If He Wanted To He Would’.
The singer’s upcoming release marks her fifth solo single and sees her head in a country-pop direction as she preaches the virtues of “not applauding your partner for doing the fucking bare minimum”.
It’s the first taste of a new sound that emerged when Perrie was on a break for Christmas last year and realised that it was time to hone the direction of her solo sound and find an avenue that she was truly happy with. This, she tells us, was paired with some imposter syndrome about the quality of her own songwriting.
“I’m really proud of this first song and the upcoming album. I’m glad I stuck to my guns. I just felt in my gut that the first try didn’t feel 100 per cent like it was me,” she explains. “Now I just feel like it’s really autobiographical. It’s just about my life, my experiences, and it feels a lot more genuine to me.”
Now, she’s gearing up for a whole new chapter instead. You can read our whole Q&A with Perrie below.
How’s it going, Perrie? Excited to return?
I’m good! I’m so excited to come back with this track. 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 I had 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?
Well, I took some time away and I got my shit together and thought about what I wanted to be as a solo artist. What do I want my songs to sound like? I know I feel the best I’ve ever felt because I just took the pressure off and enjoyed it and found that creativity and love for it again. I think I’m pretty good at songwriting and I worked on this comeback song with Nina Nesbitt, which was great.
Tell us about ‘If He Wanted To He Would’. It’s a huge pop song. I’m hearing ‘Shout Out To My Ex’ in there!
That’s a huge compliment, I’ll take it! The music I love the most is that anthemic pop where it sounds live and it’s got a band behind it, and we go big on the production. I like what Sam Fender is doing in the way that he makes his songs sound big, you know.
Is the song’s theme rooted in a scenario you’ve experienced?
I realised that if I released another song about heartbreak, my fans would have gone into a downward spiral, but if I write about a friend going through it, it’s kinda different! This situation happens so often in life, but from my own experience I was in a relationship for a very long time and sometimes you’re so in love with someone [and] you devote so much time and energy that you don’t always see the red flags. In my experience, nobody told me that at the time. It’s all well and good breaking up with someone and being told he was a dick, but where were the people telling you that now when you’re going through it? Like, what the fuck? I never want to see my friends going through the same shit as I did, so when they come to me I’ll get to the point and tell them how it is.
It’s because I just love them and I know what they deserve and I want to see them with the people that actually deserve their fucking time. That’s important to me, and this song is about not applauding your partner for doing the fucking bare minimum. We get one chance in life, so let’s spend it with some who is deserving.
You mentioned imposter syndrome. Was there a moment that allowed you to grow in confidence, and how have you grown to have more faith in your abilities?
There was a time last year when I pretty much thought my album was done. Then, throughout the process, it felt like outside songs would be favoured over mine, which made me think perhaps they’re not good. I adore the first song I put out, ‘Forget About Us’. It’s definitely more in the world of what I wanted my music to sound like. But I have therapy on a Friday and I love that because I was ranting and it made realise I was at a bit of a crossroads. Have I found what I want my album to sound like? Because right now it doesn’t feel 100% authentic to me.
I was feeling the pressure, but I spoke to my manager and my team and we realised there was no point in rushing things. I started to chill, take the pressure off and that’s when I feel like my creative juices just started flowing so much more. So I went and finished my album. I wrote some more songs. I’ve been working behind the scenes to put it all in order, so I sent it to the label and told them what the singles were and what the tracklist would be. They were like ‘Oh shit, right, let’s go’. And here we are!
Was it a case of scrapping large parts of the album? How much has remained?
Originally the majority of it was written for me and I probably wrote five or six songs on the album. Now I’d say there’s probably four or five that I haven’t written and the majority is by me. It’s definitely flipped. Some of the songs have obviously come across from the first draft. There’s a huge ballad on there which is the first song I ever recorded as a solo artist and I still love that song so much. I’m really proud of this first song and the album – I’m glad I stuck to my guns. I just felt in my gut that the first try didn’t feel 100 per cent like it was me. Now I just feel like it’s really like autobiographical. It’s just about my life, my experiences, and it feels a lot more genuine to me.
When you’re writing an album that is biographical, is there any songwriters you’ve looked to as guiding lights?
Amy Allen has always been one of my favourite songwriters ever, and Nina Nesbitt too, who I work with a lot. I love Bruno Mars, the way he uses lyrics to tell the story and get his point across. It sounds like a story you’ve heard a million times over because it’s just so to the point and hits you. The simple songs are always the hardest. He wrote Adele’s ‘All I Ask’, which is incredible. If anyone in the world could write me a song it’d have to be Bruno. If Bruno wrote me a song, I’d probably die. He’s unbelievable to me.
Well you’re throwing that wish out into the universe now…
Yes! I’m such a fangirl. I think he’s incredible.
How’s it been seeing the solo success of Little Mix over the last year too? JADE performed at our awards and smashed Glastonbury, while Leigh-Anne recently returned with ‘Been a Minute’.
Ah yeah, it speaks for itself. Our relationship is as deep as the ocean and when I see the girls doing well, I’m their biggest cheerleader. I love that, I want to see them happy. I want to see them successful.
I just want them to be in the best place that they possibly can be because I just love them so much and I wrote a song about the girls on my album actually. There’s a lyric that says, ‘When your name is up there shining like it always would be / I’ll be cheering in the front row’. I want to see them do well, and it means a huge lot to me.
Talking about JADE at Glastonbury, would you tackle that festival yourself?
Yes! I’ve never been to Glastonbury either, but I’m intrigued by it. I love festivals because I think they have the best atmosphere and the best crowds. Everyone is just having it. They’re drunk, it feels good and it’s the perfect vibe for a performance.