Stirring up trouble

X Factor winners Little Mix have outraged fans of Irish performer Damien Rice by releasing a cover of his hit song Cannonball, says Ed Power

It was early December, and Little Mix had just won. After weeks of tension, Leigh-Anne Pinnock sat in the X Factor green room, sobbing, overwhelmed with emotion.

“After it was announced that we’d finished first, I remember running off the stage, trying to find somewhere quiet and crying and crying,” she says. “All the hard work, everything we had been through, had suddenly all paid off. Every day, I pinch myself. I honestly don’t think it is ever going to sink in. It’s like living a dream. You keep thinking ‘am I going to wake up’?”

The first girl group to win the ITV talent show, Little Mix became controversial. Their first single was a cover of Damien Rice’s Cannonball. The song was number one in Ireland. Purists were unimpressed. Such was the fuss, Rice intervened. He tweeted he had no say as to who covered his material.

“We didn’t hear anything about that,” says Pinnock. “Obviously, you are going to get criticism. It’s going to happen. That is part of the business. It doesn’t affect us. We keep doing what we do. We have hard shells and our families are there to support us. People can say what they want. We aren’t bothered.”

Where did the idea to cover Damien Rice come from? “Well, we all loved the song. At first, we weren’t sure if we could make it work in a Little Mix way. Performing it has made us realise we can sing ballads as well as doing up-tempo stuff. It’s showed that we can be versatile and that there’s a lot more to come from us. We were thrilled at how it turned out,” she says.

They’re starting on their debut LP. It has been suggested that X Factor judge Gary Barlow was hired to write songs with the band. This is news to Pinnock. “That’s the first I’ve been told about that,” she says. “We’ve had meetings with a lot of writers and producers. We know the route we want to go down. It’s going to be hip-hop and R’n’B and pop mixed together. We are determined to make the best possible record we can. This is a very exciting time for us. We’ve already started on material.”

Pinnock enjoys fame, but there’s a downside. Over Christmas, it was hard to leave the house without being ambushed by photographers. Nothing prepares you for the attentions of the paparazzi.

“That is really hard to wrap your head around,” she says. “They want pictures of you clubbing, walking down the street, everything. That being said, it means you are getting in the papers. Which I still find amazing. What’s strangest is having everyone know who you are. Now, that is odd.”

The mega-exposure that comes with being on television every Saturday night is addictive, she says. Since X Factor finished before Christmas, she has been suffering withdrawal symptoms.

“It is strange not being on the telly week in week out,” she says. “You get used to it and start to enjoy it. Of course, you have to move on. So we’re focused on writing the record and finding our sound.”

X Factor is often held up as proof of that the music industry is evil and calculating. The truth is that the show’s track record in minting new stars is decidedly spotty.

The 2010 title holder, Matt Cardle, hasn’t set the charts ablaze. Even Leona Lewis, the most successful X Factor winner in history, has seen the wind go out of her career.

The argument could be made that it’s also-rans such as JLS and One Direction who do best.

It is early days. And yet for Little Mix the portents are far from positive. Though their version of Cannonball went to number one, its sales were the lowest for any X Factor debut single. Of course, the argument can be made that music sales are in widespread decline anyway. Still, you do wonder if Pinnock is being overly optimistic when she says she wants to conquer the world.

On the other hand, the quartet have already been through the wars to an extent. Initially, all four members entered X Factor as solo artists. While failing to make it into the final stages, the judges saw potential and encouraged them to form a group. Initially they traded as Rhythmix. However, a dispute with a charity of the same name forced a rethink, and half way through the season Little Mix was born.

Their X Factor mentor was judge Tulisa Contostavlos, formerly of R‘n’B group, Ndubz. On screen, she forged a close relationship with the girls. How much was for the benefit of the cameras? “She’s 100% real,” says Pinnock. “We’re still in contact. Always texting one another. I was just onto her with my BlackBerry. She was an amazing mentor, so supportive. Whenever we need her, she’s there for us. If we ever have troubles or need advice, we can call her up. Even though the competition is over, she remains someone I know I can turn to.”

A former Pizza Hut waitress, Pinnock is faintly astonished she was ever a solo artist. It’s far better, she says, to be in a group. She knows she has three other people to watch her back. In a cutthroat business like pop, having someone you can rely on, no matter what, is invaluable.

“Without my girls, I don’t know how I could possibly have done it,” she says. “It is amazing to think I was once a solo artist. Honestly, these girls are my rocks now. We are ready to take over the world. I never set out to be famous. To enjoy what you are doing and be successful at it — that’s all we wanted.”

* The single Cannonball is out now.