Little mix - our world {ON HOLD}

A little dream. A lot of love

PERRIE:
Before I met the girls at Boot Camp in August 2011, I found the X Factor experience very lonely. Everyone seemed to be friends. I didn't know anybody and just sat by myself. I found Boot Camp nerve-racking, really scary. I didn't like the atmosphere; it was too competitive. You couldn't walk down the corridor without hearing people singing the whole time. They couldn't wait to be on camera, whereas I hated it when the camera came round. I didn't have any confident and was panicking, ringing my mam every night, saying I wanted to go home, begging her to come and pick me up. She couldn't understand, but I just didn't like it.
They got us all in a room and the judges and producers were weighing everyone up, looking to put people into groups, trying to work out who would go well together. I was in the corner watching it happen, feeling that I didn't look right. They kept getting me to move and stand with different people, but it was obvious wherever they put me it wasn't working. They'd go, ' Can you stand here? Can you move over there? Where does she fit?'

I didn't fit anywhere

I remember seeing Jesy and thinking she was very out there with her outfit, very street, with this crazy big hair. I thought she was so cool. When I got put in a group with her all of a sudden I had someone to talk to and didn't feel so alone. She was the first person I got close to. I remember our group were sat on the stairs, going, ' Right, what're we going to do?' and Jesy saying we should all sing so we knew what we sounded like, and go from there. I was panicking, thinking, ' Oh god, I don't want to sing in front of them,' but when I did Jesy said I'd blown her away, I wasn't what she excepted. I decided I had to stop being such a wimp, and that was when I started enjoying it and got a taste for what it would be like to do well. I thought, ' I can do this if I try,' and really came out of my shell.
We were practicing our harmonies for Destiny's child's survivor' when Elliot Kennedy, who was talent coaching on the show, heard us. He came in and wanted to know who was singing the high harmony. I told him it was me and he chatted for a bit, said he was liking our sound and left us rehearsing. Later her told me he had run straight to the producers and told them he'd just heard someone with an insane voice. Apparently by then they already had a list of people they wanted for the groups and my name wasn't on it. I'd always been so nervous that they'd never heard me sing well, so if it hadn't been for Elliot going last when he did, I wouldn't have been put through. Everything happens for a reason.
Jesy was sharing with Leigh Anne, and she introduced us. I remember being in their room eating pizza and having girly chats with Jesy while Leigh Anne was in bed trying to sleep and she was so nice. Didn't mind us talking, keeping her awake. I thought she was the sweetest girl ever. I'd been told there was another girl from there from South Shields. Someone in my street was friends with Jade's mam and said to look out for her. One day I was sat next to a girl and somehow I knew it was her. It was so weird. I said, ' Are you Jade?' We clicked straight away.

JESY:
I'm the biggest fan of The X factor and when I met Jade at boot camp I recognised her from when she'd auditioned years before. I thought she was so cute, the prettiest little thing I've ever seen. We automatically became friends. It sounds really bad but to start with I couldn't understand a word she said because her North East accent was so strong! When I got to my room I was dreading it, hoping they hadn't put me with one of the crazy people you get on the show with. I walked in, saw Leigh Anne and we clicked straight away. She was lovely. The conversation flowed and we talked about our ex boyfriends. It was like we'd known each other forever. I thought she was so pretty, really sweet. The first Boot Camp challenge was learning a song you'd been given and performing it in front of the judges. Me and Leigh Anne were up all night working on our song, taking, really excited, and in the morning, doing our hair in front of the mirror, we looked at each other and it was like, ' We look good together.' We decided to stick together in case it didn't work out for us as solo artists, hoping they'd put us in a group. Later in the day I saw Jade and introduced her to Leigh Anne. I think the producers clicked the three of us, and it planted a seed, and they put us with another girl in a group called Orion. That was great but then I got taken out and put in a different group, Faux Pas, with Perrie. I remember thinking she was sweet, a little hippy, but that it didn't suit me being in a group with her - we looked too different. Perrie reminded me of Diana Vickers and I expected her to sound like her then when she sang - oh my god! - she was a proper soul singer, insane. I was so shocked - and so thankful to be in a group with her! I thought, ' You're the key!'