Jade Thirlwall on Life After Little Mix and Taking a ‘Risk’ with Debut Solo Song ‘Angel of My Dreams’ (Exclusive)

Thirlwall tells PEOPLE she “wanted to surprise people” with the dance banger, which has already reached No. 7 in her native United Kingdom

Jade Thirlwall would like to introduce herself.

After more than a decade in Little Mix, the English singer-songwriter, 31, is branching out on her own following the group’s 2022 hiatus with “Angel of My Dreams,” a truly out-of-the-box debut single that’s already soared up the U.K. charts since its July 19 release.

The whiplash-inducing, multi-tempo dance banger features autobiographical lyrics about Thirlwall’s journey from auditioning for The X Factor UK in 2011, to the highs and lows of her time in Little Mix and anxiety surrounding solo stardom.

“Angel of my dreams / I will always love you and hate you, it’s not fair / It’s so bittersweet / I will always want you and need you, you don’t care,” she sings on the chorus of the track about her complex feelings toward the music industry — which quickly reached No. 7 on the charts in her native country.