Little Mix: 'We've grown a thick skin to criticism'

Little Mix have developed a "thick skin" during their time in the music industry.

The four-piece band, comprising Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, shot to fame when they were formed on the 2011 series of U.K. talent show The X Factor.

But going from normal young girls to world-famous superstars was a difficult thing to cope with, and Little Mix found themselves at the center of headlines criticizing their appearances on The X Factor. And while the group admit they still get some similar remarks these days, they have learned to deal with it better over the years.

"I think there's a lot of pressure, especially for young girls, to look a certain way," Jesy said as the girls appeared on Britain's The Jonathan Ross Show, airing this Saturday (12Nov16). "When we went on The X Factor we didn't look that great and we got a lot of stick for it and it was hard. Obviously we'd just been thrown into this whole experience so we'd never experienced anything like this and it was just a bit of a shock to the system.

"We still get it now but I think we've grown a thick skin now to it all. It's hard, especially when you're so young and you're not used to people just being able to comment on what you look like and being able to see it in front of your face."

Recently, the girls hit headlines when they wore raunchy outfits for a comeback performance on The X Factor. They dealt with the criticism in the best way they could, with Jesy adding to host Jonathan that they couldn't get through everything unless they were a close-knit unit.

"If we were on our own, we’d be terrified," she said. "I just love that we - I know it sounds really cheesy - but I love how we support each other and bring out a confidence in each other that we never knew we had. I think if we were on our own, we’d absolutely sh*t ourselves.”