Jade Thirlwall was born and raised in south shields. She auditioned for the X-Factor twice before, Once in 2008 and again in 2010. She was sent home both times due to lack of confidence. She auditioned once again for the 2011 season with “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” made famous by the Beatles.

Jade, along side the other girls of Little Mix did not make it into the bootcamp stage of the television show, The girls were all selected from failed solo auditions and all put into separate groups, being named Faux Pas and Orion (in which Jade was in). Neither of the groups made it past the judges house. However, a last-minute decision was made and two members from both groups were selected and put into a third ensemble, named respectably Rthymix.

A few weeks into competition X-Factor executives attempted to Copyright the Rhythmix name, and come to find out that the name was already copywritten. The girls had then decided to change the name of the group to avoid any confusion with a charity that had been step up for helping young people make music. Thus, Little Mix was born. Simon Cowell donated an undisclosed amount to the charity.

Jade, along side the other girls made X-Factor history as weeks went on, becoming the first all-female band to ever make it in the top 6. Little Mix also the only X-Factor contestant to never be in the bottom 2. In December of 2011, Little Mix became the first band in the 8-year run to win the competition, which was followed by the release of the winner’s single “Cannonball” which hit the #1 position in 3 different countries.