Pop princess Pixie Lott has shed light on Strictly Come Dancing , ten years after appearing on the programme. In recent months, the BBC show has been surrounded by controversy and allegations of abuse . But Pixie, 33, who is back with her fourth album admits this couldn't be further from what she experienced.
The star competed on the programme alongside professional dancer Trent Whiddon but sadly left in 10th place. Despite topping the leaderboard four times and having the highest average score throughout the series, Pixie and Trent lost out in Week 11 to Blue singer Simon Webb and his partner, Kristina Rihanoff. During an exclusive chat with the Mirror , the Bromley-born singer and actress admitted while Strictly was intense, she had a positive experience.
"I loved my partner, and he only did it for the one year that I did Strictly," she said. Speaking from her home, Pixie added: "He was amazing and his partner, Gordana, we're still really good friends. They live in Slovenia so I don't get to see them as much as I'd like but whenever they're over, we always see them.
We're great friends and we had the best time." Reflecting on the best parts of the show, the Somebody's Daughter singer admitted the performances were her "favourite" but she was left very nervous performing on live TV, admitting: "It's so nerve-wracking, I don't even know how people who aren't performers do it because it's so it just feels so live. And I've done so many live TVs, but that just feels so live.
I loved the performances, obviously buzzing about those. "I still have the WhatsApp group with all the girls that I did the show with as well, I loved meeting everyone on the show." But while some may opt for a quiet night in or a drink at the hotel bar after filming on a Saturday night, that was not how Pixie celebrated on a weekly basis.
Instead, the singer who has toured with Rhianna would go out "every weekend", often heading into central London for a night out to celebrate their achievements as she was in her early 20s. Despite the gruelling schedule for Strictly, Pixie admits she wouldn't change it for the world due to how much she enjoyed her time on the show. In recent years, Pixie has taken a step back from her main love, music, but has released a single every now and then.
Now, ten years after her last record, she's back with Encino. "I can't believe it's been ten years but we started making it five years ago," she explained to me. When asked about why it's taken so long, Pixie explained: "I wanted it to be very organic about live shows and real and raw stories, I wanted it to be properly lived in and properly taken time over and crafted, that's why it took so long.
" "I was just craving making an album and not just dropping songs here or there that were quickly made," she stated before adding: "10 years is crazy, I think because that first five years I was doing other projects as well and then Covid was in the midst of it, I never would have guessed I would be sat here ten years later but that's just the way the world works. I'm so happy to be back with an album and music being my main focus again." Now though, Pixie is in full control and admits with this record she's not in the "promotional machine" and working at her own pace.
Over the summer, she's been performing her biggest hits at festivals while eager to release Encino so she could perform tracks from it. "It feels so good," she exclaimed. While it may seem Pixie became an overnight success after her debut single Mama Do, the singer had been quietly working since the age of 14 after initially signing to L.
A. Reid's record label, before moving over to Mercury Records in the UK. Here, she wrote songs for artists such as Alexandra Burke and Selena Gomez .
"I was ready to go years before [the first release]," she excitedly said, adding: "I was hungry, raring to go and being very impatient. When it finally came out it was a really slow burn, then it went really fast." She said of the rapid rise to being famous and having media attention: "As soon as the song came out, it went really fast, there were photographers waiting outside my mum and dad's house and following us around and I was completely new to it and didn't know what was going on.
But at the same time, because I had been striving towards this my whole life, I wanted to be releasing songs and making music videos, doing shows and travelling the world doing all this stuff so it felt like it was normal at the same time." Pixie's fourth album, Encino , released through BMG/Tag8 is released on September 27. Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .
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