Jesy Nelson in the music video for Boyz
(Picture: Jesy Nelson)Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson is to make her solo debut performance at Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball.
The singer, 30, will be joined by Justin Bieber and Coldplay who have also been confirmed on year’s star-studded line-up at Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball with Barclaycard.
It comes after Nelson released debut solo single Boyz, featuring US rapper Nicki Minaj.
But her accompanying music video prompted accusations of blackfishing, the practice of a non-black person trying to appear black.
She later addressed the accusations when she said she never intended to cause offence and denied using fake tan.
Meanwhile, her former Little Mix band mates have said they approached the topic of “blackfishing” with Nelson in a “very friendly, educational manner” before she left the group.
Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball will take place over two days at London’s O2 Arena.
Joining Nelson, Bieber and Coldplay for the first night will be Years & Years, Jax Jones, Clean Bandit, Becky Hill and Sigrid.
This will be Bieber’s only live show in Europe this year and his first major performance in the UK since 2017 following an intimate acoustic session in London at the start of 2020.
Multi-award winning Coldplay released their ninth studio album, Music Of The Spheres, in October, claiming the title of fastest-selling album of 2021 so far with 101,000 chart sales in its opening week, according to the Official Charts Company.
On night two will be EdSheeran, Lil Nas X, Anne-Marie, Mabel, KSI, Joel Corry, JLS and Griff.
As a new addition for 2021, Capital radio DJ MistaJam will play a live set of dance anthems alongside fellow DJs Billen Ted, 220 KID and Riton.
This will be the first live Jingle Bell Ball since 2019 as the 02 Arena concert was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead a “Best Of” show was broadcast featuring recordings of past performances.
The festive concert has previously hosted global acts including Taylor Swift, Stormzy, Harry Styles and Ariana Grande.
Ashley Tabor-King, founder and executive president of Global, said on Wednesday: “The long-awaited return of Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball with Barclaycard will see the biggest hit music artists take to the stage and we can’t wait.
“With global superstars and some of the hottest UK talent set to play the Ball this Christmas, we have another phenomenal weekend of live performances in store.”
The line-up for night two of the Jingle Bell Ball will be announced from 8am on Thursday on Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp.
Tickets will go on general sale on Friday at 9am and are available exclusively on Global Player.
