In October 2021, she released her debut single titled "Boyz", featuring rapper Nicki Minaj, which was met with negative reception.

[4][5] Nelson attended Jo Richardson Community School and Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College in Hornchurch, London.

[9] Her first audition was "Bust Your Windows" by Jazmine Sullivan, and successfully auditioned as a soloist for the eighth series of the UK version of The X Factor in front of judges Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow, Tulisa Contostavlos and Kelly Rowland, but failed the first challenge of the "bootcamp" section to progress through to the Girls category (solo females aged 16–24).

[13] After winning the show, Little Mix signed a record deal with Syco Music, owned by Simon Cowell.

[18][citation needed] In June 2022, Nelson revealed that her debut album was almost finished,[19] but a month later it was announced that she had split from Polydor amid "creative differences",[20] and the record remains unreleased.

[22] Upon its release, Nelson received praise from the charity Women's Aid due to the song's themes of domestic abuse.

She said that abuse from online trolls on Twitter drove her to attempt suicide in 2013, stating: "I felt that I physically couldn't tolerate the pain any more.

In January 2019, Nelson began dating Love Island contestant Chris Hughes;[33] they split in April 2020.

[38] Her name trended on Twitter after some users realised that she is white, having previously believed that Nelson was a woman of colour.

In 2021, after the release of "Boyz", Nelson faced criticism online for her appearance in the music video, with comments on her accent and darkened skin.

[39] In November 2020, Little Mix's publicist stated that Nelson would take an extended break from the pop group for "private medical reasons".

[16] In August 2021, Nelson spoke in an interview about her time on The X Factor and criticised the show for the lack of support she received after being subjected to online trolling.

In the interview she spoke about the eating disorder she had developed through extreme dieting during her time with Little Mix, and the panic attacks she would experience.

[42] She further claimed that being body shamed on social media (which she was subjected to since 2020) had greatly "destroyed" her chances of starting a family.

[44] Before Little Mix's 2020 studio album Confetti was released, Nelson took some time out of the group's promotion schedule, citing a private medical matter.