Jade Thirlwall thinks she possibly "sold her soul" for fame.

The 32-year-old pop star was in her late teens when she won the UK version of 'The X Factor' alongside Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jesy Nelson as part of Little Mix, but admitted that she just "signed on the dotted line" without really thinking about it.

Speaking on an upcoming episode of 'The Assembly' - in which all questions are asked by neurodivergent individuals - she was asked whether she felt as if she had "sold her soul" and replied: "You've trumped me ...  Maybe a little bit in the beginning.

"I was so young and I just signed on the dotted line.

"But as the years have gone by I've learned more and more about the industry.

"I've been collecting -- a bit like [Marvel superhero] Thanos with the stones -- I've been collecting parts of my soul back as I've gained more creative freedom."

The 'IT Girl' hitmaker also admitted that she thinks the kind of way in which she became famous has been and gone but she is not entirely sure that music mogul Simon Cowell - who created 'The X Factor' and the 'Got Talent' franchises, and also headed up Syco Music - is going anywhere.

She said: "I think it's the end of that kind of TV show or music label.

"I think it's the end of that era.

"But I don't know if Simon Cowell specifically has ended."

It was suggested previously that the lyric "sold my soul to a psycho" from her 'Angel of my Dreams' track was a dig at Simon but Jade later clarified in an interview that that was not necessarily the case.

She told Beat magazine: "It's not specifically about that.

"But I wanted the song to be my journey, from entering the music business to now, and what that's felt like. That's why the song feels so chaotic.

"The opening is like the music to that montage bit on The X Factor after you've won, and you're just catapulted into the industry."

She added: "I don't want to sit here and bash the last 13 years of my life. I'm very happy and content. But like with any job, there are highs and lows. That's just life, and it's my reality, but it's about writing it in a way that's not woe is me."