Jesy Nelson has spent weeks teasing her debut single, started a wall-to-wall promotional campaign and jetted to the States in the hope of kicking off her solo career with a huge splash.
But even the best-laid plans can go awry – and that seems to be the case now for the ex-Little Mix star.
I told last month how her team were in negotiations to bag Jesy the biggest performance of her career with a slot at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York to premiere her solo single Boyz.
But her collaborator on the song, Nicki Minaj, has pulled out, meaning neither will perform at Sunday’s ceremony, where the likes of Lil Nas X, Camila Cabello and Justin Bieber will take to the stage.
A source said: “Jesy and Nicki were in talks to perform Boyz at the VMAs and Jesy even headed out to the US especially.
“However, Nicki has now dropped out, meaning that idea is now in the bin and Jesy’s big reveal has been pushed back even further.
“The single is still having the final touches put on it and is still hopefully on course to be out later this month.
“But given the delays so far, no one wants to put an exact date on it just in case.
“Jesy is raring to go and these things are out of her control.
“It’s incredibly frustrating as she wants Boyz to be released with a bang. And at the moment it all seems to be losing a bit of traction.”
There were rumors earlier this week that part of the delay was due to American superstar Nicki struggling to find the time to lay down her vocals.
But those close to Jesy say Nicki has stuck to her part of the deal and that her part of the song is ready to go.
Whatever is happening behind the scenes, they need to get a move on before everyone gets bored of waiting altogether.