Cheryl Cole is determined not to let the X Factor get in the way of her singing career.
The pop star just announced her return as a judge on the UK reality competition after a three-year hiatus.
Although Cheryl is thrilled to be part of the show again, she won’t let it distract her from her new album.
“I just took this time and partied and have just been me and normal for the past six months,” Cheryl told UK newspaper The Mirror. “Then I started recording the new album and that's almost done. There's no delay on the album. I've got things in the pipeline."
Cheryl’s musical abilities are backed up by Simon Cowell, who thinks she is very talented. Simon even wants her to work with his company, Syco Entertainment, a joint venture with Sony.
“I always said to Cheryl you want a label at Sony I would do it in a heartbeat because she is a really good judge of talent,” he insisted. “Like I said the job she did with Cher Lloyd was incredible. If anyone else was mentoring her it would have been a disaster. The idea of Louis Walsh mentoring Cher would have been a disaster.”
Cheryl reportedly signed a $2.5 million deal to return to the X Factor UK following months of negotiations with Simon.
The pair were said to have fallen out after he fired her from the X Factor US in 2011, but have rebuilt their friendship.
“Over the last 18 months, Cheryl and Simon have got back in touch and slowly repaired their relationship. And in January they had dinner with [television producer] Peter Fincham at Simon’s London house. There has been to-ing and fro-ing but the deal was finally done in the last 48 hours,” a source said.
