She's young, gorgeous, sexy, talented and rich, which means most of us should hate her, surely? But the nation is falling in love with Cheryl Cole. We investigate her enduring appeal.

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With the fabulous hair, beautiful face, immaculate style and perfect figure, most of us (or the females, at least) have plenty of reasons to be jealous of Cheryl Cole. But instead, several women I know (myself included) are finding ourselves developing rather obsessive crushes on the Girls Aloud singer. Along with more than half of the male population, I’m sure.

 

 

 

We find ourselves watching The X Factor more to check out what Cheryl’s wearing than to see Britain’s poor hopefuls get publicly trashed by Simon Cowell. And we’re not ashamed to admit it.

 

The 25-year-old Newcastle upon Tyne lass made it big on a reality TV show herself not so many moons ago in 2002. And though she may have looked a million miles away from her current glamorous persona in her Popstars: The Rivals days, there was still something about this ambitious girl that wowed the crowds. Her sheer passion for her subject and the way she relates to people made her instantly likeable.

 

When she judges The X Factor, Cheryl wears her heart on her sleeve. We see her laugh, cry and give Simon a run for his money. One recent audition from widower Daniel Evans (who revealed that the love of his live had died six days after giving birth to their baby daughter), left Cheryl in bits. “It felt like he was singing that to his wife,” she said afterwards. And the nation welled up with her.

 

While Dannii Minogue has been criticised for failing to show much expression when judging the contestants (could it be the Botox?) Cheryl’s face is constantly registering her feelings – and her reactions to the performances are almost as entertaining as watching the acts themselves.

 

 

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The X Factor’s opening night of this series drew a record audience of 12.1 million, making it the most popular launch show ever, but was that down to the X Factor, or the Cheryl factor? The figures speak for themselves.

 

What’s more, the Geordie lass dares to stand up to Simon. Not in a brash "I’m Sharon Osbourne, so shut up" kind of way, but in a polite, firm way which tells Simon that she is not someone who’s going to be pushed around. It’s hard not to respect that. Maybe Cheryl is a diva behind the scenes, who knows? But at least she doesn’t put on the theatrics like Sharon did. And one senses that she is a lot happier in her role as an X Factor judge than Dannii is right now.

 

Which is another thing about Cheryl - she just seems to love her job. Check out any pictures of Girls Aloud on tour and you’ll frequently see her beaming from the stage with that infectious smile, which makes the performance all the more enjoyable for the crowd to watch.

 

But life hasn’t always been smooth for Mrs Cole. She’s worked her way up from humble beginnings and suffered public heartache at the hands of husband Ashley. As the rest of the nation pondered what a fool he was for messing around behind his wife’s back (with, let's face it, a rather inferior model), Cheryl’s weight plummeted as stress took its toll, and she was exposed to more paparazzi camera lenses than ever.

 

Still, ever the pro, she kept her private life private. Preferring female solidarity to tabloid tell-alls, Cheryl went on holiday with bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh to a private retreat in Thailand. This is one lady who values her female friendships and proves to her girlfriends how important they are to her; another trait to be admired.

 

Cheryl isn't the sort of star who will pretend to the media that everything in her life is a bed of roses when it isn't. She is still without her wedding ring, nearly a year after the sordid details of Ashley’s one night stand were revealed. And as for that relationship with Dannii? "I wouldn't say me and Dannii are good friends,” she admits. “But I didn't come on the show to make friends; we are still getting to know each other. At the end of the day you're sitting there doing a job." How very dignified and professional. Which just about sums Cheryl Cole up.

 

Source: MSN, Girls Aloud.net

She's just so beautiful, but I find her really real, and I think people can relate to her because of all thats happened in her life. And, she's gorgeous of course :wub:

Always liked her but the dance move during wake me up - 'Was it just the margarita's or are you lookin at me' bit made her my firm 2nd fave after Nic, anyone remember that? She does it on every tour (I really don't wanna explain the moves ;) ) that and Nic's 'off you heeeeeeaaaaaaddd' vocals make wake me up my fave live :dance: Anyway I digress, Cheryl cole - Girl power for the 21st century :D