Cheryl Cole

Cheryl Cole (born Cheryl Ann Tweedy on June 30, 1983) was a dancer and model prior to becoming a member of the record-breaking European pop group Girls Aloud. As a youngster, she won several modeling competitions and appeared in commercials, but she made her biggest leap in 2002, when she auditioned for Popstars: The Rivals and was selected to join Girls Aloud, a group that went on to release 19 Top Ten U.K. singles within a matter of a few years. In 2009, Girls Aloud announced a year-long hiatus, and Cole, who had become one of her country’s highest-profile celebrities (thanks in part to her role as a judge on another British singing competition, X Factor, whose weekly audience swelled to 14 million viewers after she joined the cast), took advantage of the down time to record her first solo album.

The surprisingly conservative 3 Words appeared in October 2009, featuring collaborations with will.i.am, Soulshock & Karlin, and Syience. Led by the Wayne Wilkins-produced “Fight for This Love,” a number one hit and the fastest-selling British single of 2009, the album went platinum in two weeks. Cole's second album, Messy Little Raindrops, followed in November 2010 and fared similarly well, going platinum on the strength of hit singles like "Promise This." Once again, several tracks were produced by Wilkins, while will.i.am, J.R. Rotem, and Free School were involved in smaller capacities.