ThisisBigBrother.com - UK TV Forums - The Cher Lloyd Appreciation Thread

Quote:

PopDash: Congratulations on the success of your new single 'With Ur Love'. Did you always know it would be a big hit?

Cher Lloyd: Yeah, I think so. It feels great to have two hits now because, for me, the whole point of making music is to better what you did before so to be able to say I've got two hit singles is fantastic.

PopDash: How did you come to work with Mike Posner?

Well, you know how it works. Come on.

PopDash: Yeah, obviously, but it ties in really nicely with your story doesn't it? (Cher performed a Mike Posner song quite badly during an early X Factor audition).

Totally. We invited him into the record purely because I did balls his song up. It's a track for all the people who laughed at me for messing up when I was ill.

PopDash: There are lots of guest stars on the album, such as Busta Rhymes. How does it feel going toe to toe with an icon like him?

I didn’t actually go into the studio with him unfortunately. That’s something I learned through making the album actually. As a kid I always thought that any duets or collaborations, both people were in the room with each other but that’s not always how it works out.

PopDash: It must feel great to have such big names on your debut album though...

Absolutely! I’m so happy with everyone who is on the album. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. I didn’t actually have a list of collaborators though. I was helping co-write the songs on the album and occasionally names of people we felt would be right for the song came up.

PopDash: Did you co-write every track on the album?

I did every one except three.

PopDash: How did you find writing your own material?

I feel like they’re my songs much more than I would have done. I was worried that I’d just be given a CD and told to go and record it but it wasn’t like that at all.

PopDash: We saw a picture of you with Lil Wayne taken when you were recording your album. How was it to meet a hero like that?

Nobody told me he was coming so I didn’t have time to get nervous about it. It was a huge shock to be honest and weird to think that I’m in a situation where I’m in the same studio as Lil Wayne and we can chat to each other.

PopDash: Did he pass on any advice to you?

Not really, he did say my accent was cute.

PopDash: What about his voice? Did you understand him? He slurs his words quite a lot…

Of course! I’ve grown up listening to him so I knew everything he said.

PopDash: Do you get star struck around people?

Totally! Even coming into places like this (We’re speaking to Cher at her record label offices) I get worried I’ll see someone and make a fool of myself. I try to act like it doesn’t phase me because I don’t feel like I fit into that bracket at all yet.

PopDash: That comes with time….

I don’t think it will though, it’s just a part of me.

PopDash: Is your album, ‘Sticks and Stones’, everything you hoped it would be?

It’s more. I was worried I would be given a disc with twenty songs on it and told to go and record them. I was really lucky to have a record label that trusted me to start writing on my own songs so early in my career. Not many people get that opportunity.

PopDash: When did you start work on the album?

Basically. I didn’t know I was signed and I went into the studio with Will.I.am the day after I got voted off The X Factor last year. I was in the studio immediately and I said to someone, ‘So have I got a record deal?’ and they were like, ‘Err… yeah!’.

PopDash: Do you remember when you recorded ‘Swagger Jagger’?

I was in Miami and there was a lot of police around, I think someone got shot actually. It was crazy. For some reason one of the writers I was with was humming ‘My Darling Clementine’ and everyone was going crazy.

PopDash: Did you feel vindicated at all when the song went straight to number one?

Totally, yeah. It was peace of mind for me. People seem to focus so much on negativity these days and it’s something I don’t understand. People seem to bounce it…

PopDash: How do you mean?

Well I don’t know if it’s just a thing with this country but people seem to want to hate. We should be supporting our acts!

PopDash: It’s like a pantomime though, isn’t it? Someone we all love to hate…

Yeah but it was different for me. I don’t care though, I don’t need to rant and rave. Let them all do the talking for me.

PopDash: How does it feel to be the person that made the word ‘Swagger’ so well known? Even Louis Walsh is saying it now!

I don’t know how I did it or why I did it but it’s out there now. Lots of other artists have used it in songs before me though.

PopDash: Do you have a favourite song on ‘Sticks and Stones’ at all?

‘Over The Moon’. It’s very personal and is a song about my Uncle, who passed away. There’s lyrics on there that people will never get their heads around.

PopDash: Have your family heard that song?

It’s my Mum’s favourite song actually. It’s nice to be able to write something you can cherish like that.

PopDash: The album is a really great mix of pop and hip-hop. Would it be fair to say that hip-hop is where your heart lays?

I suppose but then before The X Factor I was a country singer. It’s a bit of a surprise but yeah, I used to sing country music songs in really rubbish clubs to a load of old people. They weren’t even listening most of the time.

PopDash: There’s a big link between Country and Hip-Hop too…

Totally! I think my voice has a lot of country influences in it actually, there’s a twang in there.

PopDash: Can you see yourself pursuing a more hip-hop direction in the future?

People should be prepared for me to get a lot harder with my music. I want to go right in at the deep end, full on stuff. I want to be a lot more edgy and I do want it to be more explicit and a bit controversial.

PopDash: Who are the artists you grew up listening to?

I was a huge fan of Sean Paul and Timbaland when I was younger. I listened to a lot of grime too, Dizzee Rascal, Dot Rotten and Ghetts too.

PopDash: Those last two feature on the album don’t they? Was it important for you to have Uk MCs on there with you?

It’s a big respect thing for me. The fact they’re on the album means more to me than having Busta Rhymes and Mike Posner.

PopDash: Do you have plans to tour next year?

Of course! I’ve got fans who want to hear me and I can’t wait to get out and perform these songs for them. If you don’t play live then you’re not a proper artist. It’s alright sitting in a studio and having some man turn a load of dials but you’ve got to get out there and play live too.

PopDash: How does playing live with your own songs compare with performing on The X Factor?

It’s massive, you can’t compare. I finish a show and I look on Twitter and there’s people writing my lyrics. You don’t get that on The X Factor and as much as I put my heart and soul into that competition it’s just singing.

PopDash: You have a lot of tattoos, including song lyrics on your arm, have you noticed fans getting Cher Lloyd tattoos?

I’ve met a lot of people actually. I met a guy the other day who had the word ‘Brrap’ tattooed down his arm. It was massive. I was like, ‘You’re crazy!’.