Cheryl is laying low, Nadine and Kimberly have gone all quiet, and Sarah has become a TV presenter, but what about ‘the quiet one’ of Girls Aloud? Alan Corr meets Nicola Roberts and finds out that she’s not so quiet after all

“I was at home in Liverpool and I put my little brother and sister in the car, burnt it off on to a CD, drove to this deserted field and put it on so loud that the trees were shaking. I looked at my brother, this 14-year-old lad, and he went, ‘That is cool.’ Then my little sister, she’s 21 and a real girls’ girl, said, ‘That is fly.’ I’m so proud of it. I can’t believe it’s mine.”

Nicola Roberts is talking about her recently released debut solo single, Beat of My Drum. It’s the first song from her debut album, Cinderella’s Eyes (out sometime in September), and the ‘quiet one’ from Girls Aloud is justifiable proud of the song’s wired collision of jittery beeps, beats and bleeps. Beat of My Drum is a song that sounds like it’s had too many espressos but Nicola herself is a rather deep-thinking customer who chooses her words carefully.

And so she might. Roberts, for some reason, was always the overlooked Girl Aloud. She was the one who was subjected to some pretty outrageous criticism in some media quarters for not being pretty enough, for being too pale, too ginger, and for lacking the sass of her fellow band members. Nicola’s reserved nature was often misinterpreted as an aloofness that gave her a reputation as a porcelain ice maiden in a gang of party girls.

However, the magnificent success of Girls Aloud has meant she could no longer be ignored or victimised and besides, Nicola learnt a long time ago to damn the begrudgers. Her single is not called Beat of My Drum for nothing and she will quietly defy expectations once again with Cinderella’s Eyes, not least for her choice of collaborators – Diplo (MIA, Beyoncé), Dimitri Tikovoi (Goldfrapp, The Horrors) and very good English act Metronomy.

“All five of us have very different musical taste in Girls Aloud”, she says, very much talking in the present tense about her full-time band. “I suppose that nobody sees that because the only music they get from us is the sound of Girls Aloud records. If you have five cooks in the kitchen you’ll never get the bloody meal done. We all contributed in our own way, so I think inevitably when you come to make your own record, the things that you’re into are obviously highlighted. Cheryl’s record is very different to mine and very different to Nadine.”

It’s all a big departure from Xenomania, the pop assassins who delivered most of Girls Aloud’s considerable run of hits. But did she feel in any way trapped by their working methods and tastes? “No and I would never say that because I’m a massive team player and I’ve only ever known that”, she says. “I literally went from school into the band. Being in a team is the way I love to work. I don’t necessarily like it when it’s all about me. I think it’s very egotistical to enjoy something like that and it’s not all that genuine.

“With Xenomania, everything was a team effort and everybody contributed and that’s how I’ve made this record too. When Girls Aloud took a break I’d gone from a safe haven, literally having gone from school to eight years of having the support of the a whole team – management, the same stylists and hair and make-up – it was like going from a family to being on my own.”

There is a song on the album called Sticks and Stones in which Nicola sings, ‘How funny that I was too young for so many things/ Yet you thought I’d cope with being told I’m ugly/ Over and over’. “It’s about being 17 and not being old enough to go to the shop to buy your own bottle of vodka to drown your sorrows”, she says. “But being old enough for people to think you can cope with being called ugly. Those real-life lyrics bring darkness but that’s what makes me feel something. I get nothing from songs that just rhyme, it doesn’t feed me.”

The song that ‘feeds’ her the most on Cinderella’s Eyes is the one she wrote with Metronomy. It’s called I and Nicola says it’s her favourite. “I love it. It sounds like a funeral song.” Is there a darkness to her that we may not have seen before? “I don’t know about darkness but I like what’s real. I can’t be arsed with bulls***. I like what’s real. Real life is hating the people that leave, horrible, s***** comments on the internet.

“Real life is hating it when you placed an order and it comes and they’ve messed up all your sizes or hating that boyfriends wear bad disguises a lot of the time. Bad boyfriends wear beautiful disguises. I like things that are real and I suppose in that sense, there can be darkness.”

Despite the overwhelmingly positive response to her solo work, Nicola still seems in a state of disbelief. Her website forums may be stuffed full of fans wishing her luck, but she says she takes it all with a handful of salt. “With every good comment comes a bad comment and I think it’s stupid to take anything on board”, she says. “People change their mind like the wind. I haven’t had one bad review from the critics though and that’s so rewarding after you literally spend your life in the studio, from 10am to 3am in the morning and all of the hard work was worth it for the good reviews. They shocked me a bit. I am amazed that people are supporting me, it’s like ‘why, why?’”

Why are you surprised? “I live in reality. My body is in this dream world where I love what I’m doing. I can’t believe I went from a normal little girl to being in a band and then having a solo record. But I have to keep my head stuck firmly in reality so that I’m always aware of everything that goes on and I’m aware what people think of me, good or bad. I have to be able to have that and I think that when you are like that it keeps your feet on the ground.”

Unbelievably, next year marks the ten-year anniversary of Girls Aloud. They may be on a prolonged break but they can look back at a run of hits (including their finest moment, The Promise) with some pride. As for her fellow band members, Nicola is in regular contact with most of them but she politely declines to answer questions about the embattled (by the media) Cheryl.

She does reckon she has an insight into why people write all those “terrible things” about her however. As well, as loving music, Nicola professes an interest in psychology. “I’m a proper geek! I never read many books about psychology but it’s just a natural thing”, she says. “I don’t know how, but I think I have a gift that allows me to understand why people do things and why somebody says something. If someone says something that I don’t necessarily agree with, I read their body language and say it back in my head and take on their mood. It’s so bizarre. Sometimes I think I’m a total nutjob!”

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Nicola’s in New York to film the video for her next single ‘Lucky Day’

She was spotted on 20.7.11 arriving at JFK airport in New York City, looking really excited!

Check out the photos here-

20.7.11 Nicola Arriving At JFK Airport

Celebrity interview: Girls Aloud’s Nicola Roberts

We grab ten minutes with Nicola Roberts, creator of top beauty range Dainty Doll and living proof that pale skin is more popular than ever

What inspired you to create the Dainty Doll range?

Being pale, trying to find foundations and concealers that were light enough for my skin tone was proving impossible. I was very aware that the cosmetic market didn’t cater for women with paler skin tones, so I decided to create my own range. I wanted to give women like me the chance to effortlessly find and wear make up appropriate for their skin, instead of a tone four times darker than their natural colour.

What are your personal favourite products in the range? Which ones do you wear on a daily basis?

I love all the products; the mineral powder foundation is just so smooth. The formulation we created is really lovely – light but also layerable for days when you need a little more coverage. I also love my Dainty Doll Wonderbalm. I use it to tame my eyebrows, nourish my lips and lashes, and soften my hands. It really is a wonder product and I couldn’t live without it now I have it.

Which brands inspired you when you were working on the Dainty Doll range?

Over the years I have been lucky enough to be able to try so many different brands, whether it be for photo-shoots, stage or just day-to-day life. I really love make up and trying to find the new “it” product that is exciting and makes all girls feel great. I was inspired by lots of products and I took the market into account (as well as what was missing from it) when creating Dainty Doll.

Do you like having your make up done by a professional make up artist or do you prefer to do your own?

I like both. Sometimes it’s nice to just sit at your dressing table, do your own hair and make up and enjoy girly time. In fact, I think it can be quite therapeutic! But then sometimes it’s nice to have it done professionally; they can always do your hair better than you can, and it’s great to see the professional touch with added gloss.

What’s next for the Dainty Doll range? Are there any more products in the pipeline?

I’m currently working on summer and winter products for Dainty Doll. Introducing new things to the line is exciting and it’s great we are in a position to do that so early on. We’re also working on our Dainty Doll App, which is really exciting. I always wanted to bring her to life and some of the ideas we have for the App lets me do that; it’s fun!

Is sun protection a big factor in your daily beauty routine? Which products would you recommend?

It’s great that foundations have SPF built in as they care for your skin as they cover, but, as the sun starts to come out, yes I do also add SPF to be sure I am protected. I once went to have my skin examined for sun damage and was so shocked by the condition it was in. I now wear SPF and keep out of the sun while on holiday.

You’re regularly seen on fashion show front rows and have reinvented the “English Rose” look. Which looks do you think most flatter pale skin tones?

I think you can pull any look off as long as you’re confident in it. It might turn out that certain looks don’t suit you as much as safer, everyday looks, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try them. Beauty and fashion is there to have fun with and shouldn’t be so serious; that stuff can drive you mad.

Have you always embraced your skin tone, or have you felt pressured to dabble in fake tans in the past?

Up until the age of 22 I hated my pale skin. I tried everything and anything to be tanned. My obsession with needing to be brown to feel attractive was unhealthy and I was unhappy. When I look back at myself in those years it makes me a little bit sad, and I can’t bear the thought of other young women hating the skin they’re in. Hopefully with fashion and the trend for unique looks, people will feel like they can be more original than universal.

What’s your biggest confidence-boosting tip?

Learn who you are and where you stand. Figure out what little pocket you fit in and run with it. Once I figured that out my life became a much easier and happier place.

If you could only wear one shade of lipstick for the rest of you life what would it be?

It would be my natural lip colour, just exaggerated a little. Everyone’s lip shades are unique to them and I think it’s really pretty when women wear their own lip colour.

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Nicola Roberts gets in a spin as she turns DJ and hits the decks for celebrity party

Since the girls took a hiatus last summer to pursue individual projects, she’s released her first solo single and launched her own make-up range.

But last night, Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts turned her hand to DJing as she got on the decks so her fellow celebrities could dance the night away.

Nicola, 25, was the special guest DJ at a party in London’s Oxo Tower and looked right at home as she donned a pair of headphones and set about getting the party started.

Her long red hair swinging around her as she twiddled some knobs and mixed some tunes together, she looked in her element.

Nicola wore an unusual sparkly black dress with a stain front panel embroidered with multi-coloured beads as she smiled broadly for the cameras.

The party was held to promote telecommunications company O2′s Priority service for their customers.

Keep on dancing: Nicola has a boogie in her DJ box as she smiles for the camera

Kicking off the night was a performance by American indie rock band The National who are set to play the Latitude festival in Suffolk this weekend.

Once the band had finished, the party began and Nicola, fresh from her solo performance at the T4 On The Beach concert on Sunday, made her way to the DJ box to keep guests happy on the dance floor.

Nicola’s written a new diary entry on her site, click the link below to read it:

Maybe It’s My Lucky Day