At this stage, despite endless press speculation, why Cheryl Cole got sacked from American X Factor still remians a bit of a mustery. All we are sure of is that something, somewhere along the line, has gobe horribly wrong.
For the last few years her image has been golden, and that’s despite having been married to ‘morals of a snake’ Ashley, buying his and hers Hummers, that National Lottery advert and getting involved in a controversial fight with a toilet attendant with subsequent accusations of racism.
Let’s face it, after that list, it’s pretty amazing she managed to turn things round at all. And yet within weeks of her becoming a judge on The X Factor, the whole country had taken her to their bosom, enthralled by her pleasant Geordie lilt, ridiculously pretty face, fabulous (give or take a couple of outfits) new wardrobe, and new lady-like image. She was measured, she could handle Simon Cowell and proved herself to be a worthy mentor for the X Factor contestants. She could do no wrong. Her farts probably smelled of strawberries. God damnit she was ‘Worth it’.
Fast forward to this week however and suddenly Miss Cole isn’t having such a happy time of it. In fact, I can picture her holed up in a luxury LA hotel suite, wailing, puffy faced, back in velour (for both physical and emotional comfort purposes), alternating beween licking her wounds and trying to get Will i am on the phone for a slanging match. You see, her downturn in luck coincides with her decision to replace her longstanding manager and put her career in the hands of said pop star. He, along with Simon Cowell, then took it upon himself to convince her that next on Chezza’s list of ‘things to do’ should be ‘take the US by storm.’ Hmmm.
Now, I think being ambitious is a good and healthy thing. Aim high, don’t give up, might as well give it a go, are mantras I pretty much live by. And yet there’s an awful lot to be said for appreciating what you’ve already got.
What was so wrong with being Queen Bee on the British X Factor? Cheryl could have been paid millions for staying here in England. Where we understand her accent. Where we see her as a star.
In America, no one knew who the hell she was and besides they already had their Queen Bee in residence. Paula Abdul is a huge celebrity over there. (Yes I know, I can only remember the video for Opposites Attract from the 80’s too….) Did they really need another alpha female competing for Simon’s attentions?
I’m sure Simon Cowell genuinely wanted his friend to get the gig and yet he must have known deep down it was never a given that she would be welcomed with open arms by the American public who simply didn’t really understand why she was there.
And then there was the whole issue of the hair. The massive, teased, backcombed, bouffant barnet she sported for her first day on the job can’t have helped either can it? What was she thinking? Her usually beautiful locks looked like a wig that had got stuck in a wind turbine. They screamed I HAVE TRIED SO HARD. Alas, along with the ill fitting purple trousers she looked like she’d been rummaging in Daphne from Scooby Doo’s wardrobe. Cheryl, you’re such a natural beauty how could you have made yourself look that wrong and that much older?
She must be so embarrassed.
‘See ya UK,’ she seemed to be saying as she fled to LA in search of international fame and fortune, confident in the fact that Simon had assured her it would all be fine. Which brings me back to my point. Sometimes, maybe we should all try to be happy with what we’ve got. To put this into a personal context, I remember saying to a friend, years ago, that if I could just get my book published I would die happy. Well I did, ( get it published, not die) and I have been very happy and proud of my achievement. However, as is human nature, it wasn’t long before I was caught up with striving for the next goal. The next book, improved sales etc etc etc. What Cheryl has taught me is to continue working hard, to continue aiming high but also to recognise that where I am right now is a pretty good place to be.
And that sometimes (though not always) when it comes to hair, less can definitely be more
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