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Nicola RobertsBeat Of My DrumLucky Day
In 2008, Roberts started producing a make-up collection named Dainty Doll which
after expansion enjoyed success at stores such as Harrods. Her
solo work continued in an investigative documentary into compulsive
tanning named Nicola Roberts: The Truth About Tanning as well as
her taking a public stance against underage tanning working alongside
MP's. In 2011 it was announced that Roberts had been producing
her debut album named Cinderella's Eyes, her debut solo single "Beat of My Drum" gathered acclaim although commercially its performance was mixed. A follow-up
single "Lucky Day" garnered positive reviews but like the previous commercially its performance
was weak charting at number 40 in the UK. The following week Cinderella's
Eyes was released, inspired by her time in Girls Aloud it featured
production from Dragonette, Diplo and Joseph Mount. Roberts described
the album as electronically lead and critically it garnered universally
positive reviews and commercially it peaked at number 17 in the
United Kingdom. Nicola Roberts was born on the 5, October 1985 in Stamford, Lincolnshire when her mother was just 17.[1] Her father at the time was working in the RAF which resulted in financial struggles during the time of her birth within the family.[1] Her father then went onto work for company Ford whilst her mother became a photographer leading to an increase in family funds.[1] Roberts grew up in a "rough" council estate, despite this she never felt threatened although expressed concern with her younger siblings exploring the area as they "probably wouldn't come back".[1] Despite a history of drugs in the estate she called it a minority and called current day estates much worse than her own.[1] Aged 11 Roberts and her family moved to a house in a middle class area which Roberts struggled with believing it was "too posh", and despite moving away from her council estate she spent time associating with self described mischievous children from lower class backgrounds..[1] In school Roberts found herself shying away in contrast to her home life where she was outgoing even gaining the nickname Cilla from her family after the diva-like behaviors of singer Cilla Black.[1] Academically Roberts performed well leaving school with ten GCSE's but declared her dislike with school and began discussing a musical career which led her to work with several girl groups recording demo tracks in some cases.[2] Roberts acknowledged she had always wanted to be a singer and had been entering competitions and auditions with her father alongside her and gaining support from other family members.[3] "Every week before I went on stage
I used to go to the toilet, to the same cubicle, and pray, just
ask God to please let me have this. Even though I was confident
in my singing ability, and I knew I had a stronger voice than most
at the time same time I still had a little bit of insecurity because
I'd been told Louis didn't want me. I was never in the bottom two,
though, and the producers told me I always came in the top two
or three in terms of votes each week, which was great." Roberts auditioned for the reality television series Popstars The Rivals when she was just sixteen, the participants checked into a Kensington hotel before performing in front of celebrity judges with Roberts explaining "I didn't really have much life experience. It was the first time I'd been to London and I had my mum there because I was only sixteen".[5] During the auditions she co-incidentally sat next to Kimberley Walsh who completed in the final line-up of the band and spent time practicing with her[5] Roberts expressed she was confident before the audition but during she was unable to smile due to nerves leaving her "terrified" until celebrity judge Geri Halliwell said "I think you're great, you're an individual, you really stand out".[6] The majority of participants were well-trained and Roberts found her personality and image was different to others in the process leaving her feeling like "a fish out of water".[6] Participants had dressed well for the audition but due to lack of funds Roberts was less well-maintained and dressed than others.[6] Further down the process of the competition Roberts
was one of 15 left and she noted the show was becoming increasingly
more about personality over vocals,[6] she found this troubling,
as she was confident with her vocals but found that her personality
was more concealed than others in the competition.[7] A notable
incident during the competition was a producer working for the
series expressed to her mother that she wouldn't win as she wasn't
outrageous or as outgoing as others and vocals did not matter in
comparison to that leaving her mother shocked at the politics of
the show.[7] After the final ten participants were selected Roberts
was eliminated from the competition but didn't see it as her last
chance and after departures from contestants Roberts found herself
back in the selection despite conflicts from judge Louis Walsh
who did not want her back in the show in comparison to Halliwell
and judge Pete Waterman who did.[8] Nicola Ward was the contestant
of which Roberts took the place of, Ward despite now regretting her actions stated it was pressures from her boyfriend which resulted
in her leaving the show.[9] On the night of the finale, Roberts
sang the track "I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters and remembered feeling nervous at the news the voting
format had changed, Davina McCall presented the finale and Roberts
was second selected after band member Cheryl Cole.[10] The night
in which the band was formed, a party involving photographs with
the band was thrown which saw them being introduced to John McMahon
their tour manager who became more of a personal friend to the
group.[11] "The people we knew, that I'd grown
up with and had relationships with, just didn't see me as Nicola
anymore; it was like I was this famous person and they didn't know
how to speak to me. Even the boy I liked - all that had gone. I'd
had such happy times there, having parties loads of us sleeping
on the beach, and it just wasn't the same. People treated me differently." In the following days the music video for the bands debut single was shot and the hectic lifestyle led to exhaustion for many of the members including Roberts who would fall asleep at any chance she could, including in the hair and make-up studio.[13] However McMahon was still pressuring the girls to work excessively to get their single "Sound of the Underground" to number one which eventually did happen.[13] The competition was still ongoing with the band having to compete with their debut single against another band produced by the television series named, One True Voice.[14] The competitions winners would be signed to the label Polydor and the winners would be decided from the commercial success of each single which ultimately the girls band won.[14] Shortly after the success of their debut single, news broke that McMahon had died in a car accident shortly after he had texted Roberts which she did not respond, being busy.[15] The untimely death of McMahon had a large impact on Roberts who at the time became very emotionally unstable.[15] During the early stages of the band, Roberts and fellow member of the band Girls Aloud, Cheryl Cole became a flat-mate of Roberts.[16] This period proved difficult for both as they hadn't been in living situations without family before, which led to technical problems which they found difficult to solve within the home but they also bonded to the point that they had anxiety at separation with Nicola claiming that she wouldn't have survived the band without Cole.[17] It was at this time that Roberts was in the midst of several personal problems, the biggest being the constant criticism of her image, after critics called her red hair and pale complexion unattractive.[17] This would later have a huge influence on her excessive usage of false tan which would lead to a personal struggle which resulted in her campaign for the ban of sun bed's.[17] The group have enjoyed great successes since their start including two entries in the Guiness Book of World Records for Most Successful Reality Television Group and Most Consecutive Top Ten Entries in the UK by a Female Group.[18] However critically they have also enjoyed their success with five BRIT Award nominations and winning the award for Best British Single in 2009 for "The Promise".[19] But commercially they have been more successful with four UK number one singles and twenty consecutive top ten singles, the consecutive success only broke in 2009 with their 21st single "Untouchable".[20] Their albums have generally been fairly well received although critical responses at times have been "less than desirable".[20] Their debut album Sound of the Underground peaked at number two in the UK and was certified Platinum and their second album What Will the Neighbours Say? despite charting at number six was a commercial improvement gaining a double Platinum certification as well as being critically better received than their debut.[20] The band's third album failed to enter the top ten although whilst gaining a Platinum certification, Chemistry but was a critical improvement again but featured a panned cover version of the single "See the Day".[20] Their fourth record Tangled Up was generally well-received and whilst charting at number four it was certified Platinum but the following year in 2008 they released Out of Control and whilst critically the response was lukewarm commercially it was their biggest hit becoming their first UK number one album.[21] Roberts found time away from her family increasingly
difficult, but after the divorce of her parents and the strain
of her career over her boyfriend she became emotionally depressed.[17]
Her hectic schedule led her to dissolve relations with family members
and after declaring frustration at the situation she started locating
to her home town in Liverpool as much as possible.[22] Roberts
found herself splitting into different personalities for her career
and personal, and despite being appreciative of her career the
difficulties in her personal life made her question her music career.[22]
Roberts suffers from hypoglycemia which involves avoiding sugary
and processed foods but spending time on the road touring she found
it difficult not to eat convenience food which in the past before
she was aware of the illness was what she and the other members
ate more than anything else.[23] Her illness which was undiagnosed
at times in which she had been touring made her feel weak and at
times had proven too much for stage life when she had to leave and required attention to finish the remainder of
the show.[23] Another issue arose during touring, after during
the Tangled Up Tour her dog named Elvis passed away just months
after he was given as a present to Roberts.[24] She felt a connection
to the dog and soon became enamored with him soon after he was
presented to her and after her death she found it troubling and
found that she didn't have time to cope or slow down due of being
on the road.[24] In 2006 Roberts split-up with long-term boyfriend
Carl Egerton and despite the split being amicable and ending with
the pair remaining friends, overall it had a mixed effect on Roberts
who struggled with the single concept for a while but ultimately
became a more independent and mature person herself.[12] Despite
initially searching for a boyfriend, Roberts stopped declaring
that, that was what trained her to be independent until 2008 when
she met Charlie Fennell whom he met on many an occasion and led
to them slowly building a relationship.[25] In 2009 Girls Aloud embarked on their 2009 Out of Control Tour in support of the Out of Control album, Roberts called the tour the most successful as it spanned the most dates.[26] Also she noted the production was more successful than any other tour the band had performed.[26] Roberts also found personal issues within touring, on one hand she called touring her favourite part out of a musical career, but on the other she found the pressures of performing and the hectic schedule difficult.[27] In the early stages of her career, beginning with her auditions for the televisions series Popstars: The Rivals she started noticing girls dressed more fashionable and more glamorous than she was and found that at aged just 16 she wanted to look like them which she found troubling.[28] During the times in which Roberts had felt unattractive for multiple reasons including her skin tone she would use fake tan everyday which led her to describe herself as a "dirty mess" but at the time made her feel more attractive.[17] Before her fame she had never struggled with her red hair calling it her "prized possession", but after critics were picking up on her image she no longer saw it as that.[17] Roberts explained; "I hated it and I hated people judging me. I'd put on the telly and there'd be someone saying something cruel, or I'd open up a magazine and read it. Normal people don't have people telling them day to day they're ugly or miserable. No one would dream of doing that. Being so young and shy it felt terrible and at the same time I'd think, "stop being so vain, you've got this amazing job" but it wasn't enough. It didn't stop me feeling bad".[17] During the Girls Aloud television specials named Passions Roberts travelled to Taiwan, the trip left her more knowledgeable about natural skin products, something she had been very interested in due to her own complicated complexion.[29] Due to her pale skin tone, Roberts found herself easily burning in the sun which led to chronic pain and during the shoot of the Girls Aloud single "Love Machine" she had trouble filming due to severe burns which left her wanting to visit the hospital.[30] "Doing Passions was amazing. I've always
been creative and strong-minded but I've never had the opportunity
to show people that side of me. I got to create the Dainty Doll
make-up range and it gave me a real sense of achievement with Girls
Aloud, but it's not all my effort. There are people around us,
and the other four girls, all adding to the formula so it's good
to do your own thing sometimes. The last thing you want is to feel
caged, and there's no opportunity to be the creative person you
are. Doing the make-up range came naturally to me because I knew
what I wanted and I trust my own judgement. I loved the whole experience
- from designing the packaging to picking the right textures and
colours and putting my own show together. In 2008 Roberts started limited production and
release on her own make-up collection named Dainty Doll with manufacturers
Jelly Pong Pong, as part of the Girls Aloud television series The
Passions of Girls Aloud.[32] But in the 18 months that followed
Roberts started working on a major expansion for the collection
which resulted in prestigious department store Harrods in London
exclusively stocking the items.[32] The success of the release
led to a worldwide release across the United Kingdom, of which
Roberts had helped design, formulate and launch.[32] The Dainty
Doll collection includes ten different products in various shades
and colours with prices ranging from £10 onwards with natural ingredients,
Roberts explained "The reason behind me doing this is because I had a point of difference and that
was because of the pale skin and it was something I obviously felt
really passionate about. I was aware that there weren't many make
up brands that catered for women for extra pale skin so I feel
proud that I've been the person to do it."[32] Adding to her stance against tanning Roberts present and produced a BBC
Three investigative documentary named Nicola Roberts: The Truth
About Tanning which saw her reveal her own personal tanning issues
and those of men and women throughout the UK who excessively use
tanning bed's.[33] During the documentary Nicola met families of
those deceased from melanoma who were actively pushing for a change
in the law for a ban on tanning bed's for the under 18's.[33] In
2010 Roberts then became an advocate for the ban of underage usage
for tanning bed's alongside British MP Julie Morgan, both wanting
to succeed in producing a bill that stops underage tanning, and
excessive tanning for adults.[34] At the launch of the bill Roberts
said "Going into the streets of Liverpool and interviewing the young girls who are
obsessed with having a tan and feeling like they had to be brown
to be seen as attractive, that whole mentality that they had gathered
was just a bigger problem than I ever thought it was."[34] "I’ve been looking at my album reviews
today and, honestly, I could cry. It’s a bit of a shocker. Someone
tweeted me all of the mark-ups – the stars that the various papers
had given it – and when you see them all collected like that, 4
out of 5 and 5 out of 5, it was just like: ‘Oh my fucking god!
That’s incredible.’ I could cry. It’s quite amazing. And now the
album’s out there and I just have to hope that people like it.
That’s all I can ask for. In the Girls Aloud 2008 biography Roberts expressed an interest in writing and recording her own material, wanting to experiment in the studio for better understanding of the process.[36] She then started work in the recording studio, with producers such as; Dragonette[37], Diplo[38] and Joseph Mount.[39] Roberts after a year of recording announced that she would be releasing her debut album, Cinderella's Eyes.[40] The first single "Beat of My Drum" had an on-sale release meaning it had little promotion beforehand[41] and commercially it peaked at number 27 in the United Kingdom[42] but critically it garnered acclaim from critics which Roberts described as "amazing".[43] A second single "Lucky Day" was released shortly after and whilst gaining positive reviews[44][45][46] it failed to make an impact commercially peaking at number 40 in the UK.[42] The album was then released on 23 September 2011[47], Roberts described the album as "electronically lead"[48], and the album was inspired by her time performing with Girls Aloud - "It would have been stupid for me to make an album that meant nothing" she said.[38] For Roberts the album was about making a risky record, where there wasn't a guaranteed commercial success, explaining to The Guardian: "It's taken every last bit of confidence just to release this record, or maybe I've just brainwashed myself into feeling more confident. I don't know if it's good, or if I've just told myself it's good."[38] The album was released to universal positive reviews from critics[35], reviewers such as Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the Financial Times[49], James Lachno of The Daily Telegraph[50], Emily Mackay of NME[46], Hugh Montgomery of The Independent and others hailed it as the best solo record from a member of Girls Aloud.[51] Commercially in the United Kingdom the album peaked at number 17[52] whilst on the Digital charts it peaked at number 13[53], in Scotland it charted at number 21[54] whilst in Ireland it peaked at number 48.[55] In October of 2011, Roberts confirmed to the Daily Star newspaper that she had begun work on her second solo album.
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