‘My friends think I’m an adopted Brit’
Nicole Scherzinger reveals why she’s happy to be back in the UK and how Simon Cowell persuaded her to come back to The X Factor
Nicole Scherzinger burst back on to our screens on Saturday night as she returned to the judging panel of ITV talent show The X Factor. But this time there’s a twist, as it’s not normal members of the public taking to the stage – it’s a host of famous faces.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll see Nicole, 41, Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh judging this year’s superstar singers in The X Factor: Celebrity until just one act is crowned champion.
This is one of many projects that Nicole has been busy with recently – she was also a judge on
Australia’s Got Talent earlier this year and there’s even speculation that she’s signed on the dotted line to take part in a Pussycat Dolls reunion.
Here, Nicole tells TV Life all about why she decided to return to the panel and which famous contestant really surprised her…
Hi Nicole. You’re back on The X Factor. How did Simon convince you to return to the panel for this special series?
I’ve been a part of the X Factor family for many years now and honestly, I love the UK so much. They’ve always been so good to me, Great Britain is my second home. So, Simon called me personally and that always means a lot. We had a few discussions about what was going to happen and that was it, really. I didn’t have any concerns about coming back, it’s in my blood to do this. I feel like I’m really good at this. Simon really wanted me back, so we made a pact and we made it work.
Were you happy when you found out that Louis would be back on the panel alongside you?
There’s no one else that I would have wanted back more. I love him, he’s always been there for me. He is the best at what he does, so rightfully so, he should be there.
Simon seems to really trust you both…
Oh, you have to have that trust. I think he goes back to us each time because he knows that he can trust us, we’re family.
What did you think when you found out that this series was going to be a celebrity version?
I love that. Obviously it’s a lot shorter, which is the difference between The X Factor: Celebrity and the ones in the past.This one doesn’t have boot camp and all that jazz, and I loved that we just cut straight to the chase. I was really excited to see who the celebrities were going to be.
Were there any celebrities that you were really surprised were taking part in the show?
Martin Bashir. He’s my biggest surprise. We’re used to seeing him interview people like Princess Diana. He’s the kind of person people are not used to seeing in this light, and the way he spoke about why he did it, his voice and his performance, he was the biggest surprise to me, for sure.
This time round you hold the auditions in Simon’s garden in his house in Malibu. How was that experience?
It was really cool. It was unlike anything I’ve ever done before, and I don’t think Simon’s ever done anything like that before – at least not on that scale. I know he did Judges’ Houses there last year, but that was small compared to this. It was amazing, because here we are in his beautiful home, right there in Malibu, the setting couldn’t be any more divine. We had tables filled with people, most of them were my peers and my mentors.These were the biggest heavy hitters in the industry. And so when I was there, I felt even more at home, because I saw them and realised,“My friends are here!”But at the same time, I felt a little bit of pressure as next I thought,“Wow, my mentors are here as well.” It made us up our game. I just thought it was a brilliant idea.
Do you think that having people from the music industry watching the auditions increased the amount of pressure on the celebrity contestants?
I told one of my friends,“I would not want to be auditioning in front of these people!” These were some of the biggest names in the industry, billions of record sales, and they are judging! I was fortunate, because a lot of them are my friends – David Forster, Diane Warren, Tricky Steward and Dallas Austin. I won’t say who, but yeah, they had their say in who their favourites were.
What are you most looking forward to about the live shows?
The performances, that’s always my favourite part.You know how much fun I have when I’m so affected by the music and the performances. It gets me riled up. I think it’s going to be really fun and interesting.
Are we going to see you get as competitive as in the past?
Oh, always!You can’t take that out of me. I’m just going to be very supportive. This year I think the way Simon has done it is that we help them and support them. In the past when I did it, I was quite hands-on and did a lot. But I’m ready to see what they are going to bring to this show.
The British fans are looking forward to having you back…
Oh, that’s really sweet. I can’t take for granted whatever is out there. That’s another reason – when Simon asked me to do this show, I realised how much I miss the UK. It’ll be great to be back. It’s so funny, because all my friends think
I’m pretty much an adopted Brit, because every time they’re in London they’re like,“We’re in London! Where are you?” I’m like, “Guys, I’m in LA.” They normally just assume that I live there all the time. So it’ll be great to go back and spend some time there.