Cher Lloyd shot to stardom on season seven of the X Factor.
The singer was just 16-years-old when she burst onto the scene with her audition of Soulja Boy and Keri Hilson's Turn My Swag On.
Judge Cheryl immediately took a shine to Cher's exuberant swagger on the ITV show and declared she was "right up [her] street".
READ MORE: Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke's 'heart stolen' as she enjoys trip to Liverpool
Cher faced a turbulent journey in the competition as she contracted tonsillitis which severely affected her performance of Mike Posner's Cooler Than Me in the Judge's house's stage.
However, Cheryl showed faith in the singer's potential - and sent her through to the live shows of a star-studded season that included acts such as Matt Cardle and Rebecca Ferguson.
Cher developed a reputation for being a diva behind the scenes on the programme - and was labelled the most hated teenager as Louis Walsh said she was "too big for her boots".
She spoke to The Guardian in 2020 about how she suffered abuse from members of the public during her stint on the X Factor.
She said: “But truly, if you can imagine the s**t that I got, just for my eyebrows. Would you go up to a 16-year-old girl in the street and say: ‘I don’t know you, but you look disgusting, with your disgusting eyebrows’? That’s what people did to me.”
Cher overcame her critics to reach the latter stages of the competition and finished in fourth place.
She was signed to Simon Cowell's Syco label after the series ended and her first single, Swagger Jagger, debuted at number one in the UK Singles Chart.
However, Cher's relationship with her mentor went through a rocky patch as she revealed she did not talk to Cheryl between the end of the competition and the release of her hit single.
She said in 2011: "I didn't have her mobile number to begin with. I've got more chance of winning the lottery than catching up with her."
The two were involved in a public spat when Cher aimed a cheeky jibe at Cheryl during an interview on a radio show when she said she would only perform with the Girls Aloud star if she sang live.
Cheryl hit back at the comments on Twitter.
She said: "Be careful who you kick on your way up. They kick you twice as hard on your way back down.. #unappreciationisugly.”
Cher was 18-years-old at the time and apologised for the remarks during an appearance on Daybreak.
She said: "Basically I said something on radio which I shouldn't have said. It wasn't intended to sound as bad as it did.
"All I was saying is that I would love to perform with her live and then I made a little joke... I think it just got a bit blown out of proportion, so I just want to say sorry if she found that offensive.
"At the end of the day she was the person who got me to where I am today, so if it wasn't for her I wouldn't be sat here."
Cher told the Loose Women in 2016 the two had gotten over their rift - but revealed to Lorraine that she no longer keeps in regular touch with her former mentor.
She said: "I haven’t heard from her in a long time, she’s so busy with the baby."
Away from the world of showbiz, Cher has started a family of her own as she has been married to Craig Monk since 2013.
The couple welcomed a baby girl named Delilah-Ray in May 2018 and Cher regularly shares updates from her happy family life with her 2.4m Instagram followers.
Cher is now 28-years-old - and she said her successful career in the music industry since the show ended has meant she has put her X Factor persona behind her.
She told the Guardian in 2020: "I’m mother to a little girl. I’ve released two albums and I’ve got a top 10 hit in America. I’m not ‘the most hated teen’, I’m 26 years old! We’ve moved on!”
Receive newsletters with the biggest and breaking TV and showbiz news by signing up here
