Cheryl Ann Fernandez-Versini (née Tweedy, formerly Cole; born 30 June 1983), known professionally as Cheryl Cole, is an English recording artist, dancer, and television personality. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group Girls Aloud. The group's line-up remained the same throughout their history and during that time the group achieved a string of twenty consecutive top ten singles in the United Kingdom (including four number one singles) and six platinum albums (two of which went to number one) and earned five BRIT Award nominations from 2005 to 2010. In 2009, Girls Aloud won "Best Single" with their song "The Promise". In early 2013, Girls Aloud announced that they had split up.

Cole embarked on a solo career and released her first solo studio album 3 Words (2009) through Polydor records. 3 Words saw the release of three successful singles and the lead single from the album, "Fight for This Love," debuted at number one on the UK charts, becoming the best selling single of the year. "3 Words" and "Parachute" both peaked within the top five of the UK charts. 2010 saw the release of Cole's second studio album Messy Little Raindrops, which produced two singles, the first being "Promise This" which went straight to number one. Cole released her third solo album A Million Lights on 18 June 2012, with lead single "Call My Name" being released on 11 June 2012, the single became Cole's third number one single. The lead single from her fourth studio album Only Human called "Crazy Stupid Love" peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming her fourth number one single on the chart, tying her with Geri Halliwell and Rita Ora as the third British female to achieve this feat. During her solo career, Cole has earned three BRIT Award nominations.