Nicole Interview

The former Pussycat Doll on her X Factor boss, why her and Lewis Hamilton are well matched and wearing skimpy clothes

For someone voted one of the world’s sexiest women, Nicole Scherzinger doesn’t set much store by her appearance.
‘A lot of people think you get into this position in life because of looks, but looks mean nothing without the right attitude and the ability to work 24/7 for what you want.’
These days she’s rarely out of the headlines, not least because of her position as No 1 female pop icon on the U.S. version of The X Factor following Cheryl Cole’s unexpected departure.
She was born in Hawaii, where her Filipino father left the family when she was two. At six she moved to Kentucky with her mother and stepfather, Gary Scherzinger, who became a great supporter.
‘He’d drive me to auditions in beaten-up old cars, and he always knew what to say if things went well or they didn’t.’
She found fame with the Pussycat Dolls – known for outrageous performances in skimpy outfits – before becoming a solo performer. Next year she’s starring in Men In Black III.
Aged 32, she has been dating Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton for three years.

I’m not at all nervous about The X Factor.
Simon (Cowell) has this unbelievable way of making you feel at ease. At the same time it’s this huge deal. There was a rumour of a feud between me and Cheryl, which is totally untrue. I also think you have to remember that The X Factor isn’t about the judges; it’s about those people out there with their dreams, and to be part of their journey makes me feel very humble.

Simon Cowell is a genius – he’s also very funny.
He and Louis Walsh were amazing to work with. They’d sit together and say incredibly awful things to each other and then burst out laughing, like brothers. There’s never a dull moment around Simon, because there’s always something going on; his brain never stops working.

Being a Pussycat Doll was like being an Olympic athlete who has to perform every day for years without sleep.
I spent four years with these superwomen and it was the toughest thing I’ve ever done. We performed and performed and performed – one night in one country, the next in a new country. In between we were travelling, rehearsing, learning new routines – there was often no time to sleep or eat or call your family. It was utterly brutal and the best training camp for anyone who wants to work in this business.

People thought we had non-stop catfights, but those girls will be my sisters for life.
We slept, breathed, sang and shared the same tiny space together for years, and honestly there was no time or room for fights. I went from being this shy little girl with hang-ups about wearing a bikini to this creature who performed in the teeniest clothes with total confidence. Being a Pussycat Doll turned me from a girl into a woman.

I absolutely love having money, because I grew up without it.
I came from a very working-class family, and money for me and my sister Ke’ala was very tight. Our clothes came from sales shops, and for me to have dance or acting lessons was a very big sacrifice. But it hit me very early on that if I could earn money from doing auditions and commercials, then that would pay for my classes, which was what I did. My parents helped me in every way they could. The first thing I did with my first pay cheque was buy a house for my mum.

I lived through college eating only pancakes and noodles.
I can exist on practically nothing because of how I grew up. I got a place at a performing-arts school, but I paid the fees by working my way through it. Food was something I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on. I’d buy bulk packs of pancake mix and use water instead of milk – and I’d alternate with cheap packs of noodles. I love to eat out now, and when I go into a very expensive, glitzy restaurant I still savour every mouthful.

Don’t complain – be positive, despite all the rejections you face.
If things don’t work, keep on going. You never know when you’re going to get your lucky break. Before Pussycat Dolls I won a reality TV contest to be part of a band – Eden’s Crush. I thought that was it, but it didn’t work out and the band broke up. It wasn’t a great time for me. But this is what happens in life, and you always just have to work as hard as you can.

Lewis and I are well suited because we come from very similar backgrounds.
Like me he grew up in a very humble family and he was incredibly focused on what he wanted to do. We were both kids with big dreams who achieved them through a lot of hard work and determination, and both of us really appreciate what we have because of that.

Looking sexy was a big shock for me.
I came from quite a strict and religious family in Hawaii and my grandad was a preacher. I was known as ‘nice little Nicole’ and I always went for good-girl roles in plays and shows, because that was how I saw myself. When I got the opportunity to be part of the Pussycat Dolls, I saw it as my big chance – and then I saw the clothes. The first time I did a photo shoot I cried all the way through it. They had to keep refixing my make-up, and I kept pulling at my tiny clothes, trying to get a bit more coverage out of them. I called my mum to tell her and to warn her. She just kept asking me if I could get them to change the name of the band.

My nickname at school was ‘Cry baby’.
I was the most fragile, vulnerable kid and very easily hurt. I’d burst into tears if anyone was mean. It always amazes me how this kid who was so easily knocked also had this burning desire to perform. I wanted to sing, to act, to get up on a stage and show what I could do, but when I was off that stage I was hurt by the slightest thing. I see that same contradiction in so many of these X Factor hopefuls.

If I want to look really sexy I’ll wear a sophisticated dress and heels – not a Pussycat Doll outfit.
I think real sex appeal is all about being a bit more demure. Since leaving the Dolls I’ve actually got to wear dresses below my knee, and I think that’s a lot more sexy. The real me is a big-haired Eighties rocker with skintight jeans and a guitar. I’m such a sad rock chick underneath everything, and if I could really dress as I wanted to I’d be straight out of an Eighties heavy metal video. The best time I’ve ever had on stage was rocking out with Slash from Guns N’ Roses.

I was very rude to Tim Rice-Oxley from Keane and I’m so embarrassed about it.
I spent a week in a studio with him, and for hours we’d laugh about how the British said ‘Mojito’ and how the Americans did. It was like our big private joke. A year later we were both at an event and he came up to me and said ‘Mojito’ and started laughing. I just looked at him blankly and he said it again and again. I said, ‘Tim, why do you keep saying “Mojito”?’ He looked totally stunned and said, ‘But Nicole, it’s our joke.’ I was so embarrassed. In my defence, I have the world’s worst memory.

I can drink with the big boys.
My mother is half Russian and I can drink like a Russian. Some of the best shows I’ve done were with the worst hangovers. You think you can’t possibly crawl onto a stage but then you push yourself because you have to and with all the adrenaline, the dancing and singing, that hangover is history.
Nicole’s new single ‘Right There’ is out today



Great interview
Music Heaven