Cher Lloyd came to notice as a contestant on series seven of Simon Cowell's U.K. talent program
The X-Factor. The singer and rapper auditioned for the program twice, singing ballads prior to being accepted through a performance of “Turn My Swag On” -- with
Keri Hilson's version the template instead of
Soulja Boy's original. After a significant amount of support from the program’s judges, Lloyd made it to the final but finished fourth. Throughout the series, Lloyd took on a diverse assortment of songs, including
Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida,” the S.O.S. Band's “Just Be Good to Me,”
Jay-Z's “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),”
Avril Lavigne's “Girlfriend,” and a mix of
the Black Eyed Peas' “Where Is the Love?” and “I Gotta Feeling” (performed with the group’s
will.i.am). After the final, Lloyd signed with Cowell's Sony BMG-affiliated Syco label and debuted in June 2011 with the boisterous single “Swagger Jagger” as a teaser for her first album -- promised to reflect the range of the
X-Factor appearances, with Lloyd co-writing each song -- due later in the year. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi