Cher Lloyd

Biography

Cher Lloyd (born 28 July 1993) is an English singer. She participated on the seventh series of the television talent show The X Factor in 2010, where she finished in fourth place. Following the show, Lloyd was signed to Syco Music in the United Kingdom and Epic Records in the United States. She released her debut studio album, Sticks and Stones, in 2011, which had two releases: its standard edition and a US version. The album peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, while the latter version debuted at number nine in the US Billboard 200. It included the successful singles "Swagger Jagger", which entered at number one on the UK Singles Chart, "With Ur Love", and "Want U Back". Lloyd released her second studio album, Sorry I'm Late, in 2014, preceded by the lead single, "I Wish". The album failed to match the success of its predecessor, peaking at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart and number 12 on the Billboard 200. After a collaboration with American singer Demi Lovato on the single "Really Don't Care", Lloyd had a two-year absence from the music industry. In July 2016, Lloyd released the single "Activated". She released the singles "None of My Business" and "M.I.A." in 2018 and 2019, respectively. In 2020, Lloyd released two singles, "Lost" and "One Drink Away". A collaboration with Kazakh DJ Imanbek, "Baddest", was released in 2021. After a four-year hiatus, in 2025, Lloyd released "Head Down" and "Green Light". In 2026, she released "Sweet Devotion" with Fuzion.

== Early life == Born on 28 July 1993, Cher Lloyd was raised in Malvern, Worcestershire, with her parents Darren and Diane Lloyd, as well as her three younger siblings Sophie, Josh, and Rosie. Her family is of Romani origin, and Lloyd spent the first year of her life travelling around Wales with her young parents in a caravan. Speaking to former Now magazine, her uncle said she was teased and bullied by classmates due to her origins. Lloyd attended the Chase School, Malvern, and later Dyson Perrins High School, where she studied performing arts. At the age of 13, she attended the theatre arts school Stagecoach for 18 months.

== Career ==

=== 2010–2011: The X Factor ===

Lloyd had previously performed at holiday camps, saying that she had received a mixed reaction to her music; but she was a big hit with The X Factor judges at the time. She auditioned singing the Keri Hilson version of "Turn My Swag On" by American rapper Soulja Boy. At bootcamp, she sang a rap version of "Viva La Vida". She also performed "Cooler than Me" at the judges' houses, but suffered from tonsillitis and was unable to complete the song. Lloyd sang a rendition of "Just Be Good to Me" in the first of the live shows. In the second live show, she performed "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)"; she sang a mashup of "No Diggity" and "Shout" in the third live show. In the fourth, she performed "Stay", the first time Lloyd did not rap in her performance and Cowell called it "the performance of the series". In the fifth week, Lloyd sang "Empire State of Mind", but the judges stated that, after the previous week, they were disappointed. However, they agreed that she redeemed herself with her rendition of "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" mixed with "Mockingbird" by Elton John and Eminem, respectively, in the sixth week. In the seventh week, Lloyd was in the bottom two with Paije Richardson for the first time after her rendition of "Imagine", although she was convinced to be kept after singing "Stay"; however, Cowell, Cole, and Walsh all saved her in the final showdown. In the following week, she performed "Girlfriend", followed by "Walk This Way". Both performances were credited by the judges, and Lloyd was saved by the public vote the following night, securing her position in the semifinal. In the semifinal, Lloyd performed "Nothin' on You" and "Love the Way You Lie"; she was in the bottom two with Mary Byrne. She was saved by the judges again, and put through to the final. In the final, she performed a mashup of "The Clapping Song" and "Get Ur Freak On", followed by a duet with will.i.am, a mashup of "Where Is the Love?" and "I Gotta Feeling". Lloyd was then became the thirteenth contestant eliminated. From February 2011 to April, Lloyd and nine other contestants from the series participated in the X Factor Live Tour.

=== 2011–2012: Sticks and Stones === After the finale of the seventh series of The X Factor, it was announced that Lloyd had been signed to Syco Music. Shortly after, recording began for her debut studio album with songwriter Autumn Rowe, and producers RedOne, Johnny Powers, and the Runners. On 28 July 2011, Lloyd previewed five tracks from the album during a UStream session, including singles featuring Busta Rhymes, Mike Posner, Ghetts, Mic Righteous, and Dot Rotten. Lloyd's debut single, "Swagger Jagger", was released in July 2011. It entered at number one on the UK Singles Chart, with sales exceeding 303,000 copies in Britain. In the Republic of Ireland, the single charted at number two on the Irish Singles Chart, while it debuted at number 79 on the Mega Top 100 in the Netherlands. After a performance during the finals of So You Think You Can Dance, the song moved up the chart to number 60. Lloyd released her debut studio album, Sticks + Stones, on 4 November. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 4, while peaking at number seven in Ireland. The album sold 55,668 copies in its opening week. The second single "With Ur Love", featuring American singer Mike Posner, debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number four with first-week sales of 74,030 copies. It sold more than the predecessor, selling 66,316 copies when "Swagger Jagger" debuted at number one in the United Kingdom in August 2011. "With Ur Love" also marked the highest-selling number-four single since Barbadian singer Rihanna's 2010 single "Only Girl (In the World)", which sold 74,248 copies in 2010. The third single of Sticks + Stones, "Want U Back", featuring American rapper Astro, debuted at number 56, and rose 30 places to number 26 with sales of 9,730.

In November, Lloyd announced her debut headlining UK tour, the Sticks and Stones Tour, which took place in March and April 2012. On 13 December, a music video for "Dub on the Track", featuring underground artists Mic Righteous, Dot Rotten, and Ghetts, who also all appear in the accompanying video, was premiered on SBTV. In December, two more dates were added, due to popular demand for tickets. Same month, Lloyd signed a record deal with L.A. Reid to Epic Records in the United States; a solo version of "Want U Back" was confirmed as Lloyd's debut single in the US and the first one from the American and Australian release of Sticks and Stones. The song was released in May 2012, debuting at number 75 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart before rising to number 12. It also peaked at number 9 on the US Billboard Pop Songs, number 5 on Digital Songs, number 39 on the Hot 100 Airplay, and number 23 on Adult Pop Songs. In Canada, it debuted at number 95 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart and peaked at number 11. As of February 2013, the track has sold over 2,000,000 copies in the US, and almost 3,000,000 copies worldwide. The second US single, "Oath", featuring American rapper Becky G, was released in October. However, it failed to match its predecessor's success, peaking at number 73 in the US Billboard Hot 100. In New Zealand, following the major success of "Want U Back" which reached number 3, "Oath" peaked at number 13, becoming Lloyd's third consecutive Top 20 hit in that country. The American and Australian versions of Sticks and Stones were released on 2 October 2012, through Epic Records. The edition peaked at number nine in the US, selling 31,000 copies in its opening week. In Australia, the album reached number thirty. In October 2012, Lloyd supported American band Hot Chelle Rae on the Australian leg of their Whatever World Tour.

=== 2013–2015: Sorry I'm Late and hiatus ===