How ironic is it that thirty three days ago I was reporting the breaking news of the US X Factor judging panel being revealed, yet thirty three days later I'm reflecting on the drama that has followed regarding Cheryl-gate?
For those of you that have been living with your head under a rock for the last month, Cheryl Cole was sensationally dropped from the US judging panel after only judging two sets of auditions in America. Speculation was rife as to why this occurred, with many journalists and media outlets suspecting it was to do with Cheryl's strong northern accent and her lack of profile in the US. With Syco, Fox and Simon Cowell himself remaining tight-lipped, the public were left to make and draw their own conclusions.
However, two weeks after the sensational news was revealed, it was finally confirmed that Cheryl HAD left the X Factor US and that then co-host, Nicole Scherzinger, would be replacing her as a judge and would join Simon, Paula and LA Reid at the next set of auditions as a full-time judge.
In the space of two weeks, The X Factor US gained tons of press coverage on both sides of the Atlantic, boosting it's profile even further. In the space of two weeks, Nicole Scherzinger was promoted from co-host to full-time judge. In the space of two weeks, Cheryl had her US dream crushed by her mentor, friend and colleague.
When it was announced that Cheryl was going to be a judge on the X Factor US, everyone was sceptical. Although the UK public adored her, the US market is tough to crack and the odds were stacked against her. But she was born a fighter and would do everything in her power to make this situation work. But it just wasn't meant to be. Not only was Cheryl fired from the US version, she was offered her role back on the UK X Factor but turned it down, and when she was offered her judging role back on the US X Factor, she turned that down, too. And rightly so.
Cheryl had been humiliated by one person she trusted unconditionally, and she wasn't a ragdoll that could be dragged back and forth. However, I do feel that her pride has been damaged by the whole experience. If she ever tries to break America in the near future, she will be remembered as the girl with the funny accent who was sacked by Simon Cowell. And I think this has a lot to do with the reason why she turned down his offer of returning to the US. I feel that she had got to the point where she felt that if she WAS going to try to conquer the US any time soon, she would do it on her own. On her own terms. I also feel that the reason she turned down the offer to return to the UK X Factor was because she felt it was a consolation prize; she'd been sacked from the US version but could have her job back in the UK. The truth of the matter is Cheryl doesn't need her job on the UK X Factor; she has conquered the UK and doesn't need the exposure, platform or money. As for her second offer to return to the US version, I feel Cheryl felt she had been humiliated too much in a short space of time and that if she returned to the US, the public would be sniping constantly and she would have to work even harder to prove herself.
The only question remaining is what Cheryl will do now. With no Simon and no X Factor, will her solo music career stand the test of time and continue to be as successful? Only time will tell. But as they say, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".
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