Cher Lloyd: JustJared.com Exclusive Interview!

Cher Lloyd and Ne-Yo get together for a photograph at the Fruttare Fruit Bars launch event held earlier this year in New York City.

The 19-year-old British pop star and the 33-year-old singer are teaming up with the fruit bar brand to create a new song titled “It’s All Good” – Fans can get in on the fun and submit content for the track on the Fruttare Fruit Bars Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the hashtag #ItsAllGood.

JJ sat down with Cher to talk about what it’s like working with Ne-Yo, her crossover to the U.S., Demi Lovato, and what we can expect from her upcoming sophomore album.

Click inside to read our exclusive interview with Cher Lloyd…

JustJared.com Interview – Cher Lloyd

JustJared.com: Hi Cher! Congrats on all your success here in the states. So much has happened since you left the UK X Factor. Is there any particular moment or highlight that you always look back to?

Cher Lloyd: Yeah, I think the main big thing for me has been the acceptance from the U.S. That’s still crazy to me. To come over to the U.S. and be a British girl and have all these people know who I am. It’s unbelievable and it just seems to be getting better and better. I can admit that its taken some time and its been really hard. Some struggles here and there, but the payoff has been amazing.

JJ: The hard work has clearly payed off. Have you noticed a difference between your British audience and the U.S. audience?

CL: There is a slight difference. I came off the UK X Factor so its been very difficult to control the way I’ve been put out there. It’s a TV show so you can’t control what gets edited and what gets put out on TV. I’m very opinionated and I have a lot of things to say. Sometimes I sound a bit like a willy and I don’t think people were fond of my attitude. But if I’m honest, my attitude did stink back then. It was terrible and I’ve owned up to it. But its been great to come to the U.S. and not have people judge me because of what they saw or heard when I was 16 and on a TV show. They’re actually judging me on the fact that I can sing and how my personality is now. Which I think is great.

JJ: That’s exactly how they should look at it. The past is the past. Your debut album Sticks & Stones came out in the states last year but its technically been out for over 2 years in the UK. Have you started work on the follow-up?

CL: Yes, I have. It’s almost done and we are going to be releasing it worldwide. So everyone is going to get it roughly around the same time. It will be very interesting to see how different countries take to it. I’m a little bit nervous for that and I’m a little nervous to see how the UK reacts aswell.

JJ: You kind of get to start over, a fresh new slate. Is there anything you want to do differently this time around for the new album?

CL: Yeah, I feel like I’ve grown up a lot and I’ve learned a lot about myself since the last record. The new album is a little more grown-up. Although it will not be explicit, there might be a few curses in there but we might yank them out. I’m able to now reach a wider audience, an older audience. I can gladly say that I’m definitely not a bubblegum princess anymore. The new album shows off exactly who I am right now. It’s full of attitude and it’s a bit bad ass. I want people to be bad ass with me.

JJ: Well you do call your fans “The Brats,” it makes sense that you would want to bring in more attitude this time around.

CL: Exactly! I would hope to think my fans are full of attitude, are a bit vicious, and always fight for what they want. That’s exactly what I’m going to give them. I’m going to give them that edge that they’ve been craving. In the past, although I love all the music I’ve put out. I feel like some songs were lacking a spark. The risk wasn’t there. With this new album, I made sure the risk was there.

JJ: That sounds exciting! Are there going to be any new collaborations? Anyone you’ve been wanting to work with?

CL: You know what? I’ve had so many collaborations in the past that I just feel like this album needs to be run by me. I need to not be scared of not having someone there to back me up. I just need to tackle things on my own. I feel like I have the power in me to make it work. Plus I’ve got so many collaborations out at the moment. I have a new song out with Demi Lovato on her album and I have a new song coming out that I’ll be recording with Ne-Yo for Fruttare Fruit Bars.

JJ: Tell us about those! How did the Demi collaboration happen?

CL: A little while ago I was on the U.S. X Factor. I was performing and Demi invited me back to her dressing room. So I like ‘Wow, this is cool’. I was very nervous because pop stars can be a bit weird so I was nervous to meet her. But then I met her and she was really nice and down to earth. Fast forward a couple months later, I get a call that she wants me to be on “Really Don’t Care” off her new album and I jumped at the opportunity. I definitely wasn’t going to pass it up. So I worked with the producer of the song to write my verse. They let me do my thing, which I thought was great. I love the song!

JJ: That’s awesome We love Demi! Tell us more about your collaboration with Ne-Yo and Fruttare.

CL: It’s a pretty big deal for me. I mean, I get to collaborate with Ne-Yo and that alone is huge. We’ve been sitting down and going through submissions that fans have sent us. Basically the whole process of doing this is that the fans get to tweet us their submissions with the hashtag #ItsAllGood. Ne-Yo and I get to pick what we would like in the song so It’s been really great. I don’t think its been done like this before so I’m very excited. This particular collaboration is just very exciting because we actually get time to go in the studio together and do it. It’s not always that you get to do that. We talk on the phone a lot, and we’ve been very connected. We know we need to come together on this one. It can’t be just one artist and not the other. He’s a very nice guy, very cheeky, and a lot of fun.

Be sure pick up a copy of Cher’s debut album Sticks & Stones in stores or on iTunes NOW!