Cheryl Cole’s first solo album – 3 Words - goes on sale today and is already being tipped to be one of the top selling albums of the year. This isn’t surprising since the Girls Aloud singer’s single, Fight for this Love, became the fastest selling single of the year (134,000 copies were sold last Monday alone), going straight to number 1 in the UK singles chart.

3 Words Album Cover

So, since  I don’t need much of an excuse to look at pictures of Cheryl, here’s a quick overview of her rise to stardom.

Cheryl – she was Cheryl Tweedy then – was working as a waitress when she auditioned for “Popstars: The Rivals” in 2002- a talent contest to form a girl group and a boy band. Tweedy recieved the most votes in the final becoming the first girl to snag a place in the girl group – Girls Aloud. Back then Cheryl wasn’t…how to put this….as ‘polished’ as she is now. A transformation that has led to her being nicknamed by the media as ‘Queen of Chavs’. A lover of tracksuit bottoms and the bare midriff look, Cheryl also clearly shares my love of ice-cream sundaes!

Girls Aloud - The Early Years

It took Cheryl a while to become a darling in the eyes of the UK public and her career teetered on the edge in 2003 when she was charged with assaulting a toilet attendant at a nightclub. The fight was allegedly racially motivated but Cole proclaimed self defence.

As one fifth of Girls Aloud, Cheryl, through some great PR managed to put the assault behind her and the band went on to release over twenty singles and five albums. The band went from strenth to strenth, earning the most consecutive top ten entries in the UK by a female group.

Apparently a psychic told Cheryl she should give a footballer her phone number and so like an obedient gal she gave her digits to Ashley Cole. Since Cheryl and I never crossed paths, in 2006 she married him. The wedding pictures had class written all over them. I’m surprised they didn’t rig a car to take off into the sky outside the Church a la Grease.

Ashley was a bad boy though with reports that he had cheated on Cheryl hitting the press in 2008 – apparently he’d done the deed with a hairdresser and a glamour model. Poor Cheryl was devestated but (stupidly) she took him back.

In 2008, Cheryl was drafted in to be a judge on the X-Factor in place of Sharon Osbourne. Appearing on our TV screens week in week out, Cole’s star rose. Her honest and down-to-earth approach to judging on the show has endeared her to the public and taken her from being ‘one of Girls Aloud’ to being the nations sweetheart.

In 2009, Cole was positioned as a ’style icon’, appearing on the cover of British Vogue in February giving the mag record sales for the month.

FHM readers voted Cole the sexiest woman in their ‘top 100′ poll in 2009.

She also was awarded the title of ‘Best Dressed Woman’ in 2009 by Glamour. I can see why….

Cole has most recently become the face of L’Oreal so now as well as seeing her on X Factor and promoting her book, we can hear her dulcet Jordies tones on the L’Oreal TV ads.

Is Cheryl in danger of becoming over-exposed? That would depend on whether you love her or hate her!?