CHER Lloyd is officially cool. Fact. In fact, Cher is cooler than Soulja Boy – the artist who first sang the song which got her noticed – and is almost as cool as Lady GaGa.

And she is only 24 places of coolness away from her hero Nicki Minaj, an American singer and rapper.

All this according to top music magazine NME, which hailed Cher’s Birmingham audition as potentially the first truly “cool” moment the X Factor has ever had.

And, in recognition of it, they have awarded the 17-year-old from Malvern Link a place in their cool list 2010.

It puts her in the company of mogul Jay-Z, Mercury Prize winner Romy Croft of the xx and Kanye West.

At number 66, Cher has not only beaten Soulja Boy, at number 70, but also become the only X Factor contestant to appear on the list.

An explanation for their decision comes in the form of a blog by freelance journalist Jamie Hodgson, written after her first audition.

He wrote: “Not only did she tick all the usual idealist X Factor boxes: stunning, individual voice, sweet and charming personality, amazing presence and delivery, great backstory, blah, blah, blah.

“But it was the first time I’ve seen an audition that actually felt relevant and in touch with exciting breaking music cultures.”

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