Look up live in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Live may refer to:

• Alive
• Living
• Life
• Live birth
• Live vaccine
• Live wire (electricity)

Arts[link]

• Live Art (art form)
• Live coding
• Live music (concert)
• Live album
• List of albums titled Live
• Live (band), an alternative rock band
• "Live", a song written by Emitt Rhodes, that was a hit for his band The Merry-Go-Round, and was later covered by The Bangles.
• Live Aid, a multi-venue rock music concert held on July 13, 1985
• Live 8, a series of benefit concerts that took place in July 2005, in the G8 nations and South Africa
• Live Earth
• Live (Corneille album)
• Live (Eurythmics video)
• Live (Shania Twain DVD)
• Live (Alison Krauss & Union Station album)
• Live! (2007 film) a movie by Bill Guttentag
• Live (an album by Peatbog Faeries)
• Recorded live track

Media[link]

• Live television
• Live radio
• Live action, cinematography not produced using animation
• Live with Regis and Kelly, a syndicated American television talk show
• BBC Radio 5 Live, the BBC's radio service providing live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries
• CILV-FM, branded LiVE 88.5, a radio station in Ottawa, Canada

Information and Communication Technologies[link]

• Windows Live, the collective brand name for a group of Microsoft services currently under development
• Microsoft Office Live, an Internet-based software service
• Live Search, The search engine previously known as MSN from Microsoft
• Xbox Live, online gaming service for Microsoft's Xbox and Xbox 360 video game consoles
• YouTube Live, online annual live streaming event broadcasted by YouTube
• Ableton Live, a software music sequencer
• Live CD, also known as a Live Distro, Live DVD, Live OS or Live System: an operating system that can boot and run from a read-only medium (such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM) instead of a hard disk drive
• Live USB, a live operating system that runs off a USB flash drive

Other uses[link]

• Live fire exercise, an exercise (often military in nature) conducted under realistic conditions, or using real ammunition

See also[link]

• List of albums titled Live
• Live! (disambiguation)
• Lives (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Sport in childhood. Association football, shown above, is a team sport which also provides opportunities to nurture physical fitness and social interaction skills.

Sport (or, in the United States, sports) is all forms of competitive physical activity which,^[1] through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants.^[2] Hundreds of sports exist, from those requiring only two participants, through to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants, either in teams or competing as individuals.

Sport is generally recognised as activities which are based in physical athleticism or physical dexterity, with the largest major competitions such as the Olympic Games admitting only sports meeting this definition,^[3] and other organisations such as the Council of Europe using definitions precluding activities without a physical element from classification as sports.^[2] However, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. The International Olympic Committee (through ARISF) recognises both chess and bridge as bona fide sports, and SportAccord, the international sports federation association, recognises five non-physical sports,^[4][5] although limits the amount of mind games which can be admitted as sports.^[1]

Sports are usually governed by a set of rules or customs, which serve to ensure fair competition, and allow consistent adjudication of the winner. Winning can by determined by physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first, or by the determination of judges who are scoring elements of the sporting performance, including objective or subjective measures such as technical performance or artistic impression.

In organised sport, records of performance are often kept, and for popular sports, this information may be widely announced or reported in sport news. In addition, sport is a major source of entertainment for non-participants, with spectator sports drawing large crowds to venues, and reaching wider audiences through sports broadcasting.

Meaning and usage[link]

Etymology[link]

Look up sport in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

"Sport" comes from the Old French desport meaning "leisure", with the oldest definition in English from around 1300 being "anything humans find amusing or entertaining".^[6]

The French word for sport is based on the Persian word bord, meaning "winning" or "win".^{[citation needed]} The Chinese term for sport, tiyu (体育; 體育) connotes physical training. The modern Greek term for sport is Αθλητισμός (athlitismos), directly cognate with the English terms "athlete" and "athleticism".

Other meanings include gambling and events staged for the purpose of gambling; hunting; and games and diversions, including ones that require exercise.^[7] Roget's defines the noun sport as an "activity engaged in for relaxation and amusement" with synonyms including diversion and recreation.^[8]

Nomenclature[link]

The singular term 'sport' is used in most English dialects to decribe the overall concept (e.g. "children taking part in sport"), with 'sports' used to describe multiple activities (e.g. "football and rugby are the most popular sports in England"). American English uses 'sports' for both terms.

Definition[link]

Show Jumping, an equestrian sport

The precise definition of what separates a sport from other leisure activities varies between sources, with no universally agreed definition. The closest to an international agreement on a definition is provided by SportAccord, which is the association for all the largest international sports federations (including association football, american football, cycling, equestrian sports, baseball and more), and is therefore the de facto representative of international sport.

SportAccord uses the following criteria, determining that a sport should:^[1]

• have an element of competition
• be in no way harmful to any living creature
• not rely on equipment provided by a single supplier (excluding proprietary games such as arena football)
• not rely on any 'luck' element specifically designed in to the sport

They also recognise that sport can be primarily physical (such as rugby or athletics), primarily mind (such as chess or go), predominantly motorised (such as Formula 1 or powerboating), primarily co-ordination (such as billiard sports) or primarily animal supported (such as equestrian sport).^[1]

There has been an increase in the application of the term 'sport' to a wider set of non-physical challenges such as electronic sports, especially due to the large scale of participation and organised competition, but these are not widely recognised by mainstream sports organisations.

Competition[link]

There are opposing views on the necessity of competition as a defining element of a sport, with almost all professional sport involving competition, and governing bodies requiring competition as a prerequisite of recognition by the IOC or SportAccord.^[1]

Other bodies advocate widening the definition of sport to include all physical activity. For instance, the Council of Europe include all forms of physical exercise, including those completed just for fun.

In order to widen participation, and reduce the impact of losing on less able participants, there has been an introduction of non-competitive physical activity to traditionally competitive events such as school sports days, although moves like this are often controversial.^[9][10]

History[link]

Roman bronze reduction of Myron's Discobolos, 2nd century AD.

There are artifacts and structures that suggest that the Chinese engaged in sporting activities as early as 2000 BC.^[11] Gymnastics appears to have been a popular sport in China's ancient past. Monuments to the Pharaohs indicate that a number of sports, including swimming and fishing, were well-developed and regulated several thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt.^[12] Other Egyptian sports included javelin throwing, high jump, and wrestling. Ancient Persian sports such as the traditional Iranian martial art of Zourkhaneh had a close connection to the warfare skills.^[13] Among other sports that originate in ancient Persia are polo and jousting.

Motorized sports have appeared since the advent of the modern age

A wide range of sports were already established by the time of Ancient Greece and the military culture and the development of sports in Greece influenced one another considerably. Sports became such a prominent part of their culture that the Greeks created the Olympic Games, which in ancient times were held every four years in a small village in the Peloponnesus called Olympia.^[14]

Sports have been increasingly organised and regulated from the time of the ancient Olympics up to the present century. Industrialisation has brought increased leisure time to the citizens of developed and developing countries, leading to more time for citizens to attend and follow spectator sports, greater participation in athletic activities, and increased accessibility. These trends continued with the advent of mass media and global communication. Professionalism became prevalent, further adding to the increase in sport's popularity, as sports fans began following the exploits of professional athletes through radio, television, and the internet—all while enjoying the exercise and competition associated with amateur participation in sports.

Fair play[link]

Sportsmanship[link]

Sportsmanship is an attitude that strives for fair play, courtesy toward teammates and opponents, ethical behaviour and integrity, and grace in victory or defeat.^[15][16][17]

Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. The well-known sentiment by sports journalist Grantland Rice, that it's “not that you won or lost but how you played the game", and the modern Olympic creed expressed by its founder Pierre de Coubertin: "The most important thing... is not winning but taking part" are typical expressions of this sentiment.

Cheating[link]

Key tenets of sport include that the result should not be predetermined, and that both sides should have equal opportunity to win. Rules are in place to ensure that fair play to occur, but participants can break these rules in order to gain advantage.

Participants may choose to cheat in order to satisfy their desire to win, or in order to achieve an ulterior motive. The widespread existence of gambling on the results of sports fixtures creates the motivation for match fixing, where a participant or participants deliberately work to ensure a given outcome.

Doping and drugs[link]

The competitive nature of sport encourages some participants to attempt to enhance their performance through the use of medicines, or through other means such as increasing the volume of blood in their bodies through artificial means.

All sports recognised by the IOC or SportAccord are required to implement a testing programme, looking for a list of banned drugs, with suspensions or bans being placed on participants who test positive for banned substances.

Violence[link]

Violence in sports involves crossing the line between fair competition and intentional aggressive violence. Athletes, coaches, fans, and parents sometimes unleash violent behaviour on people or property, in misguided shows of loyalty, dominance, anger, or celebration. Rioting or hooliganism are common and ongoing problems at national and international sporting contests.

Participation[link]

Gender participation[link]

This section requires expansion.

Female participation continues to rise alongside the opportunity for involvement and the value of sports for child development and physical fitness. Despite gains during the last three decades, a gap persists in the enrollment figures between male and female players. Female players account for 39% of the total participation in US interscholastic athletics. Gender balance has been accelerating from a 32% increase in 1973–74 to a 63% increase in 1994–95. Hessel (2000)^{[Full citation needed]}.

Youth participation[link]

This section requires expansion.

Youth sports present children with opportunities for fun, socialization, forming peer relationships, physical fitness, and athletic scholarships. Activists for education and the war on drugs encourage youth sports as a means to increase educational participation and to fight the illegal drug trade. According to the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the biggest risk for youth sports is death or serious injury including concussion, with the highest risk coming from running, basketball, football, volleyball, soccer, and gymnastics.^[18]

Spectator involvement[link]

Spectators at the 1906 unofficial Olympic Games

The competition element of sport, along with the aesthetic appeal of some sports, result in the popularity of people attending to watch sport being played. This has led to the specific phenomenon of spectator sport.

Both amateur and professional sports attract spectators, both in person at the sport venue, and through broadcast mediums including radio, television and internet broadcast. Both attendance in person and viewing remotely can incur a sometimes substantial charge, such as an entrance ticket, or pay-per-view television broadcast.

It is common for popular sports to attract large broadcast audiences, leading to rival broadcasters bidding large amounts of money for the rights to show certain fixtures. The football World Cup attracts a global television audience of hundreds of millions; the 2006 final alone attracted an estimated worldwide audience of well over 700 million and the 2007 Cricket World Cup attracted about 2.3 Billion worldwide viewers.^{[citation needed]}

In the United States, the championship game of the NFL, the Super Bowl, has become one of the most watched television broadcasts of the year.^{[citation needed]} Super Bowl Sunday is a de facto national holiday in America; the viewership being so great that in 2007 advertising space was reported as being sold at $2.6m for a 30 second slot.^{[citation needed]}

Issues and considerations[link]

Amateur and professional[link]

Modern sports have complex rules and are highly organized.

Sport can be undertaken on an amateur, professional or semi-professional basis, depending on whether particpants are incentivised for participation (usually through payment of a wage or salary).

The popularity of spectator sport as a recreation for non-participants has led to sport becoming a major business in its own right, and this has incentivised a high paying professional sport culture, where high performing participants are rewarded with pay far in excess of average wages, which can run in to millions of dollars.^[19]

Some sports, or individual competitions within a sport, retain a policy of allowing only amateur sport. The Olympic Games started with a principle of amateur competition with those who practiced a sport professionally considered to have an unfair advantage over those who practiced it merely as a hobby.^[20], but following the 1988 games, the IOC decided to make all professional athletes elgible for the Olympics, with only boxing and wrestling still competed on an "amateur" basis, although this revolves around rules, and not payment.

Grassroots sport is a popular phrase which covers the amateur participation in sport at lower levels, normally without pretension towards higher achievement, and is in line with the "sport for all" mentality, where enjoyment is the primary reason for participation.^[21][2]

Technology[link]

Technology plays an important part in modern sport, with it being a necessary part of some sports (such as motorsport), and used in others to improve performance.

Sports science is a widespread academic discipline, and can be applied to areas including athlete performance, such as the use of video analysis to fine tune technique, or to equipment, such as improved running shoes or competitive swimwear.

In order to control the impact of technology on fair play, governing bodies frequently have specific rules designed to control the impact of technical advantage between participants.

Politics[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2010)

Sports and politics can influence each other greatly.

When apartheid was the official policy in South Africa, many sports people, particularly in rugby union, adopted the conscientious approach that they should not appear in competitive sports there. Some feel this was an effective contribution to the eventual demolition of the policy of apartheid, others feel that it may have prolonged and reinforced its worst effects.^[22]

The 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin was an illustration, perhaps best recognised in retrospect, where an ideology was developing which used the event to strengthen its spread through propaganda.

In the history of Ireland, Gaelic sports were connected with cultural nationalism. Until the mid 20th century a person could have been banned from playing Gaelic football, hurling, or other sports administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) if she/he played or supported football, or other games seen to be of British origin. Until recently the GAA continued to ban the playing of football and rugby union at Gaelic venues. This ban is still enforced, but was modified to allow football and rugby to be played in Croke Park while Lansdowne Road was redeveloped into Aviva Stadium. Until recently, under Rule 21, the GAA also banned members of the British security forces and members of the RUC from playing Gaelic games, but the advent of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 led to the eventual removal of the ban.

Nationalism is often evident in the pursuit of sports, or in its reporting: people compete in national teams, or commentators and audiences can adopt a partisan view. On occasion, such tensions can lead to violent confrontation among players or spectators within and beyond the sporting venue, as in the Football War. These trends are seen by many as contrary to the fundamental ethos of sports being carried on for its own sake and for the enjoyment of its participants.

A very famous case when sports and politics colided was the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Masked men entered the hotel of the Israeli olympic team and killed many of their men. This was known as the Munich massacre.

See also[link]

Sports and games portal

Find more about Sports on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• Outline of sports
• List of sportspeople
• List of sports attendance figures
• List of professional sports leagues

Related topics

References[link]

• European Commission (2007), The White Paper on Sport.
• Council of Europe (2001), The Europien sport charter.

Further reading[link]

• The Meaning of Sports by Michael Mandel (PublicAffairs, ISBN 1-58648-252-1).
• Journal of the Philosophy of Sport

Cheryl Cole
Cole performing with Girls Aloud at Battle Abbey in 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Cheryl Ann Tweedy
Born	(1983-06-30) 30 June 1983 (age 28)
Origin	Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyneside, England
Genres	Pop, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, dancer, model
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Fascination, will.i.am music[1]
Associated acts	Girls Aloud, will.i.am, Taio Cruz
Website	cherylcole.com

Cheryl Ann Cole (née Tweedy; born 30 June 1983), often known professionally as Cheryl, is an English pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter, dancer and model. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group, Girls Aloud.^[2] Cole has been part of the group's twenty consecutive top-ten singles (including four number one singles) in the UK and five platinum albums (two of which went to number one) and earned five BRIT Award nominations from 2005 to 2010. In 2009, Girls Aloud won "Best Single" with their song "The Promise". In 2009, Girls Aloud announced their musical hiatus and Cole went on to release two solo albums, which both went to number one in the UK: 3 Words (2009) and Messy Little Raindrops (2010). She achieved a number of hits, including two number one singles: "Fight for This Love" and "Promise This". Cole is set to release her third solo album A Million Lights on the 18 June 2012, with lead single "Call My Name" being released on the 10 June 2012.^[3]

Cole has become a recognised and photographed style icon;^[4][5][6] referred to as a fashionista by the press.^[7] She has been photographed for the covers of British Vogue,^[6] Elle^[8] and Harper's Bazaar, while also becoming the new face of cosmetic company L'Oréal.^[9] Cole was married to England footballer Ashley Cole from July 2006^[10] until September 2010, when she divorced him. ^[11][12] Cole became a judge on The X Factor in 2008,^[13][14][15] becoming the winning judge twice out of the three series she judged. In 2011, Cole left the UK version of The X Factor to judge the American version. However, Cole was sacked from the show.^[16][17][18] Cole's net worth was estimated at £15 million in April 2012.^[19]

Biography[link]

1983-2001: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Cole was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyneside, and grew up on council estates in the districts of Walker^[20] and Heaton.^[21] She is the fourth of five children of Joan Callaghan,^[22] and the eldest child of Gary Tweedy. Cole's parents never married each other; they separated when she was 11.^[23] She has a brother, Garry (born 1987, Newcastle)^[24] and three elder maternal half-siblings: Joseph, Gillian and Andrew.^[25]

As a small child in about 1990, she appeared in a television advert for British Gas.^[26]

As she was interested in dancing from an early age, Cole started sequence dancing at the age of four,^[27] before joining The Royal Ballet's summer school at the age of nine.^[28] She won modelling competitions, including the titles of Boots Group's "bonniest baby", Mothercare's Happy Faces Portrait competition, "Best Looking Girl of Newcastle", The Evening Chronicle's "Little Miss and Mister", and "Most Attractive Girl" at the MetroCentre.^[29] She also appeared in two British Gas adverts, an SCS advert, and an Eldon Square Christmas advert with younger brother Garry as well as appearing in dance recitals on some television shows.^{[citation needed]} She attended Walker Comprehensive School in Newcastle,^[30] and left at 16 with few qualifications. During her time there, she was suspended twice: once for fighting with another pupil and again for swearing on a bus.^[31] After leaving school in 1999, she took a job as a waitress in a restaurant.^[31]

2002–08: Girls Aloud, assault and marriage[link]

Cole performing with Girls Aloud

On 11 January 2003, Cole was involved in an altercation with a nightclub toilet attendant and was subsequently charged with assault over the incident.^[32][33] She was subsequently found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at her trial on 20 October,^[34] and sentenced to 120 hours of community service. She was also ordered to pay her victim £500 in compensation, as well as £3,000 prosecution costs.^[34] Cole auditioned for the reality television show Popstars The Rivals in 2002 with the song "Have You Ever".^[35] Several thousand applicants attended auditions across the UK in hope of being selected. Ten girls and ten boys were chosen as finalists by judges Pete Waterman, Louis Walsh and Geri Halliwell. These finalists then took to the stage, participating in weekly Saturday night live performances which alternated weekly between the girls and boys. Each week, the contestant polling the fewest phone votes was eliminated, until the final line-ups of the groups emerged. Cole joined Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts, and Kimberley Walsh to form the new girl group Girls Aloud, as determined by a public vote administered through the show on 30 November 2002.^[2]

Cole performing with Girls Aloud at the O2 arena

The group's debut single "Sound of the Underground" peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the 2002 Christmas number one.^[36] Girls Aloud hold the record for the shortest time between formation and reaching number one.^[37] The group released their debut album Sound of the Underground in May 2003,^[38] which entered the charts at number two and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) later the same year.^[39] Since 2003, Girls Aloud have released twenty additional singles, with all but one charting within the top ten, and 15 reaching top five positions. Their singles "I'll Stand by You", "Walk This Way", and "The Promise" have charted at number one. Two of their albums have reached the top of the UK Albums Chart: their greatest hits album The Sound of Girls Aloud and 2008's Out of Control, both of which entered the chart at number one, with over one million copies of the former being sold.^[40] All five of their studio albums have been certified platinum by the BPI.^{[citation needed]} They have been nominated for five Brit Awards, and in 2009 won "Best British Single" at that year's Brit Awards for "The Promise".^[41] The group has sold ten million records worldwide.^[42] Girls Aloud have become one of the few UK reality television acts to achieve continued success, and had amassed a fortune of £25 million by May 2009.^[43] The 2007 edition of Guinness World Records listed them as "Most Successful Reality TV Group",^{[citation needed]} while they also hold the record for "Most Consecutive Top Ten Entries in the UK by a Female Group" in the 2008 edition.^{[citation needed]}

In July 2009, Girls Aloud announced they would take a year-long hiatus in the pursuit of solo projects, but would reunite for a new studio album in 2010.^[44] In August 2010, bandmate Nicola Roberts revealed that she wasn't anticipating a reunion of the band until 2012.^[45] Cole began dating England and Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole in September 2004, announcing their engagement after he proposed in Dubai in June 2005.^[46] The couple were married at a ceremony at Barnet, North West London on 15 July 2006.^[47] They signed an exclusive deal with OK!, reportedly worth £1 million, regarding the rights of the photographs.^[48] In January 2008, a hairdresser named Aimee Walton alleged in The Sun^[49] that she had engaged in drunken extramarital sex with Ashley Cole. Subsequently, glamour model Brooke Healy claimed that she had spent the night and had sexual relations with Ashley Cole in December 2006.^[50] The couple, however, reconciled.

[edit] 2008–09: 3 Words, Cheryl Cole's Night In and X-Factor

Cole's first solo performance was on American rapper will.i.am's "Heartbreaker" in 2008. She was picked to appear as a dancer in the video after taking streetdancing classes during the filming of the ITV2 series The Passions of Girls Aloud,^[51] in which the members of the band achieve something they had always wanted to do, other than sing.^[52] She was later asked, by will.i.am, to sing additional vocals on the track.^[53] In April 2009, Cole started working on solo material.^[54] Her debut album, 3 Words, was released in the UK on 26 October 2009.^[55] Cole was reunited with will.i.am for the album, in addition to collaborating with Fraser T. Smith, Syience, Danish production team Soulshock & Karlin, singer-songwriter Taio Cruz, Wayne Wilkins, and Steve Kipner. Recorded in Los Angeles and London, Cole mainly collaborated with will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, the executive producer of 3 Words. It crosses from contemporary R&B, dance pop, house and a more general pop sound. Cruz was asked to write two songs for Cole, the first of which, "Break Your Heart", was written specially for Cole but Polydor label boss Ferdy Unger-Hamilton felt the song was too similar to Heartbreaker, the track Cole did with Will.i.am.^[56] When asked about the album's title Cole revealed she had already contemplated an album title which contained the phrase 3 Words before the title track was recorded.^[57] She had considered titles like Three Syllables, although the strongest contender was Unveiled as Cole "felt like she didn't have any protection without the girls [Girls Aloud]" and because it correlated with the veil on the album cover.^[57] The album begins with its title track, a duet with will.i.am and Cole's favourite song on the album.^[58] She said the song was "totally different from anything I've done [with Girls Aloud] or liked before" and took its inspiration from Cole's newly acquired love for dance music on the charts, especially David Guetta & Kelly Rowland's "When Love Takes Over".^[58]

3 Words spent two weeks at number one.^[59] On 6 November 2009, BPI certified the album Platinum, denoting shipments of over 300,000 units.^[60] It later tripled this feat.^[60] The first single from the album, "Fight for This Love", was written by Andre Merritt, Steve Kipner and Wayne Wilkins, and produced by Steve Kipner and Wayne Wilkins. According to Cole, it was released as the lead single because she "connected with the song so well".^[61] Following a performance on The X Factor live results show, "Fight for This Love" became the fourth best-selling single of 2009 in the UK.^[62] It charted at number one on both the Irish and UK Singles Chart.^[63] In 2010, "Fight For This Love" went to number one in Denmark, Norway and Hungary.^[64] "Fight for This Love" gained positive to mixed reviews. Ruth Harrison from 'Female First' was impressed by the song after initially being worried that Cole would not be able to cope going solo. She said "Whilst it does sound just a little big Girls Aloud-y, we still love it, and can see it being a huge hit on the club circuit up and down the country ... we think this is going to send her well on her way to global superstardom."^[65] The single was later certified silver in the UK. Cole's second single "3 Words", which features will.i.am, went to number 4 in the UK and seven in Ireland.^[66] In 2010, the single was released in Australia and charted at number 5 and was certified platinum.^[67] The third single, "Parachute", charted in the top five in both the UK and Ireland. The single was certified silver in the UK.^[60] From May to July 2010, Cole was the opening act for The Black Eyed Peas at the British shows (as well as some European dates) of The E.N.D. World Tour.^[68][69][70] Chris Johnson of the Daily Mail wrote, "she was supposed to be the support act. But as it turned out, Cheryl Cole ended up being the main event".^[71]

Cole was given a one-off television programme for ITV1 titled Cheryl Cole's Night In, which aired on 19 December 2009.^[72] The programme, hosted by Holly Willoughby, featured music and interviews with Cole and some of her favourite performers. Alexandra Burke, Rihanna, Will Young, Snow Patrol and will.i.am made appearances.^[73] Cole told the press, "I couldn't be happier that ITV have asked me to round off the year with my own show, working with some of my favourite artists".^[74] The programme attracted 5 million viewers on its first airing, substantially less than the 8.1 million viewers that Strictly Come Dancing received during the same time slot.^[75] In June 2008, it was announced Cole would replace Sharon Osbourne as a judge for the fifth series of The X Factor alongside Dannii Minogue, Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh. Cole was given the girls category (made up of female contestants between 16 and 25) and subsequently ended up as the victorious judge when Alexandra Burke was crowned the fifth winner of The X Factor on 13 December 2008.^[76] Cole returned for the sixth series in 2009 and was given the boys category (made up of male contestants aged 16 to 25).^[77] Cole emerged as the winning judge for a second consecutive year after Joe McElderry was crowned the sixth winner of The X Factor.^[78] Simon Cowell, the show's creator, said, "I knew she was going to be good because she speaks like normal people speak. People can relate to that. And I think that is the best sign of a judge."^[79] Cowell has referred to Cole as "one of the best I've ever worked with."^[80] Cole was interviewed during an episode of the fourth series of Piers Morgan's Life Stories. The show, which aired on 23 October 2010, drew an audience of 7.2 million: the highest figure in the chat show's history.^[81] As a member of Girls Aloud, Cole has also appeared in the fly on the wall documentary Girls Aloud: Home Truths, the E4 documentary series Girls Aloud: Off the Record, an episode of Ghosthunting With..., and a one-off variety show entitled The Girls Aloud Party.

[edit] 2010–11: Messy Little Raindrops, divorce, malaria and The X Factor USA

Cole alongside Simon Cowell on The X Factor

In March 2010, Cole stated that she had begun working on a follow up album to 3 Words, which she hoped to release "later on in the year".^[82] Cole's second solo album, titled Messy Little Raindrops, was released on 1 November 2010. The album's first single, "Promise This", was released on 24 October 2010 and became her second number-one hit in the UK.^[83] "Promise This" is an up-tempo dance-pop song written by American songwriter Priscilla Hamilton, British music producer Wayne Wilkins, who was responsible for Cole's debut single "Fight for This Love", and Christopher Jackson.^[84][85] The album was largely produced by Wayne Wilkins.^[86] The album also features guest vocals from August Rigo, Dizzee Rascal, Travie McCoy, and will.i.am.^[87] Cole started recording sessions for her second album in February 2010^[88] though in an interview on Alan Carr: Chatty Man she admitted that some of the songs submitted for the record dated back to 3 Words (2009).^[89] Messy Little Raindrops has received generally mixed reviews from music critics. A predominantly positive review came from Jon O'Brien of Allmusic who awarded it four out of five stars.^[90] Cheryl Cole made a high-profile appearance on Piers Morgan's Life Stories, in which she discussed her marriage and divorce with Ashley Cole and her life-threatening battle with malaria.^[91][92]

In early February 2010, news broke that Cole's husband had cheated on her with five more women.^[93][94][95] On 23 February, Cole announced she was separating from her husband.^[10][11] On 26 May 2010, Cole filed for divorce at London's High Court citing "unreasonable behaviour" of estranged husband Ashley as the reason for their break-up.^[12] She was granted a decree nisi on 3 September.^[96] In October of that year, Cole stated in an interview with The Guardian that she would continue to use her married name, saying that changing it back would make her seem "ashamed" of her marriage.^[97]

On 3 July 2010, Cole was admitted to hospital with suspected acute malaria after a visit to Tanzania.^[98] During an X Factor photoshoot in Cardiff, Cole has said that she noticed her lips were blue.^[99][100]

Cole returned for the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010 to mentor the girls category once again.^[101] In this series, Cole faced intense scrutiny from the public and the media after she rejected popular contestant Gamu Nhengu to go through to the live shows in favour of Cher Lloyd and Katie Waissel, even though both had fluffed their performances at judges' houses. Cole also receive more criticism after she refused to vote for an act in the fifth week, which resulted in claims that the show was fixed. This series would also mark the first that Cole was not the winning mentor, after a contestant in her category, Rebecca Ferguson, lost out to Matt Cardle, who was mentored by Dannii Minogue.

On 5 May 2011, it was officially announced after months of speculation that Cole would appear as a judge alongside Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid, and Paula Abdul on the American version of The X Factor.^[102] However, after only three weeks as a judge and completing the auditions in Los Angeles and Chicago, Cole departed the show.^[17] Cowell said that the reason why Cole left was because he offered her the job in the UK version back and he felt that she would have been more comfortable there.^[103] Additionally, it was later confirmed that she would not be returning to the UK version either, as Tulisa Contostavlos had taken her place on the UK judging panel.^[104] Nicole Scherzinger replaced Cole on the judging panel of The X Factor USA for the rest of season 1.^[105]

[edit] 2012–present: A Million Lights

On 1 April 2012, Cole announced that the lead single from her third studio album will be called "Call My Name". Cheryl uploaded an audio video of the single on April 19, 2012 to her YouTube account.^[106] On 2 May 2012, the full length music video premiered.^[107] The song debuted on Capital FM's breakfast show on 20 April 2012.^[108] The single was written and produced by Calvin Harris and will be released on 10 June 2012.^[109] The video for the single was directed by Anthony Mandler and shot in Downtown Los Angeles.^[110] On 18 April 2012, Cole revealed the title of her third studio album, A Million Lights, which will be released on 18 June 2012.^[111]

Cole previewed a song entitled "Love Killer" on her official soundcloud.^[112] The album artwork for A Million Lights, as well the official track listing for the standard and deluxe versions of the album was revealed via Cole's Facebook and official website on 24 May 2012.^[113]

Other endeavours[link]

Products and endorsements[link]

Cole contributed to the book Dreams that Glitter – Our Story, an autobiography with her Girls Aloud bandmates, in October 2008. The book was written with a ghostwriter and published by the Transworld imprint Bantam Press.^[114][115] The book featured unseen photographs, included insights into the members' personal lives, their success together, style tips, and "everything [they]'ve learned about life, love and music."^[115][116] The book was previewed and serialised by OK! prior to its release. Girls Aloud held a book signing at Waterstone's in Piccadilly, London to promote the release.^[117] The title Dreams that Glitter comes from a line in the group's 2007 single "Call the Shots". Cole's first official book, entitled Through My Eyes, was published on 30 September 2010 by Bantam Press.^[118] The book is described as "a series of stunning exclusive new photos plus informal shots from her own personal collection ... a revealing and intimate portrait of the world of Cheryl Cole".^[119] Through My Eyes offers a glimpse of Cole in the recording studio, backstage on tour, behind-the-scenes at The X Factor, at photo shoots and at award ceremonies. She said the book is "filled with pictures that capture those moments, [her] memories and the people [she's] closest to".^[120] Cole is the subject of several unauthorised biographies,^{[121][122][123]} as well as books detailing her relationship with and divorce from Ashley Cole.^{[124][125][126]} In February 2009, Cole appeared on the cover of British Vogue. The media coverage of her appearance in the magazine boosted the magazine's circulation to 240,000: its best ever February figure.^[127] She also appeared on the November 2009 cover of the UK's Elle magazine.^[8] In late 2009, Cole became the new face of L'Oréal. However, her recent advertising campaign promoting the L'Oréal Elvive shampoo and conditioner range attracted criticism amid claims that she had deliberately deceived persons wishing to buy the product, since it shows Cole with hair extensions.^[128] As a member of Girls Aloud, Cole has endorsed Barbie,^{[citation needed]} Kit Kat,^[129] Nintendo DS,^[130] Samsung,^{[citation needed]} and Sunsilk.^[131]

Charitable activities[link]

In March 2009 Cole climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Comic Relief.^[132] The trek raised £3.4 million for the charity.^[133] Between 3 February and 23 March 2009, Cole raised money for Comic Relief by providing the voice for the BT Speaking Clock.^[132]

In February 2011, Cole launched her own charitable foundation with The Prince’s Trust following a meeting with The Trust’s President, HRH Charles, Prince of Wales. The Cheryl Cole Foundation will provide vital funds for The Trust in the North East, helping disadvantaged young people from Cole’s region.^[134] On 13 June 2011, she auctioned 20 dresses with ASOS to raise funds for the foundation.^[135][136]

Filmography[link]

References in media[link]

Cole was referenced in Lily Allen's "Cheryl Tweedy", a b-side to her 2006 debut single "Smile". Cole took the song as a compliment to her, although Allen later pointed out that it had been tongue-in-cheek.^[137] Allen has since retracted her comments.^{[138][dead link]}

Discography[link]

• 3 Words (2009)
• Messy Little Raindrops (2010)
• A Million Lights (2012)

Tours[link]

With Girls Aloud[link]

As solo supporting act[link]

• The Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D. World Tour (Europe, 2010)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]