As she brings her Stick + Stones tour to the county, Chris Price examines the urban-pop enigma that is Cher Lloyd.

Time and again Cher Lloyd shows that no matter what is thrown at her, she keeps pushing things forward with a cheeky, cocky smile.

Cheryl Cole’s pet project throughout 2010’s X Factor, Cher eventually came fourth in the competition after being the bookies’ favourite to win at the start of the live shows.

Yet she was snapped up immediately by Simon Cowell’s Syco label and whisked off to LA and around the globe to record with big industry producers and songwriters RedOne, Toby Gad, Max Martin, The Runners, Kevin Rudolf and Savan Kotecha.

When the 18-year-old’s debut single, Swagger Jagger, was first heard, it was panned by the media but still went straight to number one in July last year. Cher’s debut album Sticks + Stones also got a mixed reception. It peaked at number four and has sold 200,000 copies.

The latest chapter has seen her sign a deal with X Factor USA judge L.A. Reid for Epic Records in the United States. She is set to release Sticks + Stones across the pond next month and has been touring Stateside to promote the album, which fuses hip-hop, R ’n’ B and dubstep.

For all the posturing and sideswipe lyrics on tracks like Swagger Jagger at all the “haters” who should “just let it go”, there have been genuine low points for Cher. She has spoken out in the media about suffering cyber-bullying and called on the government to do more on the problem.

Yet when she speaks out, she is back to being that water-off-a-duck’s-back teenager who knows her style and her sound.

In her nonchalant way, Cher exclaims: “My favourite colour is a baby pink or white as white goes with everything – it’s easier, isn’t it?”

Yet as she continues – “my favourite animal is a monkey. I would probably be a monkey as well. I think I am a bit cheeky” – it is not clear whether she is for real or whether it is all just an act.

Perhaps that is the draw with Cher. That is why the haters keep hating her and her fans keep loving her. From the moment she walked on to the stage for her X Factor audition and performed Turn My Swag On, everyone knew she was going to be different.

Everyone still remembers her performance of the Shakespeare’s Sister ballad Stay as one of the standout performances in X Factor history.

Shrinking violet she ain’t and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Cher Lloyd performs at Folkestone’s Leas Cliff Hall on Thursday, March 29. Tickets £16.50. Box office 0844 871 7627.