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"The X Factor doesn&amp;apos;t premiere until September, but Nicole Scherzinger -- who replaced British singer Cheryl Cole on the judging panel -- has already become fast friends with Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Antonio &amp;quot;L.A.&amp;quot; Reid.\r\n\r\nAccording to the &amp;quot;Wet&amp;quot; singer, the foursome even shares a dressing room backstage. &amp;quot;Simon calls it the judges&amp;apos; lounge -- everything&amp;apos;s open -- so we all goof around, eat, and get ready in the same place,&amp;quot; Scherzinger, 33, tells Marie Claire&amp;apos;s September issue. &amp;quot;I&amp;apos;m the luckiest person to get a front-row ticket to the Simon and Paula show.&amp;quot;\r\nThough she doesn&amp;apos;t mention Cole by name, Scherzinger adds that The X Factor experience &amp;quot;has felt like a roller-coaster ride.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nBorn in Hawaii and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Scherzinger -- who won a spot in the girl group Eden&amp;apos;s Crush via the 2001 reality show Popstars -- says she earned the right to sit beside Cowell, 51, Abdul, 49, and Reid, 55.\r\n&amp;quot;I&amp;apos;ve fought my way to where I am and will continue to do so. I&amp;apos;m a hard worker -- I get it from my family. We only know work. Nothing was handed to us,&amp;quot; Scherzinger says. &amp;quot;When I believe in something, I go after it. It&amp;apos;s very hard to tell me &amp;apos;no.&amp;apos;&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nThat can-do attitude helped Scherzinger find the courage to leave the Pussycat Dolls to embark on a solo career. &amp;quot;With the Pussycat Dolls, I had four other girls to fall back on -- we were a gang, a team, and that gives you extra confidence. Now I&amp;apos;m bringing it all on my own,&amp;quot; she tells Marie Claire.\r\n&amp;quot;I&amp;apos;ve been working toward this my whole life. This album [Killer Love] is my dream. Everything is timing,&amp;quot; she adds. &amp;quot;My music is the driving engine, and The X Factor is where I can give back to the contestants &amp;#x2014;- pay it forward, since I got my start on reality shows. I&amp;apos;m ready to take it all on.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/nicole-scherzinger-the-x-factor-has-been-a-roller-coaster-ride-201198>