The Girls Aloud star believes her fellow bandmates, Nicola Roberts, Sarah Harding, Nadine Coyle and Kimberley Walsh are more talented than her and fears she will be shown up on their new tour.

Before their MEN Arena show on Friday (24.04.09) the band had to give her an emergency prep talk before they went on stage as her nerves got the better of her.

Cheryl has had a lot on her mind to deal with over the past few weeks, with friends saying she has been down since her return from climbing Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief last month.

A source close to the band told The Sunday Mirror newspaper, “In rehearsals, Cheryl was downbeat and quiet. Everyone was really worried.

“She has got a lot going on in her personal life, and I think she is finding it tough being the nation’s sweetheart and dealing with all the attention that comes with that.”

The X-Factor judge, who was last week voted as the worlds sexiest woman by FHM magazine, is currently battling to save her relationship with football star Ashley Cole, who was arrested for being drunk and disorderly while she was in Africa.

She performed on stage without her wedding ring, then rushed straight to her hotel after the show.

There are plans for the 25-year-old singer to release a solo album this year, but no date has been confirmed. It hasn’t been confirmed about who she would be working with, but reports have suggested that numerous producers have been approached.

A spokesperson for the band, said, “”Cheryl is going to work on some solo music-there is no release date set for this yet as she has not recorded any music.”

Often branded – unfairly IMO – the ugly one from Girls Aloud, Nicola Roberts is reportedly carrying a skull around to ward off men. Nicola was given the creepy head-on-a-stick at last weekend’s Virgin Mobile V Festival by a fan, and it even has a tuft of matching red hair with the singer.

She said: “This ought to ward off any bad men. Although I hope it doesn’t scare me too much as well.

“It was meant to be. It even has my hair colour.”

The 22-year-old star recently revealed she doesn’t want a new boyfriend after she split from her long-term partner Carl Davies in May.

She said in an interview: “I’m banning men. No more boyfriends for me. I want to be on my own. I’m tired of all the bulls**t that comes with having a boyfriend.

“I don’t want to deal with anymore c**p. I’ve learned the hard way and from other people’s mistakes.

“I’ve been in a relationship since I was 16 and just want to be myself and hang out with my girls.”