Cheryl - or the artist formerly known as Cheryl Cole - is in the news again. This morning I was on the BBC 5 Live brekkie show and the hot topic was Cheryl Cole changing her name to simply 'Cheryl' in an attempt to put her association with her ex-husband Ashley Cole firmly behind her and, more crucially, to put her 'brand' in the same league as the BIG single name female stars like Rihanna, Shakira, Beyonce or Adele.
Now, let's be honest here. Our Chezza's a fab pop star and ridiculously gorgeous but she's certainly NOT in the same league as these stars. She is perhaps more Sinitta than Madonna... sorry Chezza.
It all smacks of bit of desperation. Her attempt to crack the US market backfired (not helped by Simon Cowell dropping her from X Factor as a judge) and so repackaging herself with a new, singular christian stage and brand name only, is clearly part of her PR and marketing team's strategy for a relaunch. Interestingly, all the publicity right now about her name change is cleverly keeping her profile high in the UK press. So is the whole thing a publicity stunt?
Well, I hate to be cynic (!) but the timing of this announcement coincides with the launch of her new solo material including a soon to be released single called, guess what, Call My Name. Likewise, there's a Girls Aloud reunion to promote and of course, her new range of shoes.
Yep, someone's working really hard in the marketing engine room of Cheryl Ltd. Only last week we had the controversy over Cheryl's comments regarding Louis Walsh being in her opinion a lousy and often absent manager. The PR machine has certainly gone in to major overdrive!
So, is the name change a good career move? Please don't be offended if your name is Cheryl but the name itself is just not that sexy or poetic in the same way say Rihanna or Beyonce is.
'Cheryl' is a bit of an ordinary and dare I say it, chavvy name. It's the kind of name someone who heats your sausage roll up in Greggs has. The only other famous Cheryl I can think of is Cheryl Baker of Bucks Fizz... I rest my case.
So, good luck with the PR stunts Chezza - it is working but for now, probably best to get a grip and admit you don't quite have the same gravitas or popularity of Adele, whatever your name is.