Nicole Scherzinger: Shyness is special

Nicole Scherzinger believes shy girls are "a secret weapon".

The former X Factor judge was known for being loud and a bit wacky on the the show. But behind closed doors, the 36-year-old is a lot quieter and somewhat shy herself.

"I get past my shyness by making everything about others and not thinking about myself," she explained to the UK edition of Cosmopolitan. "That's what I did on The X Factor - I can be goofy and playful when it's about the acts. They are like my babies. But when I'm offstage I'm not as big and animated."

As well as two successful stints as a judge, Nicole has continued to release music as a solo artist. The Poison singer hopes that her achievements are living proof that shy girls can get ahead.

"Shy girls are a secret weapon," she said. "You don't see them coming but they're focused. Sure, sometimes I'm a puddle of emotions but that's OK because I'm brewing something. Something's coming, you just don't know when. But it's coming..."

What's next for the singer at the moment is her second album and the lead single from it, Your Love. Nicole dug deep for the record, to make it her truest yet.

"I've grown so much in the past few years, in love and musically, so this is a very personal album," she added. "I'm very raw and real with it, there's a lot of life and heart and soul in it. I worked with The-Dream and Tricky [Stewart] - it's the first time I've worked with just one team for the whole album. This album is the woman I am, the woman that I'm not and the woman I want to be. I think every woman can relate to that."