'I'm an inspiration for broken Britain': Tulisa pays tribute to her urban roots... as she glams up for stunning photoshoot
By ALASDAIR GLENNIE and CHLOE THOMAS
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But it seems Tulisa Contostavlos may be ready to cast off her gritty ‘street’ persona at last.
In a transformation that will raise eyebrows, the X Factor judge posed in a series of elegant dresses before declaring: ‘I'm an inspiration for broken Britain.'
Scroll down to watch a behind-the-scenes video
Glamorous: Tulisa Contostavlos swaps her tracksuits for a full-length gown in a new photoshoot for Look magazin
Miss Contostavlos’ comments come just three days after the X Factor’s ratings plummeted to 8.1million viewers, down three million on the same stage last year. Viewers took to Twitter to complain she show was ‘boring’ and the ‘same every year.’
Posing for Look magazine, the 24-year-old singer looked glamorous in a floorlength black sequin frock with a side split from Forever Unique, despite making no effort to hide her large shoulder tattoo.
She said: ‘People say: "Oh my God, you’re a role model now." Why am I a role model? Because I’ve been myself.
‘People are underestimating the kids of today – they’re not stupid. I’m not inspiration for upper-class kids whose parents don’t want them listening to an Eminem album. I’m an inspiration for broken Britain’.
Giving it some leg in Forever Unique: Tulisa says she an inspiration to 'broken Britain'... but denies being a role model
Miss Contostavlos’ claim may surprise some of her more vocal critics.
After the star launched a drunken, foul-mouthed Twitter rant in June, leading headmistress Dr Helen Wright said she set a bad example to children.
But she now seems determined to distance herself from her wild past, insisting she would swap her fame and fortune for a quiet family life.
She said: ‘Everything goes great in my career but my personal life has just been s***. Fame and money – I don’t give a c**p about all that stuff.
‘Yeah it’s amazing, yeah I’m grateful for those things – they make life easier – but if you could put me in a little house in the countryside with a picket fence, a husband, dogs and a family where I can feel love and happiness, I would trade that in a second.’
In her comfies: Tulisa recently tweeted a photo of herself relaxing at home in a pink tracksuit
In an expletive-laden interview, Miss Contostavlos admitted men were put off by her direct manner.
She said: ‘Men are scared of me and won’t approach me. Even if I like someone and I’m fluttering my eyelashes, they still run a mile.
'So I wouldn’t have dates if I didn’t approach people. That’s why I go for really tough lads because only they can handle it.'
Tulisa's full interview is in the latest issue of LOOK magazine, out now
Miss Contostavlos’ comments came as X Factor bosses struggled to save the show from tumbling ratings.
Viewers have turned off in their millions, with three million fewer tuning in to watch the third episode of the current series – the show’s ninth – compared with the same stage last year.
Many watchers took to Twitter to vent their frustration at the ITV1 talent show, saying it was ‘boring’ and complaining it was the same every year.
One wrote: ‘X Factor bores me! Same old stuff every year it's on!’
Another added: ‘X Factor is the most repetitive program I have seen in my life, every year the judges talk the same s**t and the contestants are the same.’
A third said: ‘Not watched the x factor this year tbh. Same every year and the best singer never wins.’
An X Factor source said producers are considering emergency changes to reinvigorate the show before the live episodes begin next month.
Show bosses have already introduced sweeping changes this year after last year’s ratings fell from an average 14.1million a week in 2010 to just 10.8million.
In January, Cowell called judge Gary Barlow in for a meeting to discuss ways to halt the decline in the X Factor viewing numbers.
The 52-year-old television supremo admitted last year’s figures were disappointing, saying: 'I got a bit too cocky. We got a big wake-up call.
'We went into 2011 thinking, "It's all going to be easy" and of course it wasn't. It was the year my ego was put in check.
'We all got a bit smug last year, I certainly got a bit too cocky.’
Miss Contostavlos’ full interview is in the latest issue of LOOK magazine, out now.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2197937/Tulisa-pays-tribute-urban-roots--glams-stunning-photoshoot.html#ixzz25W6oCkBC
