Ken McKay/ FOX
What is it with British brunettes with thick regional accents heading for Hollywood at the first sniff of success in good old Blighty? Just because Martine McCutcheon’s loyal British fanbase loved her Eliza Doolitle in that stage production of My Fair Lady didn’t mean she’ll be gracing the Hollywood Hall of Fame any time soon. A string of girl band hits in the UK and a romance with will.i.am didn’t translate to Trans-Atlantic success for Girls Aloud’s Cheryl Cole.
Wannabe international superstars: watch and learn from the mistakes of these three brunette Brits abroad…
Martine McCutcheon
She won our hearts in Eastenders, leaped from TV soap to promising pop career to silver screen (alongside a bumbling Hugh Grant in Love, Actually). She followed the hype across the pond, even winning an MTV gong for Best Trans-Atlantic Breakthrough in 2004.
But a great dentist and a grapefruit diet weren’t enough to launch her Hollywood career. This year she’s plugging an afternoon slot on humble UK radio – shortly after declaring bankruptcy.
Cheryl Cole
In 2011, singer Cole left the UK version of The X Factor in a blaze of glory to be a judge on the US show panel. However, Cole was sacked from the show about two minutes after landing at LAX, replaced by the Pussycat Dolls’ Nicole Scherzinger. Rumor has it that Fox execs didn’t think Americans could understand her thick Newcastle accent.
Cher Lloyd
Lloyd finished fourth in the UK X Factor, but was snapped up by Simon Cowell’s Syco label as a decent consolation prize. She didn’t take her time heading straight to the US in search of the Big Time. However, after platinum love for her early pop-rap singles, her Stateside reception has cooled to lukewarm. In August 2013, it was announced that her new single is called “I Wish,” as in, “I wish America would just go ahead and love me back!”
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