Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts to release debut LP

Nicola Roberts has announced that her debut single, Beat of my Drum, will be released on 5 June.

That will be followed by an album, Cinderella's Eyes, later this year.

Roberts said: "It was important my first single was different to anything else around. I love that it's a song everyone can sing and dance along to."

The Girls Aloud singer first revealed she was writing new material for a record during an interview with Newsbeat last November.

Nicola Roberts has been working on the album with collaborators including Dimitri Tikovoi (Goldfrapp, The Horrors), Diplo (M.I.A, Beyonce), and Metronomy (Roots Manuva), as well as Canadian electropop duo Dragonette.

'Cheeky and sad'

"The album has a very British sound, that was important to me," added the singer in a statement.

"I co-wrote all of the songs on the record. The stories I tell in the album are things that have happened to me and life in general.

"Some are happy, some songs are a little cheeky and one song is sad."

The singer's bandmates have had varying degrees of success since the group last performed together in 2009.

Sarah Harding and Nadine Coyle have both got engaged while Coyle released her first record last year, Insatiable, which made it to number 47 in the UK album chart.

Cheryl Cole has been the most successful of the five Girls Aloud members.

She's been announced as one of the new judges on the US version of The X Factor and has released two solo albums, which both made it to number one.

The 27-year-old's also had two number one singles, Fight For This Love and Promise This.

Kimberley Walsh meanwhile has landed a role in children's film Horrid Henry: The Movie while Nicola Roberts also launched a make-up range called Dainty Doll last year.