Singer, rapper, and songwriter Cher Lloyd is already a star in her native U.K. thanks to a string of buzzed-about performances on Britain’s version of The X Factor, a No. 1 debut single (“Swagger Jagger”), and a well-received album (Sticks & Stones) that shot to No. 4 on the UK chart. And with the May release of her first U.S. single “Want U Back” — a cheeky slice of alternative urban pop that the Huffington Post said “sounds like an instant summer radio hit” — it’s easy to see why. As the New York Times put it: “…she’s the future.”

Janelle Therese Orcine is following