Tulisa's life after N-Dubz – assault conviction, sex tape leak and X Factor

N-Dubz star Tulisa Contostavlos rose to fame in the mid-2000s after starting a hip-hop group with her cousin Dappy and friend Fazer.

The trio went on to dominate the charts, achieving two double-platinum albums, 13 top 40 singles and three Urban Music Awards.

But despite their huge success, N-Dubz parted ways in 2011 so that they could each focus on their solo careers.

After leaving N-Dubz behind, Tulisa went on to have a tumultuous career filled with scandal and controversy that later forced her to take a break from the limelight.

But over a decade after the band split, Tulisa is finally making a return to music with N-Dubz.

The band have announced that they’re reuniting for an arena tour in London and that they’re releasing a brand new single.

As the singer announces her comeback to the music scene with former bandmates, we’ve taken a look back at her life since the group split up.

X-Factor Judge

After leaving N-Dubz, Tulisa went on to become a judge on the hit talent show X Factor.

She was a judge on the show from 2011 to 2012. During her first year she mentored the winning act, Little Mix, who have since gone on to become the most successful girl group in X Factor history.

But after two years on the show, Tulisa announced that she wouldn’t be returning to the judge’s panel.

She wrote on Twitter: “Just wanted to let you all know that I won’t be part of the X Factor panel this year,

“I’ve had a great time on the show, but this year it’s time to do something different… I’d like to thank everyone on The X Factor for two amazing years.”

Sex tape leak

Tulisa’s success on the X Factor was tainted when the star had a sex tape leaked while she was judging the show.

An explicit video that she had made with ex-boyfriend Justin Edwards was leaked online, with Tulisa claiming her privacy had been exploited.

Tulisa responded to the leak in a YouTube video at the time saying: “This is someone that I loved, that I trusted, that meant the world to me, that I feel deeply betrayed by,

“I am sure that everyone at home has had intimate moments with someone they cared about and never expected at any point that they would go and share it with the rest of the world.”

Later, she reflected on her time on X Factor and the sex tape leak during a documentary with BBC Three.

She said: “The first year was a very happy time. I think it was the tape where it all went wrong for me mentally.”

“When the tape came out I felt like I had lost control again. This isn’t how I wanted to be portrayed as and afterwards going back out there, it was the thought of facing the audience, the crowd.

“Even though I was a judge I was being judged. More than anyone, more than the contestants. The judges get judged the most.”

Tulisa settled her civil case with Edwards in July 2012, with Edwards not being convicted.

Drug arrest

In 2013 things got even worse for Tulisa when she was arrested on suspicion of supplying class A drugs.

Her arrest was part of a sting operation from undercover journalist Mazher Mahmood, known as the “Fake Sheikh”.

He claimed that Tulisa had made a deal to sell him drugs while he pretended to be a film producer, but she denied the allegations.

But a year later the trial collapsed with Mazher Mahmood accused of lying while giving evidence and the judge stating that the case could not go any further.

Mahmood was later sentenced to 15 months in prison for tampering with evidence.

Assault conviction

The drug charges may have been dropped, but that didn’t stop Tulisa’s downward spiral.

Just a year later the singer appeared in court once again, this time after being accused of attacking a blogger at V Festival in 2013.

Tulisa was convicted of assaulting blogger Savvas Morgan at the festival in Essex and was ordered to pay a £3,000 fine.

She went on to appeal the conviction but it was upheld and the judge said she had a “lack of self-control” when she hit Morgan.

Will.i.am and Britney Spears feud

After her assault conviction, Tulisa took a step back from the spotlight.

She attempted to re-launch her singing career in 2016 with a cover of the 1990s hit Sweet Like Chocolate, but it failed to do well in the charts and Tulisa continued to take some time off from music.

During her break, however, the former hip-hop star didn’t disappear completely from the limelight as she focused her attention on fighting a legal battle against will.i.am and Britney Spears.

She claimed to have co-written their 2012 hit Scream and Shout and accused the stars of refusing to give her a writing credit.

She won the case in 2018, was given an official credit on the record and was also awarded 10 per cent of the publishing rights and income.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk