Cheryl ya yi gwaji don nuna talabijin na gaskiya Popstars: The Rivals a shekara ta 2002, wanda ke da nufin ƙirƙirar ƙungiyar yara da ƙungiyar 'yan mata don yin gasa don Kirsimeti na farko a kan UK Singles Chart. Ta raira waƙa "Shin kun taɓa" a cikin gwajin ta, kuma yana ɗaya daga cikin masu fafatawa ashirin (mata goma da maza goma) waɗanda alƙalai Pete Waterman, Louis Walsh da Geri Halliwell suka zaɓa a matsayin' yan wasan karshe. 'Yan wasan karshe sun yi rayuwa a ranar Asabar da yamma, tare da yin jima'i ɗaya a kowane mako, kuma kowane mako mai fafatawa da ya fi ƙarancin ƙuri'un waya an kawar da shi, har sai an gama jerin rukunin ƙungiyoyi biyar na ƙarshe. Cheryl ya fito a cikin haɗarin kawarwa, sau biyu a kan Emma Beard da Aimee Kearsley a cikin makonni masu zuwa.
da Kirsimeti lamba daya tabo a kan UK Singles Chart