It's Chew-lisa! X Factor's new judge Ms Contostavlos reveals new £12,000 teeth as part of makeover for show
By Jody Thompson
Last updated at 7:29 AM on 18th August 2011
She's always been known as something of a gobby pop star - but N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos has now quite literally put her money where her mouth is.
The new X Factor judge has apparently splashed out £12,000 on a gleaming new Hollywood smile - just like Cheryl Cole did before she made her debut on the show.
The 25-year-old brunette beauty debuted her new teeth on the red carpet today at the official launch of the new series of the show at London's O2 Arena.
Fangs a lot: New X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos revealed her new £12,000 smile at the launch of the X Factor in London today after having veneers to cover her old teeth, as seen in November 2009 (right)
Wearing a tight patterned black stain Vivienne Westwood dress and black high heeled platform mary janes, she also premiered a glamorous new sideswept hairstyle with blonde highlights across the fringe.
Tulisa's father Plato Contostavlos confirmed that his daughter had treated herself to new gnashers - and joked he hoped she'd pay for him to get some too.
He improved too, telling The Sun: 'She’s had her teeth done for £12k, why not if it makes her feel better? I want to have mine done for £20k.'
Girlpower: Tulisa Contostavlos (L) and Kelly Rowland (R) appeared to be best of friends already as they arrived at the X Factor press launch at London's O2 Arena today
Stylish: The N-Dubz star has ditched the tracksuits and bling for a far more classy appearance, and looked lovely in her Vivienne Westwood frock
Plato added that he understood the pressure Tulisa was under to look good in front of the cameras.
He said: 'She’s beautiful in my eyes because she’s my daughter, but it’s every girl’s dream to improve and to want to look even more beautiful.
'It’s the industry she is in, she needs to look her best. She doesn’t tell me she feels pressurised to look good since she joined The X Factor but she’s a girl, she’s young, of course she does.
Glamorous: The 25-year-old looked comfortable in her own skin as well as a red carpet natural as she met fans outside the venue
'That’s the showbiz life she’s chosen and she wants to stay in it and do well.'
It was recently reported that ITV bosses have splashed out £70,000 on a makeover for the N-Dubz star, in a bid to get her to ditch the shell suits and bling and become more classy.
A production source said at the time: 'They put aside so much for Tulisa because you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.'
X Factor makeover: Cheryl Cole also underwent a style change - including new teeth - before she appeared as a judge on the show
Of her new dental makeover, a source had previously told The Sun: 'Tulisa has not got bad teeth by any stretch of the imagination. She's hardly Austin Powers.
Pre-makeover: The star's more brash, streetwise style back in November 2009
'She had a few problems when she was younger but nothing serious. Since she became famous she has become aware they are not perfectly aligned, so she decided to pay for a bit of help.'
Tulisa's predecessor Cheryl also had a smile makeover ahead of her judging role on the X Factor.
She spent £9,500 on her smile, having between six and eight veneers, according to experts, after wearing an invisible brace a few years ago.
It's said Cheryl spends around £8,000 a year on her teeth, plus up to a further £1,500 a year on whitening treatments.
However, Tulisa told Mail Online today that she wasn't bothered by constant comparisons to her predecessor on the panel.
'I don't mind being compared to Cheryl it's inevitable they can say what they want, I know what I'm about.'
She also added that she was 'really excited' about the launch of the show and that she had already found the experience to be 'amazing'.
Tulisa appeared at ease not only on the red carpet, but with fellow judge Kelly Rowland, 30, who was resplendent in a black Versace frock with bright green detailing and Giuseppe Zanotti ankle boots.
The pair joked and laughed together and appear to be good friends already.
Of the other new judge, Take That star Gary Barlow, 40, he told Mail Online that so far, the 16 and 17 year old auditionees were already the most promising.
Meanwhile, old hand Louis Walsh, 59, said he was just glad to still be a judge - and revealed he was still in touch with Cheryl.
He said: 'I've been texting her and she is just fine. I think she is happy.'
She's on fire: Accusations that Tulisa has started to look more like Cheryl have sprung up since the publicity shots for the X Factor were released
Tulisa has faced comparisons with Cheryl Cole since a publicity picture of the judging panel was released earlier this week in which she was seen wearing a dress very similar to that worn by the Girls Aloud star last year.
It has been said that the N-Dubz singer has changed her personal style since joining the X Factor with some saying she is more often seen wearing velour tracksuits and more casual wear with her bandmates.
However, Tulisa is like any other woman of her age who enjoys dressing up in glamorous outfits for nights out as well as wearing more casual outfits when relaxing during the day.
New team: Tulisa, in a very Cheryl-style body con dress, with Kelly, Gary and Louis
Regardless of the predictable comparisons she is clearly enjoying her time on the series before the live shows have even started, tweeting yesterday: 'had a great day at boot camp & I'm really excited about the talent this year, Bring on 2moro! Bed time 4 me.X'
She also rubbished claims that her band had been dropped by their label.
Tulisa wrote: 'Regarding the story in the paper bout us bein dropped,its a load of rubbish,we left cus they wanted us 2 go in a direction that wasnt us!
'And also wanted us 2 sing other peoples songs & stop writing r own, it wasn't 4 ndubz so we asked 2 b released, and they kindly did.'
The X Factor returns to our screens this Saturday on ITV1 at 8pm.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2027127/X-Factor-2011-Tulisa-Contostavlos-reveals-new-12-000-teeth-makeover-show.html#ixzz1VMYyBCOq
