Nicola Roberts has defended her solo career's more alternative sound by admitting it was a "natural" progression. 

Her debut single, 'Beat Of My Drum', has an edgier sound than perhaps Girls Aloud fans were expecting and she worked with producers Diplo and Metronomy's Joe Mount on the record. Talking to the NME about her new direction, she said she never wanted to travel down the straight-and-narrow pop road:

"It's natural, being a fan and loving a band like Major Lazer, that you'd go to somebody like that. It's so out-there and full of imagination. And even with Girls Aloud, we didn't make records with rules. I’m used to working with Xenomania, who take risks, and that’s what I feel with Joe, with Diplo. That’s where I've come from, so that’s where I want to go."

"People can sniff out a faker. It would have been really awkward for me to not make a record like this. I'm not comfortable with faking – there's evidence of that in the first six years of the band."

Check out her recent performance of 'Beat Of My Drum' below: