A smiling Cheryl Cole appears to be putting the troubles of the past year firmly behind her.

The singer let her hair down with friend Will.i.am last night at an after party following her live performance in Cannes, for which she was paid a fee of £250,000.

Despite previous denials of any romance between them, she could not hide her growing closeness to the Black Eyed Peas singer, a self-confessed admirer.

He had dashed back from the World Music Awards in Monaco to play a DJ set at the after party – and was rewarded with cuddles and a dance.

After changing out of her stunning fishtail Cavalli gown, Cheryl dressed down in an orange £2,205 Julien McDonald minidress, and spent the rest of the evening partying by the rapper’s side in the DJ booth.

The singer performed a two-hour set. And the couple danced, cuddled and posed together for photos.
There has been speculation about the pair’s growing friendship, fuelled by his comments that she was the ‘most beautiful woman in the world’.

The pair are flying to Antwerp for a gig tonight before performing in Paris on Thursday.

She will be back in Cannes on Friday and is set to appear on the red carpet before joining Will.I.am and his group the Black Eyed Peas on a private yacht party.

And in July, the Girls Aloud star will join the Peas in Barcelona when the group play the city’s Espanol Stadium.

Cheryl isn’t on the line-up but Will has asked organisers to provide them with a joint dressing room for the night.

And he has even organised a post-gig meal from the Michelin-starred El Bulli restaurant.

Cheryl posed for pictures at the exclusive Hotel du Cap before entertaining guests which included leading figures in fashion including Naomi Campbell and Margerita Missoni.

The 26-year-old wore a boule diamond bracelet and earrings by de Grisogono understood to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The star arrived on stage and welcomed the crowd shouting: ‘Hello Cannes, thanks for making me feel so welcome.

Cheryl sang her hits Fight for this Love and 3 Words, as well as Parachutes and new track Stand Up.

Such is her premium that organisers at the festival are keen for her to attend a premiere if she can fit it into her schedule.

L’Oreal is a sponsor of the festival and many of the beauty firms’ models are attending, including Eva Longoria, Aishwarya Rai and Lost star Evangeline Lilly.

The move to join them propels Cheryl to A-list status.

Around 100 people watched her perform at the de Grisogono dinner.

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