Well done to Cheryl Cole

It's a tricky one, this Cheryl Cole thing. Not only is she facing the questions levelled at any girlbander going solo - "Can she actually sing?" etc. - but she's got the added pressure that comes with her X Factor fame. She's already one of the biggest stars in the country, almost too big a star to be releasing her first single, so "quite good" isn't really going to cut it.

Fortunately, 'Fight For This Love', which premiered on Radio 1 earlier, is better than quite good. It's a midtempo electro-R&B track written by Andre Merritt, Steve Kipner and Wayne Wilkins, it doesn't sound like anything Girls Aloud have given us, and it's got a real quiet confidence to it. It doesn't slap you round the face the first time you hear it - the production's slick rather than bombastic, and there's no whopping great hook - but after three or four plays it seduces you like a high-class hooker. "This," you realise, "is a really good song."

And Cheryl? Well, her vocals are husky, sexy and stronger than many would have expected. The lyrics, without getting too gossip raggy about it, do strike a particular chord given her romantic history. Ear-snagging lines include "Now everyday love ain't no picnic" and "Knowing too much can get you hurt", but the song's message is actually very positive. "We gotta fight, fight, fight, fight, fight for this love," she sings on the chorus, "If it's worth having, it's worth fighting for."

Needless to say, she's got a lot still to do, but 'Fight For This Love' gets Cheryl Cole's solo career off to a cracking start. Roll on the video, the album and of course the vitally important X Factor performance.

What do you think of 'Fight For This Love'? Are you looking forward to Cheryl Cole's album? Use the space below to have your say.