'Unpopular' Nicole Scherzinger

Nov 11, 2007, 13:30 GMT

Kardashian clone Nicole Scherzinger EPA/HUBERT BOESL

Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger claims she was never popular with boys at school.

The sexy star, who is the lead singer of the raunchy girl band, was so shy around the opposite sex she was overlooked in her teenage years.

Nicole said: "I wasn't very popular with guys when I was younger, because I was so shy. All the boys in my middle school knew how quiet I was, so they wouldn't go out with me! It wasn't until I got to high school that I began to blossom and embrace my individuality."

Nicole - who is set to release her first solo album 'Her Name is Nicole' early next year - says she didn't fit in at school because of her exotic heritage.

The beauty, whose parents hail from Hawaii and the Philippines, added to Bliss magazine: "I don't really fit in because I was a Hawaiian Filipino girl living in a Southern Mid-West town. When I got more into music and the arts it gave me more confidence. I felt more certain about who I was, and as I got older I started buying teen magazines and got more into fashion.

"Embracing my uniqueness was something I learned over time."

(C) BANG Media International