Tulisa credits Simon Cowell with giving her the confidence to make a comeback after her drugs scandal

Ah, Tulisa – there was once a time when whatever she touched turned to gold but after THAT drugs scandal last year, we were left wondering if she would find a way back into our hearts.

But, after the trial collapsed when the undercover reporter she was alleged to have set up a drug deal for was suspected of having lied in court, she set about getting back into the good books of her fans.

And, while she’s doing a pretty good job as she promotes her new single Living Without You, she credits one special person for giving her the confidence to make her big comeback – and that man is no other than her former X Factor boss Simon Cowell.

Referring to Simon’s comments earlier this year when he said he’d welcome her back on the series, she told heat: “I was so happy about that and so grateful for the opportunity to come back on the show because it was, for me, starting the ball rolling, it was all part of the big comeback and to go back to where it all started to me felt right.”

But the singer admits it took time to build herself back up to face life in the public eye again after she struggled to deal with her post-X Factor fame.

She said: “I’m a musician, that was what I was used to doing, that was all I knew and then to be blasted into the world of celebrity and TV, it is two completely different sides.

“When I was in N-Dubz I was famous but I could still walk down the street. Then, when I did X Factor it was 30 paparazzi every day. It was crazy! I was like, ‘Oh, this is what it’s like to be famous!’

“People forget I was 23 when I started X Factor alone and 17 when I got my first recognition through N-Dubz, so it’s been a crazy whirlwind of a journey and a career but I do feel now is the time I feel most confident and if I’m going to peak at any time it will be now, now I’m ready.”

GALLERY: A sneak peek at Tulisa's Living Without You video