MALVERN singer Cher Lloyd wowed the crowd – and her family – when she opened the X Factor tour complete with her new short pillarbox-red haircut.

The 17-year-old performed four songs, including Avril Lavigne’s Girlfriend and Shakespears Sister’s Stay – which was a favourite both with Cher and the audience when she sang it on the competition last autumn.

But for her family, the real thrill came after the show, when they overheard the crowds leaving the venue talking about Cher.

Grandmother Janice Lunn said: “The applause and the reaction from the audience she got was amazing.

"But afterwards, when we were coming out, I don’t think there was anybody talking about anyone else apart from Cher.

"They were saying she was outstanding. It was brilliant – it gave me goosebumps the size of golf balls.”

Dad Darren Lloyd said: “A lot of people have changed their minds about Cher. Everyone was talking about her and it was all good and positive.

"A lot of them reckoned she was a lot better live than on the show.”

The family all travelled to the LG Arena in Birmingham to see the live show, which has now moved to Dublin for the second leg of the tour.

This morning, Mr Lloyd and Cher’s uncles and grandfather flew out to see her perform for the second time.

They will then have to wait for the final shows in Cardiff to see her one final time.

Meanwhile, they have denied rumours in the national press that Cher’s parents are looking to leave their Malvern Link home.

“We laughed about it when we read it,” said 37-year-old Mr Lloyd.

Mrs Lunn believes the story originated in an early interview which Cher did, where she said she would like to buy her parents a new house if she was lucky enough to become successful.

“I think we will have to wait a little while longer before Cher could afford that,” she said.

Cher has also hit the headlines for her bright red hair, which certainly makes her stand out from the crowd.

Mr Lloyd admits it wasn’t his favourite look in the beginning, but he has grown to like it since.

He said: “If you’d have asked me when she first had it done... but now I think it looks nice.

"We first found out about it from a picture – I said to her ‘I hope that is a wig’. We were used to her having long hair.”

To find out more about the X Factor tour, visit xfactor.itv.com/2010/livetour

• Read more of our Cher Lloyd stories and watch her X Factor performances again on our fan page here.
• Follow Cher Lloyd herself on Twitter here.