Black Eyed Peas fans with a Now magazine subscription will be able to read Will.i.am talking about Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger.
The US rapper, who's a close friend of X Factor judge Cheryl Cole, said: "Nicole's great. The British public love her - and, more importantly, so does Simon Cowell."
"Simon and Louis Walsh both took to her - that's what happens if you spend any time in her company because she's a very cool girl," he added.
Nicole stood in for Cheryl during the Manchester auditions and in the boot camp stage of the reality TV show, after the Girls Aloud singer was struck down with malaria following a holiday in Tanzania with her alleged beau Derek Hough.
The feelings between Chezza and Will.i.am seem to flow both ways, with Cheryl raving about the Black Eyed Pea in her new book Through My Eyes.
Will.i.am helped his pal out during the judges' house round on the X Factor.
Subscribe and save on a Now magazine subscription today.
Posted by Alice Buller