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Tulisa Contostavlos says she felt "pressure" when recording her solo material.

The singer says she wants her debut album to prove to the public that she deserves her place on the X Factor judging panel.

She said: "You definitely feel like the public eye is on you and judging everything you do.

"You have to show with your music why you deserve to be there but I have confidence in the new stuff."

Tulisa, who found fame with N-Dubz, is due to release her debut solo single in the spring.

"I've got my single ready now to release," she said. "I'm going to be shooting my video soon. I haven't got the date set but within the next two months I'd say."

The 23-year-old says some people may be surprised by the musical direction of her solo material.

"It's very me," she revealed. "But maybe not exactly what people would expect genre-wise. It's one of those tracks you don't get bored of."

'Brilliant year'

The singer is also working on an album, which is due to be released later this year.

"The album's going really good. I'm going to LA in the next few months to finish recording," she said.

Tulisa says she enjoyed her first year as a judge on X Factor but doesn't know yet whether she'll return to the show next year.

"I feel like I had a brilliant year," she said. "I loved every minute of it.

"The problem is, will I ever be able to get along with an act as well as I do with Little Mix?"

The girl group, who were mentored by Tulisa, won the most recent series and will release their album later this year.

Asked whether she would work with Little Mix in the future, Tulisa said: "There's definitely a possibility of a collaboration. We haven't talked about it but I'm up for it."