Cheryl Cole wants to help teens.

Cheryl Cole wants to inspire underprivileged teenagers.

The 'Call My Name' singer has opened up about her own tough upbringing in Newcastle, North East England, and says she can relate to today's youth and wants to show disadvantaged kids that you can follow your dreams and escape your surroundings.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror newspaper, Cheryl said: ''I had a tough upbringing and didn't have many privileges as a child. I classed that as normal because it was all I'd ever known.

''I know what disadvantaged young people go through. I understand it. I get it.

The compassionate Girls Aloud star set up The Cheryl Cole Foundation in 2011, a charity which works in conjunction with The Prince's Trust to help underprivileged kids in North East England.

Cheryl thinks she is a positive role model for teenagers because she fought the odds to make a success of her singing career, and now wants to encourage young people to stay in school and develop their passions.

The 29-year-old brunette beauty - who shot to fame on TV talent show 'Popstars: The Rivals' in 2002 - added: ''A lot of young people don't have focus and they don't know what they are going to do with their lives. If I hadn't had a dream, I could have gone off the rails and I could have had a very, very different life.

''I had a horrible time as a teenager and wasn't very confident. Between the ages of 16 and 18, I was also in a horrible relationship. If I hadn't had a love for music, I could have gone down a different path and become lost.''

© Bang Showbiz