Nicola Roberts wants to collaborate with Kanye West.

The ‘Beat of my Drum’ hitmaker is a huge fan of the US rapper, who she has hailed as a “genius” and says he is top of her list for a duet.

She said: “Kanye West would be my dream collaboration. I’m just the biggest Kanye fan. I think he’s a genius.

“His production is absolutely amazing and he doesn’t care what he says – he just comes out and says it.

“I genuinely get excited about his music.”

Nicola recently released her first solo album ‘Cinderella’s Eyes’ and admitted she initially found it hard performing the tracks without her Girls Aloud bandmates.

She told Now magazine: “It wasn’t that enjoyable to be honest. I hadn’t been on stage for two years and I’d rock up to the recording studio every day for 18 months in my tracksuit.

“Suddenly I was on stage in Newcastle with 10,000 people looking at me. It was a culture shock. I felt very small on that stage.”