"Parachute" is a song by English singer

Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. She rose to fame as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: The R ...

from her debut studio album, ''

3 Words ''3 Words'' is the debut studio album by English singer Cheryl Cole released on 23 October 2009 by Fascination Records. Cole's first solo performance was on American rapper will.i.am's " Heartbreaker" (2008), on which she sang additional vocals ...

'' (2009). It was written by

Marshall Altman Marshall Noah Altman is a Nashville-based A&R for Nettwerk Music Group, and a record producer and songwriter who owns the Galt Line studio in Nashville, Tennessee. He was formerly an A&R person for such labels as Capitol Records, Hollywood Recor ...

and

Ingrid Michaelson Ingrid Ellen Michaelson (born December 8, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "The Way I Am (Ingrid Michaelson song), The Way I Am" and her 2014 single "Girls Chase Boys", both of which achieved success ...

music production A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

by American producer Syience. "Parachute" was released on 11 March 2010 as the album's third and final single and became Cole's third consecutive solo UK top 5 hit, and her third Irish top 10 hit. It was nominated for a Brit Award in 2011.

Composition

"Parachute" is written by

and

and combines R&B rhythms with pop melodies. It also makes use of military percussion, strings and a big pop music-

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with quirky melodic verses that were compared to " 3" by

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

. The melody was said to resemble "beats from the

Argentine Tango Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a Time signature, or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in pat ...

" whilst Cole makes use of auto-tuning for her vocals. It was initially put forward as one of the options for the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

of the album but "

Fight for This Love "Fight for This Love" is the debut solo single by English singer Cheryl Cole, recorded for her debut studio album, '' 3 Words'' (2009). It was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland as the lead single on 2009 by Fascination Records (Polydor ...

" was chosen instead. Lyrically the song was criticised for being "mundane" but also well written enough to "get horribly stuck in everyone's heads". The song has an overall "tender and mourningful" theme. Critics noted that "Parachute" was one of several songs on the album where there "lurks a deeper undertow of

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

". Cole also said that the song contains her favourite lyric from the album; "you are your own worst enemy, you'll never win the fight". Other lyrics such as "I don't need a parachute, baby if I got you" led to the song being labelled "sultry" as the subject of the lyrics appeared to be Cole's spouse

Ashley Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsċ'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

though at the time the couple had announced their separation. The timing of the single release was described as "bittersweet" due to the "talk about being safe in the love of another person" in the lyrics.

Reception

Critical response

The song received positive reviews from music critics.

BBC Music BBC Music is the arm of the BBC responsible for the music played across its services. The current director of music is Lorna Clarke. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio operational division; however, its remit also includes music used i ...

's Mike Diver said, in the album's review, that the "Parachute" is "memorable" due to its use of " military percussion" and Nick Levine of

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claimed that the track contains a "cute combination" of " strings and sweet nothings". Tom Ewing of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' said that the song was "an austere take on modern pop that gives Cole's voice the space it needs" and Louise McCudden of in the News said that, despite having "possibly the most lyrically mundane chorus

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ever heard", "Parachute" is a "well-calculated song" that gets stuck in the listener's head.

MusicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...

writer Sam Shepherd voiced his belief that the song includes's Cole's best vocal from the album and he praised the "deftly orchestrated production" and Andy Gill of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' said that there is an "undertow of paranoia" in the piece. Later Fraser McAlpine, during his chart blog review of the song, awarded "Parachute" five out of five stars, saying "Cheryl's pleading voice strikes home. Hard. .It's nothing to do with anything which is happening in her personal life, I don't need the back-story to get carried away, it's simply that she sings these tender, mournful lyrics as if she means every word."

4 Music 4Music was a British music television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. Launched on 15 August 2008, the original incarnation, replacing The Hits television channel, showed a mix of music and entertainment pro ...

described the track as an "instant stand-out" from the album and claimed that Cole's "well-executed vocal performance", together with the mix of "military-style percussion with delicate strings", meant the track would be "another huge hit". It was named as ''Single of the Week'' by

Ram FM Ram FM was an Independent Local Radio station, which broadcast to central and southern parts of Derbyshire on 102.8 FM. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Trent FM and Leicester Sound to form Capital FM East Midlands (p ...

, described as "sultry pop at its finest".

Commercial performance

Following the initial broadcast of ''Cheryl Cole's Night In'', the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 65 because of digital downloads, on the issue dated 26 December 2009. The song re-entered the chart at 88 on 9 January 2010. On 14 February 2010, The single made its top-40 debut by appearing at number 26. By the end of March 2010 the song reached its highest peak of five giving Cole her third consecutive top-five UK hit and third consecutive top-10 hit in Ireland. In Ireland it had a similar chart trajectory although it did manage to peak at number four, one position higher than in the UK.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Parachute" was filmed in early January 2010 at

Eltham Palace Eltham Palace is a large house at Eltham ( ) in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The house consists of the medieval great hall of a former royal residence, to which an Art Deco extension was added in the 193 ...

in London and made its debut on T4 at 12.20 GMT on 31 January 2010. The concept of the video is very much the same of that of the performance on ''Cheryl Cole's Night In''; Cole performs a Latin dance routine with 3-time

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

award-winning choreographer, professional dancer and 6-time

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

champion,

Derek Hough Derek Bruce Hough (; born May 17, 1985) is an American professional Latin dance, Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor and singer. From 2007 to 2016, Hough was a professional dancer on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC dance compe ...

, who also choreographed the routine, and a group of other dancers. The video was directed by AlexandLiane and produced by Factory Films.

was complimentary about Cole's choice of attire in the video. Promo News also gave the video a good review and called it "a top-notch pop vid". The video caused some controversy after it was claimed that Cole was using imagery associated with the

Hindu goddess Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. Deities in Hinduism are as diverse as its traditions, and a Hindu can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, even agnostic, atheistic, or humanist. Julius J. Lip ...

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

Live performances

Cole debuted "Parachute" on the television special '' Cheryl Cole's Night In'', which was broadcast on 12 December 2009 on

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...

. During the performance, Cole wore "a hot pink tiered skirt and asymmetrical sequinned body" and she performed a

Latin dance Latin dance is a general label, and a term in partner dance competition jargon. It refers to types of ballroom dance and folk dance that mainly originated in Latin America, though a few styles originated elsewhere. The category of Latin dance ...

with

, an Emmy award-winning choreographer, professional dancer and 6-time champion of ''

''. Rick Fulton of the '' Daily Record'' was complimentary of the performance as he compared the dance routine that accompanied "Parachute" to a routine from the programme ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

''. Cole was due to perform the track on ''

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme featured Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show ...

'' on Friday 12 March 2010 and on the

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cott ...

however pulled out after contracting

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

. "Parachute" was performed live on

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on 19 March 2010. On 23 March 2010, Cole rescheduled her performance of the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, where she performed "Parachute", as well as a cover of

Owl City Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young (American musician), Adam Young, who created the project while exp ...

's "

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Track listing

*;Buzz Junkies Dub Single #"Parachute" (Buzz Junkies Dub Remix) – 5:38 *;Buzz Junkies Radio Single #"Parachute" (Buzz Junkies Radio Remix) – 3:52 *;Euphonix Single #"Parachute" (Euphonix Instrumental Mix) – 3:12 *;Ill Blue Dub Single #"Parachute" (Ill Blu Dub Remix) – 4:50 *;Ill Blue Radio Single #"Parachute" (Ill Blu Radio Remix) – 4:06 *;CD single #"Parachute" (Radio Mix) – 3:31 #"Just Let Me Go" – 3:07 *;Digital EP #"Parachute" – 3:39 #"Parachute" (Buzz Junkies Club Mix) – 5:44 #"Parachute" (Ill Blu Remix) – 4:50 #"Parachute" (The Euphonix Remix) – 3:10 #"Parachute" (Self-Taught Beats Remix) – 3:41 K iTunes Only

Credits and personnel

"Parachute" was recorded at

Metropolis Studios Metropolis Studios is a music production and entertainment industry company established in 1989 by Gary Langan, Carey Taylor, Karin Clayton and Alexander Skeaping. Donald Brackett It is located in the Power House, a Grade II listed building, ...

; London, UK and mixes at The Warehouse Studios;

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia, US. *Songwriters: ** "Parachute" –

** "Just Let Me Go" –

Claude Kelly Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American record producer, songwriter, and singer. A four-time Grammy Award nominee, and h ...

, Reggie "Syience" Perry *producer – Reggie " Syience" Perry *recording – Neil Tucker * mixing – Kevin 'KD' Davis

Charts and certifications

Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parachute (Song) 2010 singles Cheryl (singer) songs Songs written by Ingrid Michaelson Songs written by Marshall Altman 2009 songs Fascination Records singles Number-one singles in Romania