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. Following this, it was announced that Cole's band Girls Aloud would take a break from releasing material, having enjoyed five successful albums and twenty consecutive top-ten singles. In April 2009, Cole started working on solo material in Los Angeles and London, mainly collaborating with will.i.am, who served as executive producer of the album.
The album was released to commercial and critical success. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 125,271 copies in its first week. The album also made appearances on the Irish, Australian and Swiss charts. In the UK the album was certified three times Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry and has since sold 1,000,000 copies in the country alone.
Upon its release, 3 Words received positive reviews from music critics, who commended its production, lyrics and themes. The album spawned three singles—"Fight for This Love", the title song and "Parachute"—with the lead single becoming the fastest-selling single of 2009 in the UK and peaking at number one in Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Hungary and the UK. 3 Words is Cole's most successful album to date.
Background
Cole's first foray into a solo music career occurred in 2007 when she featured on will.i.am's "Heartbreaker". After having street dancing lessons during the filming of the ITV2 series Passions of Girls Aloud, Cole was picked to appear in the song's video. She was later asked to sing the female vocals on the UK release of the track. Cole's version is featured on her album as it was not featured on will.i.am's album Songs About Girls.
Recording
It was confirmed on 27 April 2009 via MTV UK that Cole would be working on solo material. Cole reunited with will.i.am, and also worked with Syience, Taio Cruz, and Wayne Wilkins. Cruz was asked to write two songs for Cole, the first of which, "Break Your Heart", was written specially for Cole but Polydor label boss Ferdy Unger-Hamilton felt the song was too similar to "Heartbreaker", the track Cole did with will.i.am. Cruz reclaimed the song and released it as the lead single from his second album, Rokstarr. The song went on to reach number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and on the US Billboard Hot 100. The other song, "Stand Up", did make the album. The album begins with its title track, a duet with will.i.am and Cole's favourite song on the album. She said the song was "totally different from anything I've done [with Girls Aloud] or liked before" and took its inspiration from Cole's newly acquired love for dance music on the charts, especially David Guetta and Kelly Rowland's "When Love Takes Over". "Parachute", written by singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and Marshall Altman with production from Syience, was described by Cole as "left-of-field" and "unique". She cited "you are your own worst enemy, you'll never win the fight" as her favourite lyric from the album. Cole also noted that it was a contender for the album's lead single. "Heaven", another will.i.am production, was the first song to be co-written and recorded by Cole for 3 Words and for that reason holds "a special meaning" to her. It contains a sample of "Is You" by D.I.M., written by Andreas Meid.
Cole revealed that the lead single, "Fight for This Love", came to her in demo form with a male vocalist. Cole said she "knew instantly it was a single", having "connected with the song so well". "Rain on Me", co-written by prolific American songwriters Sam Watters and Louis Biancaniello, was one of the last songs to be recorded for 3 Words. Cole recorded the song in Los Angeles and said the process was "emotional" as the album's recording was coming to an end. "Make Me Cry" was the first song that Cole recorded with will.i.am in Los Angeles. Cole wrote verses around will.i.am's hook, which was inspired by his girlfriend. Cole said that she listened to the demo of "Happy Hour", initially titled "Sweet and Sour", on repeat because she enjoyed the song so much. She further noted that the song, produced by Soulshock & Karlin, had a "60s sound" and was "one of those tracks that you either really love or you don't get it." It interpolates elements of Renaldo Domino's "Nevermore", written by Richard Pegue.