I love Only Human but I don't think it screams "make me the single that launches the album". I think her team actually made a good decision to expose it as an instant grat instead.

apparently this charted at #70 today? & would have been 45 without airplay. according to someone on popjustice anyways.

Would've been 45 without streaming. ;)

 

Which proves it ruins the chart. :)

#45 to #70! :o Yeah, I am not warming to streaming. Still I'm glad it charted. :D

#40 on the Scottish Singles Chart - once again proving that it's superior to the Official chart (as well as Nicki reaching #2 and Ella reaching #3 this week).

From Popjustice:

 

Nine key points about the song Nicola Roberts wrote for Cheryl’s album

 

1. The tune in question is called ‘It’s About Time’.

 

2. Robbo wrote it with The Invisible Men and James Draper, who then also went on to produce it. The last time Cheryl, Nicola and The Invisible Men worked in a similar way a rather good tune called ‘On The Metro’ was magiced into life, so this is a popmaking outfit with form.

 

3. The music is breezy and carefree with housey pianos and a very distinct whiff of Bobby Brown’s ‘Two Can Play That Game’.

 

4. Lyrically, on the other hand… Well, the breeziness is not constant. This is an oscillating fan of a pop song. ‘It’s About Time’ is a song that says, “look, do you know what, everything’s been a bit shit of late on the romance front but I’ve given it some thought and I’ve decided that I’ll give this old ‘love’ business another go and see what happens.”

 

5. However, given the involvement of eminent tunesmith Nicola Roberts on songword duties, it says all that with a considerably higher level of lyrical aplomb. The song opens with Cheryl explaining that she’s been “asking myself if living without a feeling is really living; is having everything any good if everything’s all you have?” By this she means that she has a nice house, several enviable frocks and a box in the garage containing more fake eyelashes than she could ever want, but that’s all just rubbish without a nice bit of love. Then things get a bit dark. “I locked myself away,” Cheryl explains. “I became untouchable, got colder by the day.” But then there’s light! Cheryl realises that there’s “nothing in my way – just the person in the mirror”, before exclaiming “take me to the flame, it’s now or never!” An emotional rollercoaster we’re sure you’ll agree, and it’s not even at the first chorus yet. For that chorus Cheryl decides that it’s about time (hence the name of the song) she starts loving again. “I won’t give in til my heart beats again,” she sings. “Will somebody show me what I’ve been missing?”

 

6. Given that Nicola – unlike a lot of the people who’ll tend to fling songs in Cheryl’s direction – is Actual Friends with the person she’s writing for, you would do well to surmise that the emotional states outlined above are an unusually accurate account of what it’s like to have been Cheryl during dark times. And you’d also guess that it’s a realistic portrayal of how and why Cheryl eventually chose to propel herself out of GLOOM AND DESPAIR. “For all that time I was so scared of flying so I stuck to the running,” Cheryl sings in the second verse. “But I’m not running any more – I’m dancing my nights away.”

 

7. Despite only featuring 40% of Girls Aloud this is well over 40% as good as a Girls Aloud song, which must be a good thing.

 

8. In the middle eight Cheryl sings of “each bottled up emotion, each tear I never cried – I need a big explosion, it’s time for me to fly”. Nicola often has a rather beautiful way of looking at life and “I need a big explosion” is indeed a beautiful description of the way we must all, at one point, have looked at The World Of Romance. After all, who shouldn’t be allowed a big explosion every now and again? Terrorists, obviously, but apart from that? Exactly.

 

9. Good work ladies.

OK, I'm extremely excited about that!

Sounds like it could easily be one of her best, judging by that description! :D Really anticipating this album.

PLEASE give me another 'On The Metro' Cheryl and I will officially forgive you for some of the awful shit you have put out over the years.

Another video from the Only Human sessions :

 

 

:cheer:

I find the whole scenario of Cheryl having an acoustic jamming session with an array of musicians and soul singers and it being presented in v authentic black+white quite amusing but actually, that arrangement of 'Crazy Stupid Love' worked pretty nicely, well, until she attempted some 'belts' at the end :o.

 

I hope they did the title track and it's released soon :w00t:

This is definetly her best song along with Call My Name.

^ Okay that was painful listening as expected but the song remains an 11/10 and the best thing she's ever put any of her names to :heart:

I thought that was the best one so far, better than the TLC cover/Crazy Stupid Love. She conveyed the emotion of this song and I didn't think she strayed that far from how she sounds on the actual record, bar sounding a bit shaky in places. I think considering the fact her voice is only ok she did well with that!

If conveying the emotion of the song means closing her eyes throughout and demonstrating through her incompetence that she's only human, then yes she did that very effectively! :kink:

 

(For the record, I think her 'Crazy Stupid Love' performance was her best.)

I thought she conveyed it through her voice!! :lol: I did pick up on the fact that she closed her eyes for all of that though, that's a bad habit that a lot of people seem to have. Honestly though she's done far worse performances than that one (probably a backhanded compliment to defend the Only Human vocal by saying she can be a lot worse). :kink: But yeah, having heard pretty much every live performance she's done, I'd have said this latest one is her on a good day.

Fair enough! I should have mentioned also that I admire her for trying with these acoustic performances - she didn't have to do them and it can't have been easy for her (even though by rights it should be as a professional singer but whatever)!

Eek, she's clearly struggling there but it is slightly better than the TLC cover indeed. Still have so much love for the song and think it could have worked nicely as a wintery single.

I don't really like that cover :( Song's brilliant though :heart: Just pre-ordered the album (standard not the weird strike through the face deluxe one)