3 Words "3 Words" for the first time with will.i.am during her one-off special for ITV, "Cheryl Cole's Night In". A reporter of "The Daily Mail" said Cole "[performed in] a glamorous flowing Kate Bush-esque black gown a duet of her latest single '3 Words'." In January 2010, Cole flew to Germany to perform "3 Words" at the German award ceremony DLD Starnight, which took place at the Haus der Kunst in Munich. She also performed the song as part of a four-song set at BBC Radio 1's "Big Weekend" as well as performing at the De Grisogono jewellery dinner party at
3 Words Words" before the title track was recorded. She had considered titles like "Three Syllables", although the strongest contender was "Unveiled" as Cole "felt like she didn't have any protection without the girls [Girls Aloud]" and because it correlated with the veil on the album cover. The album's cover was photographed by fashion photographer Nick Knight. It shows the singer bare-shouldered, looking over her shoulder in an veiled and be-flowered headpiece, the album's title tattooed on her skin. Knight said, "although she is photographed all the time by the paparazzi, she is not in front of the camera for a shoot