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 (song) anything I've done [with Girls Aloud] or liked before". Some industry critics also noted that "3 Words" was "unlike many things currently [at that time] on radio or being released". Cheryl said that the song was inspired by her newly acquired love for dance music on the charts, especially David Guetta & Kelly Rowland's "When Love Takes Over". Cheryl described it as her favourite song on the album and music critics generally agreed. Tom Ewing of "The Guardian" called the song Cheryl's "showcase [...] built on dark loops of treated acoustic guitar and building into a claustrophobic dance track. It's