Promise This

"Promise This"
Single by Cheryl Cole
from the album Messy Little Raindrops
Released	24 October 2010 (2010-10-24)
Format	CD single digital download
Recorded	2010; Sub Zero Studios, Santa Monica, California
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	3:23
Label	Fascination
Writer(s)	Priscilla Hamilton Wayne Wilkins Christopher Jackson
Producer(s)	Wayne Wilkins
Cheryl Cole singles chronology
"Parachute" (2010) "Promise This" (2010) "The Flood" (2011)
Alternative artwork Christmas bundle EP

"Promise This" is a song by English recording artist Cheryl Cole, taken from her second studio album Messy Little Raindrops. It was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland as the album's lead single on 24 October 2010 by Fascination Records. The up-tempo dance-pop song was written by American songwriter Priscilla Renea Hamilton, British music producer Wayne Wilkins, and Christopher Jackson and produced by Wilkins. The lyrics to "Promise This" reference Cole's personal life and relationships, as well as incorporating the French language. The single's release came in the aftermath of a public divorce from footballer Ashley Cole, as well as a life-threatening battle with malaria.

The song received generally favourable reviews from music critics. "Promise This" became Cole's second solo number-one single in the United Kingdom and Ireland. As of June 2012, "Promise This" has sold 427,262 copies in the United Kingdom. "Promise This" is accompanied by a Sophie Muller-directed music video featuring Cole dancing as a ballerina. It also features scenes including Cole dressed as a flamenco dancer and a black leotard outfit. She performed the single live on the seventh series of The X Factor on 24 October 2010.

"Promise This" is an up-tempo dance-pop song written by American songwriter Priscilla Hamilton, British music producer Wayne Wilkins, who was responsible for Cole's debut single "Fight for This Love", and Christopher Jackson. It is written in the music key of C minor with a time signature in common time and a tempo of 151 beats per minute. Cole's vocal range spans from G₃ to E♭₅. The basic chord progression of the song is Cm, Cm⁷, Cm⁶, Cm, E♭, B♭, F, Cm, E♭, B♭ and F. The song sees Cole singing some of the lyrics in French, referencing the children's song "Alouette". It was recorded in Santa Monica, California, and "finds her contemplating mortality with a cheerful morbidity, asking for prayers over a brutal march beat." Tabloids suggested that the lyrics were based upon her divorce from footballer Ashley Cole, and how her dancer friend Derek Hough nursed her to health while she was suffering from malaria. The Daily Star had also noted Cole's apparent affection in the song by her use of the French word alouette, meaning "skylark".