Cher Lloyd Wiki
Register
Advertisement

"Sticks and Stones"(stylized as Sticks + Stones (the U.K. and Japan Version) and Sticks & Stones (U.S. Version)) is the debut studio album by British singer/rapper Cher Lloyd was released on November 7th, 2011 through Sony Music. The project marks the first official release from Lloyd since finishing fourth on The X Factor a year prior. Lloyd worked with various producers and songwriters for her first full-length release, including RedOne, Toby Gad, Max Martin, The Runners, Kevin Rudolf, and Savan Kotecha, among others. Lloyd co-wrote five songs on the tracklisting. Lloyd herself called the album a "jukebox".

Background and development[]

After the finale of the seventh series of The X Factor, it was announced that Cher Lloyd had been signed by Sony Music. Songwriter Autumn Rowe and producer RedOne were soon rumored to be working on Lloyd's debut album. On July 22, 2011, Lloyd previewed five tracks from the album during a UStream session, including tracks featuring Busta Rhymes, Mike Posner, Ghetts, Mic Righteous, and Dot Rotten. In December, Cher made a remix of "Want U Back" with American rapper Astro. To promote Sticks and Stones, Lloyd will embark on her first concert tour, the Sticks And Stones Tour, beginning on March 25t,h 2012, visiting various venues across the UK.

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (47/100)
Review scores
Source Rating
The Sun (Positive)
BBC Music (Positive)
All Music (Mixed)
Digital Spy (Positive)
NME (Mixed)
Virgin Media (Positive)
Msn Music (Positive)
The Independent (Negative)
The Guardian (Mixed)
4 Music (Positive)

The critical reception for the album has been mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a Normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 47, based on 8 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

The Sun stated: "It's a real mixed bag of an album, with some solid pop songs on the tracklisting. Cher's sound works best when it's light and poppy on songs Grow Up, End Up Here and Superhero – which reminds you of early Lily Allen." All Music gave the album three out of five stars, they said: "When Lloyd stops trying so hard, she's actually a pretty compelling pop star. "Want U Back" and "End Up Here" are both infectious examples of cutesy pure pop that recall Britney Spears" adding "At times, Sticks + Stones sounds like such a calculated effort to copy everything that's hot in 2011 that it's likely to feel utterly irrelevant by the time the clock strikes 12 on New Year's Eve." BBC Music gave the album a positive review, they said: "Cher has a natural and charismatic vocal presence throughout" and ultimately called it "A sassy, splashy modern pop album that's much better than its dodgy lead single".Digital Spy awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, they said: "Want U Back", "With Ur Love", "Playa Boi" and "Grow Up" are all tracks worthy of downloading, and went on to praise "Dub on the Track" as "loaded with an attitude that few could pull off". Virgin Media gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, they said: "Sticks + Stones is a very pleasant shock. It's sparky and restless and sustains Lloyd's mini rapping firebrand/cute crooner aesthetic through a quickfire run of 10 top-notch songs."MSN Music gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, they said: "the first single 'Swagger Jagger' seems like a deliberate invitation to ridicule." "Current single 'With Ur Love', a plaintive slice of R&B-infused pop with a big fat shiny chorus, plays to her strengths far better. 'Beautiful People', a collaboration with Swedish pop-rockers Carolina Liar, similarly showcases her strong vocals, Cher Lloyd could yet emerge as a pop star with real longevity."

Commercial performance[]

The album debuted at number seven in Ireland. In the United Kingdom, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number four behind new releases of Susan Boyle, Florence And The Machine and Michael Buble. The album sold 55,668 copies in its opening week. As of June 2012, the album has sold 224,198 copies in the UK.

Tracklisting[]

Standard Edition[]

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Grow Up" (featuring Busta Rhymes) Cher Lloyd, Kevin Rudolf, Jacob Kasher, Savan Kotchea, Andrew Harr, Jermaine Jackson, Trevor Smith Kevin Rudolf, The Runners 3:00
2. "Want U Back" Savan Kotecha, Shellback Shellback 3:34
3. "With Ur Love" (featuring Mike Posner) Shellback, Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Mike Posner Shellback 3:45
4. "Swagger Jagger" Lloyd, Autunm Rowe, Jackson, Harr, Andre Davidson, Sean Davidson, The Strangerz. The Runners, The Monarch 3:12
5. "Beautiful People" (featuringCarolina Liar) Chad Wolfinbarger, Alexander Kronlund, Tom Hamilton Shellback, Max Martin 3:31
6. "Playa Boi" Nadir Kayat, AJ Junior, Johhny Powers, Neneh Chenny, Cameron Mccvay, James Philip Morgan, Philip Ramocon RedOne, 2:52
7. "Superhero" Michael Perry (US) Jukebox 3:28
8. "Over the Moon" Lloyd, Kotecha, RedOne, Junior, Hajji, Eric Sanicola RedOne, Eric Sanicola, Jimmy Joker 2:58
9. "Dub on the Track" (featuring Mic Righteous, Dot Rotten & Ghetts) Lloyd,Livvi Franc, Toby Gad Gad 3:53
10. "End up Here" Lloyd, Jackson, Christopher Line Jukebox 3:30
Total length:

33:41

UK Store bonus track[]

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
11. "Stay" Siobhan Fahey, Marcella Detroit, Jean Guiot Shakespears Sister, Chris Thomas 3:10
Total length:

36:51

UK iTunes Store bonus content[]

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
11. "Behind the Scenes Photo Shoot" 5:04
2. "With Ur Love"(featuring Mike Posner) (music video) 3:48
Total length:

43:31

North American version[]

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Want U Back" Kotecha, Shellback Shellback 3:34
2. "Grow Up" (feat. Busta Rhymes) Lloyd, Rudolf, Kasher, Kotecha, Harr, Jackson, Smith Rudolf, The Runners 3:00
3. "With Ur Love" Shellback, Martin, Kotecha Shellback 3:22
4. "Behind The Music" Jon Levine, Anjulie Persaud Levine, Mike Flynn 3:42
5. "Oath" (feat. Becky G) Rebbeca Gomez, Lukasz Gottwald, Ammar Malik, Daniel Omelio, Henry Walter, Emily Wright Dr Luke, Cirkut, Robopop, Chris O'Ryan 3:38
6. "Swagger Jagger" Lloyd, Rowe, Jackson, Harr, Monarch, Lomax, Coffee Jr. The Runners, The Monarch 3:12
7. "Beautiful People" (feat. Carolina Liar) Wolfinbarger, Kronlund, Hamilton Shellback, Martin 3:31
8. "Playa Boi" RedOne, Junior, Powers, Cherry, McVey, Morgan, Ramocon RedOne, Johnny Powers 2:52
9. "Superhero" Renea, Jackson, Martin, Gibson Jukebox 3:28
10. "End Up Here" Lloyd, Jackson Jukebox 3:30

North American LP release[]

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
9. "Dub on the Track" Lloyd, Franc, Gad Gad, TMS 3:16

North American iTunes bonus track[]

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
11. "Riot!" Levine, Ali Tamposi, Frankie Storm, Marissa Jack Levine 3:05

U.S. Website bonus track[]

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
11. "Want U Back" (feat. Snoop Dogg) Kotecha, Shellback, Calvin Broadus Jr. Shellback 3:44

Target bonus tracks[]

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
11. "Talkin' That" Lloyd, Harr, Lomax, Rowe, Jackson, Clarence Coffee Jr. The Runners, The Monarch 3:20
12. "Over The Moon" Lloyd, Kotecha, RedOne, Junior, Hajji, Sanicola RedOne, Sanicola, Joker 2:59

Japanese bonus tracks[]

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
13. "Swagger Jagger" (Dillon Francis Remix) Lloyd, Rowe, Jackson, Harr, Monarch, Lomax, Coffee Jr. The Runners, The Monarch, Francis 5:06
14. "Swagger Jagger" (Wideboys Radio Edit) Lloyd, Rowe, Jackson, Harr, Monarch, Lomax, Coffee Jr. The Runners, The Monarch, Wideboys 3:03
15. "Want U Back" (feat. Snoop Dogg) Kotecha, Shellback, Broadus Jr. Shellback 3:44
16 "Want U Back" (Acoustic) Kotecha, Shellback Shellback 3:28

Japanese iTunes store bonus track[]

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
17. "Riot!" Levine, Tamposi, Storm, Jack Levine 3:05

Charts[]

Chart (2011-2012) Peak
position
Irish Album Chart 7
New Zealand Album Chart 31
Scottish Album Chart 2
Uk Album's Chart 4
Twain Album's Chart 2

Release history[]

Region Date Format Label
Ireland 4 November 2011 Digital Download, CD Syco Music, Sony
United Kingdom 7 November 2011
New Zealand 20 February 2012
Taiwan 27 August 2012 Digital Download Sony Taiwan
United States 2 October 2012 Digital Download,CD Epic
Japan 23 October 2012 Sony Japan

Official song art[]

UK Singles[]

Advertisement