"Cry Me Out" is a song by English singer

Pixie Lott Victoria Louise Lott (born 12 January 1991), better known by her stage name Pixie Lott, is an English singer and songwriter. Her debut album, '' Turn It Up'', released in September 2009, reached number six on the UK Albums Chart and sold ove ...

from her debut studio album, '' Turn It Up'' (2009). Written by Lott, Mads Hauge,

Phil Thornalley Philip Thornalley (born 5 January 1960) is an English songwriter-producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He is perhaps best known for co-writing (with Scott Cutler and Anne Preven) the song " Torn" (made famous by Natalie Im ...

and

Colin Campsie Colin Campsie (born 1957) is a British singer and songwriter. He was a member of the 1980s pop bands the Quick and Giant Steps. Biography Campsie originally formed the soft rock/funk group Grand Hotel along with long time collaborator Ge ...

, and produced by Hauge and Thornalley, the song was released on 22 November 2009 as the album's third single. "Cry Me Out" peaked at number 12 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Background

Lott explained the song to

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: "I always prefer to write songs about emotional situations and heartbreak ..because I like getting into the character. When we were writing 'Cry Me Out', I said, 'I feel like singing about something sad but, obviously, still being strong'. So the guy has to cry to get over ''me'', instead of the other way around." She also told

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that the song's opening lyric "I got your e-mails, you just don't get females" was her favourite line on the ''Turn It Up'' album. Lott explained that she chose to release "Cry Me Out" as a single because she "wanted to do something really classy and mature for the next single, where I could get a bit more emotional."

Critical reception

"Cry Me Out" received positive reviews from music critics.

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's Paul Lester called the song "a superb ballad, as affecting as it is accomplished" and described its opening line as "witty and wise, a master class in how to put contemporary language to the service of a sublime melody."

reviewer David Balls viewed the song as "a sultry, soulful affair that warms the cockles like a cup of cocoa on a cold winter's night", adding that "Lott's vocals have a rich and smoky tone beyond her years." Jack Foley of IndieLondon wrote that the song "taps into the clever songwriting tendencies her PR insists she has with some cheeky lyrics and a keen sense of beat and melody." The LINC Online referred to the track as "a decidedly retro-sounding gem of tune heading more in the direction of the epic ballad than her previous singles may suggest", whilst '' Daily Star''s Sarah-Louise James dubbed it a "retro-tinged stomper".

Commercial performance

Following the release of ''Turn It Up'', "Cry Me Out" debuted on the

at number 117 for the week of 20 September 2009. The song peaked at number 12 on 6 December 2009, becoming Lott's first single not to reach number one and to miss the top 10 completely. On 26 February 2021, it was certified gold by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI). The single also debuted and peaked at number 31 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

on 10 December 2009. "Cry Me Out" peaked at number four on the

Danish Singles Chart Hitlisten, also known as Tracklisten, is a Danish top 40 record chart that is updated every Thursday midnight on the website hitlisten.nu. The weekly Danish singles chart Track Top-40 combines the 40 best-selling tracks from legal music downloads ...

on 14 January 2011, after being performed during the auditions of the fourth season of the Danish version of ''X Factor''.

Music video

The

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

music video for "Cry Me Out" was directed by

Jake Nava Jake Nava is a British director, mostly known for his work in music videos for Beyoncé, Arctic Monkeys, Adele, Britney Spears and The Rolling Stones. He also directs TV commercials, notably for Guinness and Levi Strauss & Co. Early life and ed ...

and filmed in Cuba. It premiered on 30 October 2009. The video opens with a close-up of a man crying, as Lott walks down a staircase in a classic-styled home wearing a black dress before sitting down at a mirror. She proceeds to dance ballet in a

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

-like dress in an empty room, intercut with scenes of her lying down on a lengthy dining table surrounded by men. Lott is seen walking through a hallway in the house as several other ballerinas dance around her. During the final chorus, Lott is sitting by a swimming pool where six dancers perform a

synchronised swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...

routine. The video ends with the same crying man as in the beginning, before returning to the shot of Lott at the mirror before she walks away.

Track listing

*;Digital EP – remix bundle #"Cry Me Out" – 4:04 #"Cry Me Out" (Bimbo Jones Remix Edit) – 3:28 #"Cry Me Out" (Bimbo Jones Remix) – 6:28 #"Cry Me Out" (Desert Eagle Discs Remix) – 6:00

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of '' Turn It Up''. *

– lead vocals, backing vocals, songwriting * Ian Burdge – cello *

– songwriting * Tom Coyne – mastering * Calina de la Mare – violin * Clare Finnimore – viola * Richard George – violin * Jon Green – guitar, piano * Mads Hauge – backing vocals, bass, guitar,

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editing, production, recording engineering, songwriter * Sally Herbert – string arrangements, string conducting * Rick Koster – violin * Graham Linehy – string recording * Everton Nelson – violin * Jackie Norrie – violin * Claire Orsler – viola * Carlos Oyanedel – additional mix engineering * Chris Sansom – additional engineering * Emlyn Singleton – violin * Julia Singleton – violin *

Phil Tan Phil Tan is a Malaysian-American music and audio engineer. Early life and education Tan was born in Malaysia. He attended Full Sail University in Florida in the U.S., where he attained a degree in Recording Arts in 1990. Afterwards he moved to Atla ...

– mixing * David Tench –

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

–

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

, production, songwriting * Bruce White – viola * Chris Worsey – cello

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2000s ballads 2009 singles 2009 songs Black-and-white music videos Mercury Records singles Music videos directed by Jake Nava Pixie Lott songs Pop ballads Songs written by Colin Campsie Songs written by Mads Hauge Songs written by Phil Thornalley Songs written by Pixie Lott Song recordings produced by Phil Thornalley Soul ballads