text: yo - yo ( nicola roberts song ) " yo - yo " is a song by british recording artist nicola roberts , released as the third and final single from roberts ' debut solo album cinderella 's eyes on 6 january 2012 . originally , " yo - yo " was set to be roberts ' debut single , but " beat of my drum " was selected in its place . " beat of my drum " and " lucky day " , roberts ' previous singles , garnered positive comments from critics , but failed to impact commercially . " yo - yo " was written by roberts , maya von doll and dimitri tikovoi while it was produced by latter , and was the first song to be composed by the group . roberts also claimed the track had defined her musical style . " yo - yo " is a 1950s - themed electropop and synthpop song in which roberts sings about an undecided lover . the song received positive reviews from critics , who compared roberts ' vocals to those of singer kate bush . commercially , it was a failure , charting at number 111 on the uk singles chart . a music video was released on 30 november 2011 ; the video sees roberts repeatedly changing outfit for a party in which she finds her love interest cheating on her , ending with an aggressive confrontation . it garnered positive critical responses although the low - budget drew criticism . roberts performed " yo - yo " at london 's g - a - y nightclub and on the alan titchmarsh show , among other occasions . background and writing nicola roberts , who began her musical career as one fifth of the band girls aloud , struggled with loneliness and increasing isolation during her time with the group . a busy schedule and constant media criticism found her describing the time as a " blur " . her exhaustion and troubles with negative media comments led to a state in which she had to harden herself , claiming that inside she was " dying " . these events inspired her debut album cinderella 's eyes . " yo - yo " was the first song she had written with maya von doll and dimitri tikovoi for the album . the recording was also one of the first songs roberts wrote , and it helped define her musical style . roberts blogged about the production of the track , writing that : the production ’ s incredible . the beat is just so constant and powerful . that was the first song that i wrote with dimitri and maya . i felt like i ’ d found my sound . and i was kind of looking at it like an outfit . so it was , ‘ if this was an outfit , what would this song need now ? ’ so we had the pretty dress , which was the chorus . we had the lovely shoes , which was the verse . ‘ but what do we need to really set this song off ? a big , fancy , bow in the hair would really set this song off . ’ so when i got to the middle eight i wanted to go really erratic , almost like on all the things she said . i wanted it to be proper fucked up and crazy – hands in the air . release roberts ' debut single , " beat of my drum " , garnered acclaim from critics , but failed to impact commercially , charting at 27 in the united kingdom . she released a follow - up single , " lucky day " , which likewise garnered positive responses , but was even less successful commercially , charting at number 40 on both the scottish and uk singles charts . writing as a guest blogger on the website holy moly in september 2011 , roberts announced that " yo - yo " would be released as the third single from cinderella 's eyes , initially citing a november release date ; the release was later delayed until january 2012 . roberts had originally intended for " yo - yo " to be the first single from the album , but " beat of my drum " was instead chosen at the " last minute " . roberts stated that " it felt right to go with " the latter song . " yo - yo " was released digitally on 2 january 2012 , with roberts announcing on her official website that the single would be released in cd format featuring a live performance of the song in addition to the demo version of her song " sticks + stones " seven days later . additionally , two eps were released on 6 january 2012 . composition and critical reception " yo - yo " features 808 drums with a " dramatic " 1950s - inspired pop " pastiche " . however , the 1950s concept " goes completely out of the window " for an " unhinged " bridge , which features a club mix which speeds up the drums featured in the song . the lyrics of the track discuss an uncertain relationship , leading to vulnerability , with roberts describing it as a " dark " song . the song references a yo - yo ; this is a metaphor for roberts herself , a spinning yo - yo " on the finger of a hot ' n ' cold lover " . described as " confessional " by robert copsey of digital spy , the song has a " conversational " performance , and roberts ' vocals were compared to that of singer kate bush . the song received positive reviews from music critics . emily mackay , writing for nme , described the chorus as a " winning " one , and noted that " the impulse - speed space synths are broken - heartedly beguiling " . in a separate review , lisa wright from nme found that while the song didn 't match the success of " beat of my drum " . wright said that the song is " not a cuss - ridden introduction to nicola ’ s re - emergence as an english syd tha kyd , but a questionable metaphor about being like a crap ’ 90s toy . " robert copsey of digital spy found cinderella 's eyes to be " frustratingly under - appreciated " with " yo - yo " being a " shining example of [ roberts ' ] pop sensibilities " calling it " unashamedly radio friendly " . music video synopsis the video begins with a man performing tricks with a yo - yo in a white room , accompanied by shots showing roberts in a " fashionable looking house " wearing a black silk dress . then rapid shots show her in various other outfits , including a purple velvet dress , all the time showing the man performing tricks with the yo - yo . as the chorus begins , roberts is shown in the kitchen of the house , along with several women dancing with her . another shot shows a man and a woman walking through a street embracing each other . this is later interspersed with shots of a fully clothed roberts standing in a shower getting increasingly wet . roberts is shown leaving the house and seeing the man with whom she had danced with another woman . she returns to the house , and the man and roberts are seen in the kitchen area with roberts throwing a series of objects at him . release and reception prior to the release of the video , roberts released still images to website 3am . these showed her in what was described as " some sort of untidy , yet fashionable looking house " , while one showed her with her legs above her head wearing " 's caramel kisses shoes " and a third and final seeing her " up next to a handsome chap " . the same day , roberts gave two more exclusive stills to website digital spy ; in one image , she was smelling roses , while , in the second , she was " playing with a pair of shoes " . the video was released on 30 november 2011 . after the official release , nadia mendoza of the daily mail stated the video was a departure from her previous two videos ( for " beat of my drum " and " lucky day " ) , saying that it " looks and sounds a lot more grown up as she teases viewers by stripping to her bra and frolicking in the shower . " mendoza found that roberts was " becoming quite the chameleon " and had " trampled all over her innocent charm to create a sex siren " , referencing her transformation throughout her videos . katherine st asaph , of pop dust , found that the video 's low budget had had a negative effect . she interpreted scenes with roberts repeated changes clothing positively , noting " [ i ] t works because of the lyrics – what , besides other people , can mess with your feelings more than trying on clothes ? " live performances roberts performed " yo - yo " at london 's g - a - y nightclub on 24 september 2011 . she pre - recorded a performance of " yo - yo " for uk television programme the alan titchmarsh show during the same taping as a performance of " lucky day " . the taping came after deciding " yo - yo " would be released as the third single from the album , with roberts saying , " i absolutely love performing yo - yo , it 's my favourite one to do [ ... ] so i feel really close to yo - yo . i feel like i lose myself when i 'm performing it " . after the release of the single , roberts performed on the album chart show during a special dedicated to her , performing three tracks : " yo - yo " , " beat of my drum " and " sticks + stones " . roberts also performed the song on british chat show loose women and on the digital music awards . charts " yo - yo " debuted at its peak of number 111 on the uk singles chart . formats and track - listings release history