Sticks and Stones (Nicola Roberts song)

"Sticks and Stones"
Song

"Sticks + Stones" is a song by British singer Nicola Roberts. The track was released on September 23, 2011 as part of her debut album Cinderella's Eyes. It was written by Roberts, Dimitri Tikovoi and Maya von Doll with inspiration deriving from her negative experiences as one fifth of the girl-band Girls Aloud. She auditioned for the band in the form of a reality television series and soon after found herself subject to bullying due to her appearance. Despite growing up with no incidents of this nature, remarks from internet sites, the media, and celebrities such as Lily Allen and Chris Moyles left her on the verge of a mental breakdown. Years later she found a way to cope with the negative remarks and changed her image and fashion and started to develop her debut album, and used the experience to write "Sticks + Stones".

The track features lyrics detailing her troubles, including that of her underage alcohol consumption and is a pop-ballad track. Critically the song was well received amongst critics, most noting the success and honesty of the lyrics. In addition to critical success bullying organizations applauded the song and it also became an introspective look into her troubles for her friends and family who she kept distance at the times which inspired the song. A lyric video was released showing images of Roberts, and shortly after this she appeared on the British morning show BBC Breakfast to discuss the track, something she found hard to do as in addition to being "nervous" she struggled to listen to the track in the company of others.

Writing and inspiration

The track was inspired by Roberts troubling times spent with girl-band Girls Aloud shown performing on their 2009 Out of Control Tour.

After winning a reality series competition to be one fifth of the band Girls Aloud Roberts soon found herself subject to bullying. After years of taunting and being branded "the ugly one" of the group the then softly-spoken Roberts "would cry herself to sleep" finding herself to be a victim of "faceless" bullying including celebrities such as DJ Chris Moyles and singer Lily Allen. It soon began to have an effect on her mental stability after suffering from an "identity crisis", the taunts brought her close to a breakdown, with Roberts stating she was "miserable and confused" and soon after found comfort in drinking alcohol. Her red hair, was something that originally she "absolutely loved" and failed to have an issue with, stating that even whilst growing up she was never bullied for her red hair, explaining "It was always just my thing", she found that until she joined the band her appearance had never been an issue, and after her fame with the group she recalled feeling "Gosh, the general perception of me is really not great at all."

"People feel they can say nasty things and have anonymity behind the net – as they did with all the nasty comments about me – without fear of recrimination", Roberts said, and five years after the bullying she found herself in a "better place", with critics commenting on her image positively with writers such as Clemmie Moodie from British newspaper Daily Mirror saying "the 25-year-old radiates confidence and, with a string of fashion successes has blossomed." Roberts then wrote the track in response to these times, finding herself cautioned by the serious subject matter, she wanted to write a track that was not self-indulgent feauturing a "universal" chorus" and lyrics such as "I was too young for so many things. Yet you thought I’d cope with being told I’m ugly.".

Recording and composition

"I wanted a song that could highlight the subject so it was like, actually I’m so not on my own here. And it wasn’t until I put it on YouTube and people left comments underneath that I realised what it meant to people, and it’s just unbelievable. It’s amazing that people who maybe wouldn’t say anything to a friend would post a paragraph on YouTube about the way they feel. I think it’s just so powerful."

Roberts discussing the concept and reaction to the track.

When it came to the production of the track Roberts described herself as a "nightmare". Roberts stated ownership was something she wanted "every single little last bit" of in an effort to maintain her credits on the track, as well as being something she is "proud of". She noted that her "diva"-like ways left her late for recording sessions, being Fashion conscious she said "I'd rather be late than feel shit". She further described herself as a "perfectionist", whilst talking to British newspaper The Sun she described herself as somebody who knows what she likes, and someone who "always knows" when something has been changed in a way she doesn't like. She found herself becoming increasingly frustrated in the production, explaining "when the producer's like, 'It's not changed, I haven't done that,' I'm like, 'I know you have because I don't feel the same as I did when I first heard it so we either sit here and argue this one out all day or you just admit that you've changed it and you can change it back."

"Sticks + Stones" describes a time when she would beg her driver to buy her vodka despite being underage, in relation to the subject matter Roberts explained "How funny that I was too young for so many things, yet you thought I'd cope with being told I'm ugly, Over and over". Roberts explained the concept of the track, noting "What it is with Sticks + Stones is I wanted all the people out there who hurt like that to know that they’re not the only ones in that position. Sometimes there’s so many people in the world suffering from the same thing or hurting from the same thing, but they feel like they’re on their own. I wanted a song that could highlight the subject so it was like, actually I’m so not on my own here." Lyricism on the track, of which some was based around rap, hears Roberts performing about personal events, she said:

The lyrics are quite personal. I like rap music, and rappers use real-life language and don’t hold back in what they talk about. My lyrics aren’t generic pop lyrics just there because they rhyme. I’ve tried to write things as I’d say them, so it sounds more like me. There’s a song called Sticks And Stones, which is about when I was 17 and I thought I’d won the jackpot when I got in the band [Girls Aloud], and then things not turning out as I might have expected. The middle eight on that song is very honest and truthful.

Responses

"I was crying when I was reading the comments. It didn’t help that the song was playing at the same time I was reading, so it was like double whammy. It makes me feel a little bit emotional as it is. But it really struck a chord. It’s so personal to me that I didn’t realise it could be the same for someone else and the comments made me realise that and it’s just amazing. People really resonate with it and that’s the whole reason why I write music. I want people to relate to it. That’s what I want when I listen to a record. I want a song to make me go: ‘that’s how I feel right now’. I feel like I’ve managed to do that with Sticks + Stones, and I feel proud that I have that. It’s a song that has a purpose rather than just a generic concept."

Roberts discussing her reaction to the positive reception the track received..

The lyrics in the track have been "applauded" by anti-bullying organization and have said to have "won her a legion of new fans". Emily Mackay of NME gave a positive review saying "it’s hard to imagine what it must be like for a teenager to submit to that kind of sniping scrutiny" calling the track "beautiful" and concluding her review saying the "ballad goes some way of explaining it without over-egging the point." Krystina Nellis of Drowned in Sound called the track "cuttingly personal". James Lachno of The Telegraph positively responded to the lyrics, saying "but it’s Roberts’s autobiographical lyrics - notably tackling body image - that consistently startle, recalling the aching sincerity of diminutive Swede Robyn." Matthew Horton of Virgin Media positively commented on the lyricism of both tracks; "Take a Bite" and "Sticks + Stones" from the album, Horton described "Sticks + Stones" as a "gorgeous ballad" and concluded his response saying "This quiet one has found a platform and she’s not going to step down without a fight." Roberts stated she struggles to listen to the track in the company of others, and said that her father became so emotional that he cried upon the first time he was presented with the track, with her mother also becoming deeply affected. Roberts discussed the effect on her family and friends referencing her mothers reaction noting;

It’s been a bit of an eye-opener to my family and friends. We all just pretended it wasn’t happening, the whole situation made me feel embarrassed – the horrible comments. We never talked about it. But the song really struck her because I never spoke about it so how would they know? She sort of saw what I went through, the brave face I put on. In terms of the rest of the band, none of us spoke about the bullying; we pretended it wasn’t happening. They could see I was embarrassed by it and didn’t want to bring it up and make it worse, or make one of the girls uncomfortable and embarrassed.

Promotion and advocacy

Roberts in the lyric video for "Sticks + Stones", around one minute of the video was presented during an interview on BBC Breakfast which was troubling for Roberts who found it difficult to listen to the track in the company of others.

A lyric video was posted on Roberts official Twitter acount, the video presented Roberts in addition to moving lyrics of the track. Roberts performed an acoustic version of the track, which was later uploaded to her official Youtube channel. Roberts appeared on the British television show BBC Breakfast to discuss the track and bullying in general, during the interview the show played around one minute of the song which Roberts witnessed live all the while viewing the presenters reaction, something which made her "nervous". Roberts wrote about the experience as a guest blogger on the website Holy Moly, saying "I don’t like listening to that song when other people are around, because I know it makes them feel uncomfortable", and after noting the presenter was more interested than expected she found it increasingly difficult. In addition to advocating the bullying issue on the BBC morning show she gave an interview to BBC News where they once again discussed the track and the lyrical themes within, where Roberts named social networking site Twitter as being a tool of which highlights the severity of the bullying issue of which she described as being "out of control" in the schooling environment. In an effort to eradicate bullying Roberts started communication with the education secretary Michael Gove to raise the issue, whilst talking to BBC News she explained her own personal bullying trauma even after finding fame and explained that the issue is explored in the lyricism of her track "Sticks + Stones".