Her experience with Girls Aloud's formation found her being labelled "ugly" by the media, and the constant negative attention and subsequent personal problems resulted in her struggling with her confidence.

The album artwork features Roberts next to a collection of vintage artefacts wearing a modern interpretation of the Cinderella glass slipper, co-produced by shoe designer Atalanta Weller.

Cinderella's Eyes was received well by music critics, who praised the production on the album, Roberts's voice, and her lyrics.

It was also well-received, and the music video, directed by Stephen Agnes, featured Roberts in the East Village of New York City performing in a floral dress.

"[2] On 6 May 2011 via her official website, Roberts confirmed that she had been developing a studio album ready for release, she said; I'm writing this and I feel so excited and nervous all at the same time.

Everytime I think about what I'm about to do I get the biggest butterflies [...] For over a year, I've been in the studio writing my own songs and working towards making my own record.

The time has come where I have to come out of my safe bubble that is the studio and share my music with you... butterflies just got worse [...] I've had the incredible opportunity to work with some of my favourite artists, DJs and producers on my album.

[3] The album artwork premiered on 22 August 2011, and features Roberts next to a collection of vintage artefacts wearing a modern interpretation of Cinderella's glass slippers.

The album artwork was shot at Master Shipwright's House in London, which Roberts described as "run-down reality with a hint of fairytale".

[4] The concept of the artwork was to relate to the different sounds of the album, which Roberts described as "red" and "blue" tracks, claiming she wanted "to be on parallel with the art and clothes".

[7] Weller called Roberts' style "incredible" and "extremely distinctive, luxurious and original": A collaboration is like a good conversation, Nicola came to my studio a couple of times and I went to hers; we initially chatted about her music, the forthcoming album and how this related to her vision for the shoes.

[11] The song "Cinderella's Eyes" was written in the early stages of the album recording, with lyrics telling a story similar to several fairy tale characters.

Roberts described "Cinderella's Eyes" as "a song on my album that I wrote about a year ago… It's about a girl called Sleeping Beauty who wakes up and wonders what life has instore [sic] for her… 'Will she meet any baddies or goodies and will she lay with any Princes or Hoodies'… She asks Cinderella 'Are you happy with your fella and your nice home', and tells girls 'They have to do it for themselves as cards are so randomly dealt.'

However, contacting Bush was difficult; after asking and hinting to her record label during the year she was producing the album, she found that nobody could establish communications.

[2] Whilst back in her hometown of Liverpool she put her younger brother and sister in the car with her, and after burning the track to a CD, drove to a deserted field and played it loudly.

[15] The second track, "Lucky Day", is a dance-pop song and has gathered comparisons to artists Katy Perry and David Guetta.

[16] The 1960s style track lyrically talks about falling in love, with Roberts explaining "The song is about a boy not playing along but in the end you win him over and it's your lucky day.

[17] Roberts' voice has been described as a "springy" vibrato, with breathy background vocals featuring sounds effect including repeated kissing noises.

[16] The next track, "Yo-Yo", has been compared to the sound of Kate Bush and described as "wistful", featuring the lyrics "I'm the kind of girl who likes to dream a lot".

[18] It opens with an Eastern-style introduction which merges into a "romantic synth" part, with Roberts singing "I’m scared to wake up one day and find out that my bubble's burst" and hoping that "everyone loves" her new direction, as well as mentioning her dislike for "people that leave comments on the internet".

[19] Track eleven, "Take a Bite" has been compared to singer Robyn;[21] and features a rap from Roberts including "Called me a rude ginger bitch, they're gonna eat all their words" – referencing a 2003 feud with a member of pop group Busted.

[2] The final track "Sticks and 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".

[2] Roberts explained the concept of the track, noting "What it is with 'Sticks and 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.

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.

[21] Robert Copsey from Digital Spy found that without listening to the album the impact would be limited as she had a "troubled start" and "limited solo spots" with band Girls Aloud but after listening to the record he expressed that her transition to a "trendy solo songstress is one discussed with admirable honesty throughout her debut offering".

[18] James Lachno of The Daily Telegraph gave the album four stars out of five and stated "Nicola Roberts has made an assured solo debut that suggests she may outlast her flashier bandmates as a pop star of substance", he positively commented on her use of a "autobiographical lyrics" and compared the album to those of Robyn.

"[29] Rick Pearson of the Evening Standard felt that her Cinderella-persona for the album concept was appropriate to her life story calling the record "a glittering pop song furnished with yelping Kate Bush-isms – while Metronomy's Joseph Mount drops by to produce the haunting highlight 'Fish out of Water'.

[33] Matthew Horton of Virgin Media found Nicola Roberts solo effort to be the most successful of the Girls Aloud band members, saying "While the obvious voices, Nadine and Cheryl, have had a go, it's shy sullen Nicola who's made a satisfying record from start to finish", Horton labelled "I" a "avant-pop" song, and called "Beat of My Drum" "ear-catching", whilst writing about the album "somehow everything works".

"[12] The album artwork and track-listing were confirmed on 22 August 2011 on Roberts official website, with a confirmation that fans who pre-ordered the album on Play.com would receive a signed poster, and those who pre-ordered the song from digital store iTunes would have an exclusive highlight video montage of her webisode series Through Nicola's Eyes.

[43][44] A music video, directed by Stephen Agnes, was released and was recorded in the East Village of New York City, featuring Roberts performing in a floral dress.