[1] It also makes use of military percussion,[3] strings[4] and a big pop music-hook[5] with quirky melodic verses that were compared to "3" by Britney Spears.

BBC Music's Mike Diver said, in the album's review, that the "Parachute" is "memorable" due to its use of "military percussion" and Nick Levine of Digital Spy claimed that the track contains a "cute combination" of "strings and sweet nothings".

[12][13] Tom Ewing of The Guardian said that the song was "an austere take on modern pop that gives Cole's voice the space it needs" and Louise McCudden of in the News said that, despite having "possibly the most lyrically mundane chorus [she had] ever heard", "Parachute" is a "well-calculated song" that gets stuck in the listener's head.

[14][15] MusicOMH writer Sam Shepherd voiced his belief that the song includes's Cole's best vocal from the album and he praised the "deftly orchestrated production" and Andy Gill of The Independent said that there is an "undertow of paranoia" in the piece.

[16][17] Later Fraser McAlpine, during his chart blog review of the song, awarded "Parachute" five out of five stars, saying "Cheryl's pleading voice strikes home.

[..] It's nothing to do with anything which is happening in her personal life, I don't need the back-story to get carried away, it's simply that she sings these tender, mournful lyrics as if she means every word.

[20] Following the initial broadcast of Cheryl Cole's Night In, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 65 because of digital downloads, on the issue dated 26 December 2009.

[22] The concept of the video is very much the same of that of the performance on Cheryl Cole's Night In; Cole performs a Latin dance routine with 3-time Emmy award-winning choreographer, professional dancer and 6-time Dancing with the Stars champion, Derek Hough, who also choreographed the routine, and a group of other dancers.