Christina Aguilera "Back To Basics"

Back to Basics is the fifth studio album by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was released on August 9, 2006, in the United States through RCA Records as a double album. Serving as executive producer, she enlisted a wide range of producers, including DJ Premier, Rich Harrison, Rob Lewis, Mark Ronson, and Linda Perry. Recording sessions took place between 2005 and 2006 at several studios in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Inspired by Aguilera's 1920s–1950s idols, including Billie Holiday, Otis Redding, Etta James, and Ella Fitzgerald, Back to Basics was described by Aguilera herself as a fusion of old-school jazz and soul inspirations with a modernized style. Primarily a pop and R&B record, its first disc juxtaposes rhythm and blues with hip hop and urban elements with most songs employing samples, while the second contains all original tracks with the exception of "Candyman", which samples "Tarzan & Jane Swingin' on a Vine". Lyrically, the album is inspired by Aguilera's previous life events including her marriage with Jordan Bratman in 2005.

To portray a new persona, Aguilera adopted her new alter ego Baby Jane and made several changes to her public appearance, inspired by classic Hollywood actresses. She promoted the album by performing at events like the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards and the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. It was further promoted with Back to Basics Tour, which visited countries in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and Middle East from late 2006 until late 2008. Back to Basics spawned three international singles: "Ain't No Other Man", "Hurt" and "Candyman"; "Slow Down Baby" was only released as a single in Australia, while "Oh Mother" was only released as a single in several European countries.

Back to Basics received favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its musical diversity from Aguilera's previous albums while there were others who criticized its length. The album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album, and its lead single "Ain't No Other Man" won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards (2007). It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 346,000 copies. Back to Basics achieved similar success internationally, reaching the top of the charts in over fifteen countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and United Kingdom. The album has sold 1.7 million copies in the United States, and over five million worldwide, as of November 2013.

At the 46th Annual Grammy Awards on February 8, 2004, Aguilera announced that she was going to work on a follow-up album to Stripped (2002). She stated her main idea for the project was to "evolve as an artist and a visionary", which was taken from a poem she wrote during The Stripped Tour (2003). In an interview with Billboard magazine, Aguilera expressed dissatisfaction with contemporary music, as technology "has advanced itself so anybody can be a singer". Thus, Aguilera took musical inspirations from old-school jazz, blues and soul records performed by her 1920s–1950s idols, including Billie Holiday, Otis Redding, Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald, which she viewed as "music that really had heart". The singer stated that her love for retro music was born when she was a child—her mother and grandmother took her to the old vinyl stores in Pittsburgh. According to Aguilera, Back to Basics was meant to pay "homage and utmost respect" to some of her favorite musicians.

For Back to Basics, Aguilera decided to portray her different image and persona from her previous stage name Xtina by adopting a new alter ego called Baby Jane, named after a character of the film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). She also changed her public appearance as she removed her piercings, and dyed her hair platinum blonde, inspired by classic Hollywood movie stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard and Greta Garbo.

The album's cover artwork was taken by German photographer Ellen von Unwerth during three days; on the first and second days, the photos were shot at the Hollywood Dell hotel. Aguilera and von Unwerth moved to Forty Deuce in Hollywood to take images inspired by 1920s burlesque clubs on the last day of the session. The album's cover artwork was revealed in late June 2006, featuring Aguilera with bright red lipstick and curly blonde hair dressed in white and lounging on a bed. Greg Kot from The Baltimore Sun labelled the cover artwork as "a classy retro look, a sign that [Aguilera] is ready for her close-up as the leading lady of the teen brat pack that emerged in the late '90s". It also received criticism for being too similar to the artwork of Madonna's sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994).

In mid-2006, Virgin Media reported that Back to Basics would be released on August 14, 2006. TMZ later reported that Back to Basics was planned to be released on August 15, 2006 in the United States. The album was leaked in full on August 3.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Back to Basics.

Back to Basics – Standard edition (disc one)

1. "Intro (Back to Basics)" 1:47
2. "Makes Me Wanna Pray" (featuring Steve Winwood) 4:10
3. "Back in the Day" 4:13
4. "Ain't No Other Man" 3:49
5. "Understand" 3:46
6. "Slow Down Baby" 3:29
7. "Oh Mother" 3:47
8. "F.U.S.S." (Interlude) 2:21
9. "On Our Way"   3:37
10. "Without You" 3:57
11. "Still Dirrty" 3:46
12. "Here to Stay"    3:20
13. "Thank You (Dedication to Fans...)" 4:59

Total length: 46:55

Back to Basics – Standard edition (disc two)

1. "Enter the Circus" 1:42
2. "Welcome" 2:43
3. "Candyman" 3:14
4. "Nasty Naughty Boy" 4:45
5. "I Got Trouble" 3:42
6. "Hurt" 4:03
7. "Mercy on Me" 4:33
8. "Save Me from Myself" 3:13
9. "The Right Man" 3:51

Total length: 31:47

Back to Basics – Physical edition (bonus video)

1. "Back to Basics" 10:07

Total length: 41:54

Sampling credits

• "Intro (Back to Basics)" contains a sample of "The Thrill Is Gone (Live)", as performed by B.B. King, The Crusaders and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
• "Makes Me Wanna Pray" contains a sample from "Glad", as performed by Traffic.
• "Back in the Day" contains samples from "Charley", as performed by Don Costa Orchestra, and "Troglodyte", as performed by The Jimmy Castor Bunch.
• "Ain't No Other Man" contains samples from "Happy Skippy Moon Strut", as performed by Moon People, and "The Cissy's Thang", as performed by The Soul Seven.
• "Understand" contains a sample from "Nearer to You", as performed by Betty Harris.
• "Slow Down Baby" contains samples from "Window Raisin' Granny", as performed by Gladys Knight & the Pips and "So Seductive", as performed by Tony Yayo.
• "Oh Mother" contains a sample from "Vois Sur Ton Chemin", written by Bruno Coulais and Christopher Barratler.
• "On Our Way" contains a sample from "Sentimentale", as performed by Claude Bolling.
• "Here to Stay" contains a sample from "The Best Thing You Ever Had", as performed by Candi Staton.
• "Thank You (Dedication to Fans...)" contains samples from "Can't Hold Us Down" and "Genie in a Bottle", as performed by Aguilera, and "Think Big", as performed by Pudgie the Fat Bastard featuring The Notorious B.I.G. The track also features fan club recordings by Shane Burrows, Jessica Cavanaugh, She-Tara Franklin, Michael Holmin, Warren Keller, Antoinette Litte, Gustavo Medina, Sarah Anne Moore, Joshua Pospisil, Cory Steale, Durant Searcy, Samantha Silver, Tammy Simpson and Shanna Nicole Wiles.
• "Candyman" contains a sample from "Tarzan & Jane Swingin' on a Vine" from Run to Cadence with U.S. Marines.

Jordan Laws – mixing assistant

Brian Gardner – mastering

Oscar Ramirez – engineer

Charles Martin Roane – engineer

Kristofer Kaufman – assistant engineer

Alan Mason – assistant engineer

Chris Wonzer – assistant engineer

Kwamé – management of production of sound

Rich Harrison – management of production of sound

Mark Ronson – management of production of sound, engineer

Big Tank – management of production of sound

Q – management of production of sound

Ellen von Unwerth – photography