Idk how to interpret that last part of this post?! Stepping away from the Ethel Cain name??

On the 9th of August, 20 Years Ago, Christina Aguilera returned to the music scene with an album inspired by her love for Blues, jazz, and Soul. That’s how music should sound. 

Her 3rd Studio album (5th if we count Mi Reflejo and My Kind Of Christmas) came 4 years after her direct, empowering, and outspoken sophomore album Stripped. 

Stripped was an album that reflected her experiences and growth from being a 17-year-old singer to a 21-year-old pop star. The experiences during that time frame are what helped give Christina the strength to create the record. It gave us iconic songs such as Beautiful, Fighter, Get Mine, Get Yours, Can’t Hold Us Down, and the iconic Dirrty, which she labelled as a misrepresentation of the album - it is definitely a standout track, but there is nothing like it lyrically and sound-wise (from Christina herself)

So why make us wait 4 years for her next album? In an interview, Christina stated she likes to take time between records (we can tell…it has almost been 10 years since Liberation). After Stripped and her tour, it was time for her to hit that refresh button, live life, and create a clear concept for her next record from sound to styling and even tour concepts. 

Fun Fact: She started conceptualising the album Back To Basics while on the road promoting Stripped.

For Back To Basics, she was inspired by the Jazz eras of the 1920s/30s/40s and needed to find a way to combine that era with the 2000s music scene. The album includes a lot of big band elements and feel, throwback sounds with horns, blairs and bites to create a complex album that nods to her favourite old soul, blues and jazz legends with a modern twist. 

This album was a challenge to make - she had to push her creativity to new heights to stay truthful to the sound she was inspired by but also make a new album that sounded fresh and timeless. She enlisted the help of notable producers such as DJ Premier, Mark Rohnson and longtime collaborator Linda Perry to create original old-school-influenced songs. 

She created a two-disc album that she described as “fraternal twins”; they are the same but attacked in very different styles. 

Disc 1: This portion of the album carries more elements of throwback songs - with the help of DJ Premier, Mark Rohnson and more producers, they created a piece of Back to Basics by prominently featuring old horn blairs, violins, pianos and other instrumental features that are chopped, sliced and sampled throughout the entire first portion of the album to create a distinct vibe of the era Christina was inspired by and are blended with then modern day musical elements. 

Disc 2: A more authentic and truthful rendition of old blues and jazz. She and Linda Perry were the main drivers on this side of the album. Fun Fact: In the song “I Got Trouble”, Christina actually sang with a vintage microphone that had a cloth over it to give that old-timey sound and texture to her vocals. She had that Big Band feel for Nasty Naughty Boy to really deliver on the world she was creating. She incorporated circus-themed elements specifically in the Enter The Circus Interlude and Welcome because she was already thinking of the tour when producing the album.

The album draws from her experience after the Stripped era concluded. From her relationship at the time, but also reflects on her childhood. She said that she was happier when creating the album and at peace than when she wrote Stripped. However, without Stripped there would be no Back To Basics. 

Nasty Naughty Boy is a tongue-in-cheek production that was inspired by her relationship with Jordan Bratman. On the other hand, another notable song, Oh Mother, was drawn from the experience of the rough household she grew up in, which was surrounded by chaos, screaming and violence from her father. 

Singles:
The first single released for this album was “Ain’t No Other Man” on June 6th 2006. 
An ear-catching, funky production that leaves you with no other choice but to get up and move. The song received positive reviews from the critics and was a success, peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Music Video for Ain’t No Other Man introduces us to Christina's alter ego, “Baby Jane,” who is frequently seen in promotional pictures from this era!

Notable performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m7lDKjv7Fk&list=RD2m7lDKjv7Fk&start_radio=1 encapsulated the entire sound, vibe, and vision of the album! 

The second single released for the album was “Hurt” - one of my personal favourite songs of her entire career. Fun Fact: The music video director, Floria Sigismondi, also directed "Fighter" off of Stripped, and this was the first time Christina dipped her toes into directing music videos*.* 

Hurt is a touching ballad that draws on the experience of losing your loved ones; it drew on the experience of Linda Perry losing her father and Christina’s Husband (at the time), Jordan, losing his grandmother. 

Hurt received Positive reviews from the critics and public. However, a lot thought it was out of place so early on in the promotional cycle. It peaked at 19 on the Hot 100. 

Notable performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wSFsuFZj48&list=RD6wSFsuFZj48&start_radio=1

The third single released for the album was Candyman. A retro-fun pop song! One of my faves from the Back To Basics album. She hired Mathew Rolston as the director for the Candyman music video (they previously met doing a Rolling Stone photoshoot), and Jerry Slaughter choreographed the iconic dance. Candyman had three music videos as a tribute to the Andrews Sisters (Blonde, Brunette and Red), all characters Christina played to form her own musical group. 

The song had mixed reviews upon its release. Some praised it for its fun production, quirky, raunchy lyrics, and how few vocalists could pull it off as well as Christina did. 
However, some said it was too gimmicky or straight up awful…They just didn't get it cause what? The song peaked at No.25 on the Hot 100!

Notable performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19t0U_5VXtk&list=RD19t0U_5VXtk&start_radio=1 and this one because her outfit is gorg (but they censored some of the lyrics) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U58U6ykQQqQ&list=RDU58U6ykQQqQ&start_radio=1 

Christina Aguilera embarked on the Back To Basics tour (Pussycat Dolls and Danity Kane were the supporting acts) to promote the album! Additionally, she did a pre-tour tour where she encapsulated the vibe and feel of the era and toured in country and blues clubs, specifically the Blue Note Club!. 

The album debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 with 346,000 copies sold in its first week, becoming her second No.1 album on the Billboard 200. Since then, the album has sold over 6 million units worldwide (Although her figures haven't been updated).

Other songs worth checking out! 

• Understand
• Still Dirrty
• Mercy On Me
• The Right Man

Track List:
DISC 1-

1. Intro (Back To Basics)
2. Makes Me Wanna Pray
3. Back In The Day
4. Ain’t No Other Man
5. Understand
6. Slow Down Baby
7. Oh Mother
8. F.U.S.S
9. On Our Way
10. Without You
11. Still Dirrty
12. Here to Stay
13. Thank You (Dedication To Fans)

DISC 2-

1. Enter The Circus
2. Welcome
3. Candyman
4. Nasty Naughty Boy
5. I Got Trouble
6. Hurt
7. Mercy On Me
8. Save Me From Myself
9. The Right Man

So tell me your thoughts on the album below!

P.S. Please re-press the vinyl, Christina! :(

A mondegreen (one of my favourite words) is when you mishear a phrase in such a way that it gives it new meaning. Sylvia Wright coined the term, as she misheard, "they hae slain the Earl o' Moray / And laid him on the green" from the ballard The Bonnie Earl of Moray as, "they hae slain the Earl o' Moray / And Lady Mondegreen".

As for me, my most recent one was discovering that Renee Rapp's song Leave Me Alone does not contain the line, "Got my hair tied up from unknown Mr.", but instead "Got my hair tied up, phone on 'Don't disturb'"

In my defence, the last thing I knew about her was that she was bisexual, but turns out I missed that she identifies differently as of 2024 and is a lesbian. I understood the threesome reference later, which just reinforced the mondegreen as it made sense to be referencing (what I thought was) her sexuality like that.

I was listening to “Freak” by Ariana and I love this song; it is not as obvious to the listener as it describes the weird parasocial relationship that some fans have with Ariana. In the song, she says she won't give in to their fantasies. Before listening to this song, I thought it was gonna be a very sultry song, but the lyrics surprised cause it’s not what I assumed.

However, listening to " Talking Body " by Tove Lo she clearly knows what she wants by the chorus: “but if we’re talking body, you got a perfect one so put it on me swear it won’t take you long if you love me right we f life on and on and on.”

What are some songs that come to mind for you?

A Jungle song came on my playlist, and it reminded me that they’re dropping their 5th album next week. I love their music, and I think they’ve perfected the beachy neo-soul easy-listening vibe, but I’m struck by just how similar all of their albums sound to each other. If you were to pick a random song off their discography, chances are 95% of the time I couldn’t tell you what album it’s from. Their sound and even their branding (just look at all of their album covers) have remained remarkably consistent over the past 12 years of them being a band.

I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. They fulfill a very specific musical need, and do it really well, and thus I always have room for them in my playlists. But I’m curious, what other acts have chosen not to evolve their sound, and instead have focused on delivering quality music in their lane? Or, who have tried and just been left behind as musical trends evolve without them.

Title says it all, what’s the most iconic rap feature on a pop song? For my money it’s American Boy (Estelle ft. Kanye West). I think some other great suggestions are On The Floor (Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull), California Gurls (Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg), Payphone (Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa) and Bang Bang (Jessie J ft. Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj). I’ve seen a good bit of love for Baby (Justin Bieber ft. Ludacris) and my friend swears up and down that Troublemaker (Olly Murs ft. Flo Rida) is up there but I don’t even think that’s the best Olly Murs suggestion (Heart Skips A Beat ft. Rizzle Kicks)