| "Ain't No Other Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Christina Aguilera | ||||
| from the album Back to Basics | ||||
| Released | June 3, 2006 | |||
| Format | CD single, digital download | |||
| Recorded | 2005-2006 | |||
| Genre | Pop, funk, R&B, soul | |||
| Length | 3:49 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Writer(s) | Christina Aguilera, Charles Roane, DJ Premier, Harold Beatty, Kara DioGuardi | |||
| Producer | DJ Premier, Roane, Aguilera | |||
| Christina Aguilera singles chronology | ||||
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"Ain't No Other Man" is a song by American recording artist Christina Aguilera. It was released by RCA Records as the lead single from her third studio album Back to Basics (2006). It was written by Aguilera, Charles Roane, DJ Premier, Harold Beatty, and Kara DioGuardi and produced by Premier and Roane. After taking a career break and collaborating with different artists, Aguilera created a "jazz-influenced" album and worked with different producers. The song marked a change of musical style, scrapping her pop roots and using funk and soul elements, creating a throwback to the '30s and '40s sound.
Lyrically, the song talks about finding a true love and was inspired by Aguilera's former husband Jordan Bratman. Aguilera said that the song is not a love song and it's an upbeat, fun track. Critics positively commended the track, for the brash and fresh horns, its fun content and for her voice - some even wrote that it is at her best. It also has been noted as one of Aguilera's strongest singles and won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2007 ceremony.
Released in June 2006 (see 2006 in music), the song reached Top 10 in several countries; becoming the most successful single from Back to Bacics and one of the most successful singles of the year, as well as peaking at number 6 in the United States. The song is Aguilera's first top-ten since "Beautiful" (2002). The single was Top 10 in more than 20 countries. To date, it has sold more than 4,000,000 digital copies worldwide, including 1,679,000 in the United States.
A music video for the song was directed by Bryan Barber. The video jumps back in time, where Aguilera becomes a jazz-era blues singer who, after a world tour, returns to her hometown juke joint. She has a lot of lost time to make up, and not just with the local press and her girlfriends, who populate her backstage and dressing-room scenes. The video also received positive reviews. Aguilera promoted the track in a series of performances, including 2006 MTV Movie Awards and 2007 Muz-TV Music Awards, and included the song on the setlist of her Back to Basics Tour and on its DVD: Back to Basics: Live and Down Under. The song received covers of various artists, including Jordin Sparks, Raquel Castro, Amelia Lily, Kara DioGuardi and Adam Lambert.
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Contents
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After almost 4 years without a new album and many collaborations, including artists such as Herbie Hancock and Andrea Bocelli[1], Aguilera explained that her break in her musical career is to take her time, so when she is back, she has a lot more to say about the happenings of her life. Aguilera explained that she also wanted to bring something novel to her album which has 24 songs on it. Aguilera wanted to try to evolve as an artist and a visionary.[2]
Aguilera worked with DJ Premier for the first time after hearing his jazz-influenced work with Gang Starr. Premier revealed that when he was contacted for working with Aguilera he admitted that he didn't expect a pop artist to work with him and asked himself if she even had an idea who he was. Aguilera stated that she wasn't totally sure whether DJ Premier would accept the offer, because it was the first time that he would enter into the "pop" world.[3]
Premier commented about the unusual collaboration:
"I was surprised I got that call 'cause of our differences in the audiences we hit, but I'm always up for challenges and trying something new". "She described what her album is about and then she sent me some CDs of what type of stuff's been inspiring her to make the record, and it happened to be a lot of stuff that I grew up on in the early '70s, 'cause I'm 40. Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Marvin Gaye, Esther Williams, all kinds of different things. Once I saw that's the vibe she wanted, I still had to make it sound like the way my beats thump and stuff but still give her the atmosphere she's trying to bring out on the singing side."[1]
About releasing the song as a single, Aguilera said that she even knew exactly what she wanted when she first heard DJ Premier's beats for the song: "I walked in, and I was like, 'Ohmigod, that's my first single". "I hadn't written to it yet, but I was in love. It was high-energy, and I could just imagine what dancers could do to it."[4] The song was released to the iTunes Store on June 12, 2006.[5]
"It's pretty much about how her husband has stolen her from looking at anybody else, 'cause he's the one who did it for her". "And the record's real sassy, like an old Aretha [Franklin] 'Respect' kind of attitude. It's real raw and has breakbeats in it and everything, but it's chopped up and totally tailored to what she was trying to do [by] collaborating with me. The song is real, real fast, which is definitely different for me, 'cause I don't do real fast tempo," Premier said. "This thing is like 130 beats per minute, but it still sounds like hip-hop/ Christina."
"Ain't No Other Man" is a funk song written in the key of F♯ minor. It is written in common time and moves at a moderately fast tempo of 128 bpm. Most of the lines end in a sample of Dave Cortez & The Moon People's 1968 song "Happy Soul". The song also samples The Soul Seven's 1969 song "The Cissy's Thang". Aguilera's vocal range spans nearly two octaves in the song, from G♯3 to F♯5.
Lyrically, the song is about how someone is the only one for the other.[5] It features threats that mingle with pledges of devotion: "So tell your mother, your brother.../Tell the others, your lovers/Better not be present tense/'Cause I want everyone to know that you are mine and no one else's."[6]
The media has said that her former husband inspired the track, but Aguilera said that the song isn't a love song. "I got married since the last record, so lyrically, it's intertwined [with] where I've been in real life." "It's not a 'love song,'. It's fun, it's upbeat, it's got a little bit of a twist in there, a little sass."[4]
At the MTV Movie Awards Aguilera said the following about the song:
| “ | I wanted to make it light and easy for people to dance to and sing along to, so the whole song is based on feel-good elements of soul and blues and jazz. Lyrically, I just got married, so it's about someone in particular, but it's all about feeling good and not taking anything too seriously.[7] [8] | ” |
The song received critical acclaim, most of critics commended Aguilera for making a happy, fun song, using funk elements and horns. Her voice was also praised, being considering her best vocals in a song.
Bill Lamb from About.com gave the single a positive review, writing: "From the opening sax tones and vocal fanfare, we know we're in for a hot, funky ride. This is an invigorating, welcome return by Christina Aguilera. She has returned from some of the bewildering shifts in style of the album Stripped to a confident strut shamelessly showing off one of the most powerful set of pipes in the music business, and it's all in praise of her husband and life partner".[9] Click-music gave the single a positive review, commenting: "Based around a parping horn sample and filthy beats, it's Aguilera at her best - all vocal gymnastics, jazz-infused histrionics".[10] Rolling Stone gave the single a positive review calling it a "zoot-suit riot of a song,"[11] while Entertainment Weekly's Jody Rosen considered it "exhilarating."[6]
Dorian Lyskey from The Guardian deemed it "the tune of the summer, a brassy, brilliant love song."[12] Kelefa Sanneh from New York Times agreed, writing that the song is "the album’s glorious, mile-a-minute hit, which proves once again that no one can roar like Ms. Aguilera.[13] Thomas Inskeep from Stylus Magazine praised the track, writing: "'Ain't No Other Man' pulls a Moulin Rouge—settling itself somewhere in the indeterminate past (‘40s, maybe?) while simultaneously sounding contemporary. It’s sassy and sexy, and one of the year’s best pop singles.[14]
John Murphy from musicOMH gave a very positive review for the track, writing:
"From the opening bursts of brass it's clear that Ain't No Other Man is one of those singles that make you sit up and take notice. There's a jazzy, retro feel to the track that's a long way from Dirrty, but shows Aguilera's voice off to its best possible advantage. She does come a bit too close at times to Mariah Carey-style histrionics, but it's just a good, hook-filled song that you don't really notice. Even the rather cheesy lyrics, an obvious declaration of fidelity to the new Mr Aguilera, can be overlooked - this is a fine return from one of the most interesting pop stars out there right now."[15]
Aguilera won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2007 ceremony.[16]
"Ain't No Other Man" debuted at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the June 24, 2006, edition of Billboard Magazine. It peaked at number six in its fourth week and dropped off the chart at number 53, 19 weeks after its debut. "Ain't No Other Man" is Aguilera's first Top 10 on Billboard Hot 100 since her 2002 single "Beautiful".[17] The single had similar success in the mainstream market, reaching the top ten on the Top 40 Mainstream and Pop 100 charts.[18] On the Billboard 2006 Hot 100 Year-End chart, "Ain't No Other Man" was ranked 32nd.[19] In February 2007, the Recording Industry Association of America certified "Ain't No Other Man" platinum for selling one million copies as a digital single.[20]
On the UK Singles Chart, the single debuted at number 19[17] and reached number two the next week, just behind Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" featuring Wyclef Jean.[21] It exited the chart in October 2006 with a one-week reappearance in January 2007. It was successful across Europe, reaching the top five in Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, and Switzerland and the top 15 in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden.[17] In Canada the song was certified 2x Platinum for 20,000 digital downloads.[22]
"Ain't No Other Man" debuted at number six on the ARIA Singles Chart for two weeks and remained on the chart for 16 weeks, with a one-week January 2007 re-appearance as it did in the UK.[17] The single was listed at number 34 on the end of year chart,[23] and the Australian Recording Industry Association certified it gold.[24]
On June 15, 2006 she visited Total Request Live and showed a preview of the video for the song.[25] Six days later she attended the TV show again and premiered the whole clip.[26]
In the song's music video, Aguilera plays her alter ego Baby Jane. The video opens with Aguilera arriving to a club. Aguilera gets ready in the backstage area, and then comes up the stage performing along with the song. In between scenes, there are short vignettes that show Aguilera in gold and silver dresses, singing into a microphone, while photographers take pictures. The video opens and closes with clips from another Back to Basics song, entitled "I Got Trouble". The song is played as if it were on the radio with minor white noise.
The music video was directed by Bryan Barber and co-directed by Aguilera herself. Aguilera stated, "it intrigued me that this man, Bryan Barber, had been very locked into and had surrounded himself with this whole world of the '20s and '30s era," in response to Barber's film project, Idlewild.[27] Aguilera planned the original choreography, based on black-and-white films,[27] and performed it in her living room for Barner and choreographer Jeri Slaughter.[28] Aguilera's character is named after a nickname that rapper Nelly had given her, and her back-up dancers' characters were assigned by Slaughter.[27] It was released exclusively to iTunes on June 20, 2006. It then premiered on MTV's Making the Video on June 21.
Aguilera started the promotion of "Ain't No Other Man" perfoming the track at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles. In July Aguilera hold two private concerts in Europe, one on July 17 at the Olympia in Paris and the other one on July 20 at the KOKO Club in London. The setlist consisted of four new tracks and two old singles: "Ain’t No Other Man", "Understand", "Candyman", "Lady Marmalade", "Oh Mother", "Beautiful" and "Slow Down Baby".[29][30]
On 16 August 2006 Aguilera performed the song at the "Late Show with David Letterman".[31] On the same day she took part at the "Good Morning America Summer Concert Series" and performed there three songs, including "Ain't No Other Man".[32] She ended the promotion of the album, after the performances at the "MUZ-TV Awards", singing "Ain't No Other Man", "Hurt", "Candyman" and "Fighter".[33]
The song was also the opening track of her Back to Basics Tour. The song was also included on the DVD: Back to Basics: Live and Down Under.
OutKast member Big Boi was originally to record a verse for the song's remix.[34] Instead, a verse from rapper Chamillionaire was used. About.com gave the remixes a five-star rating.[35]
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Year-end charts
Certifications
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| Country | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia[71] | 34 |
| Austria[72] | 53 |
| Germany[73] | 53 |
| Switzerland[74] | 26 |
| Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Chart[75] | 32 |
| Preceded by "Lost" by Roger Sanchez |
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single September 9, 2006 - September 23, 2006 |
Succeeded by "Turn It Up" by Paris Hilton |
| Preceded by "Unfaithful" by Rihanna |
Billboard Hot Dance Airplay number-one single August 26 – September 24, 2006 |
Succeeded by "SexyBack" by Justin Timberlake |
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