Возвращение к истокам: Альбом Кристины Агилеры 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 by 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 February 2005 and April 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 5 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). 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.

To create a "throwback" with elements of old school genres combined with "a modern day twist", She initially planned to condense the album into a single, more "affordable" disc, however, she expanded Back to Basics as a double album. DJ Premier questioned if Aguilera was familiar with his work, though she had known of his jazz influenced work with Gang Starr in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For the "1920s and 1930s era vibe" influenced second disc, Aguilera teamed up with longtime producer Linda Perry, who produced on Aguilera's previous album Stripped. at various studios in the United States and the United Kingdom, including the Chalice Recording Studios and The Record Plant in Los Angeles, California. Subsequently, Aguilera included the song "F. U. S. S." (an abbreviation to "Fuck You Scott Storch") on the album, which Storch viewed as "pathetic". Aguilera also recorded a song about oral sex titled "Fuck You, Suck You" during a studio session with Linda Perry. It was supposedly meant for the Back to Basics album.

The first track from the album to be made available to the public was "Ain't No Other Man", which was released as the lead single to contemporary hit radio in the United States on June 6, 2006. Aguilera was featured in Pepsi's commercial advertisement, which used "Here to Stay", a track from Back to Basics as its main theme. Shot in multiple territories around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, and India, the sixty second advertisement premiered worldwide on July 14, 2006. Alongside the commercial, "Here to Stay" was made available for digital download on mobile phones as a promotional record to then upcoming Back to Basics. and February 20, 2007,

On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Back to Basics received an average score of 69, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 17 reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic appreciated the album's production, commenting that the project was "all the more impressive" coming after the "near career suicide of Stripped". Thomas Innskeep from Stylus Magazine preferred the first disc of the album over the "ridiculously overblown ballads" on the second disc, adding that Back to Basics was "one of 2006's best when Linda Perry's fingerprints aren't present". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine criticized Aguilera for using a sexual image to overshadow her vocals, but commented that Back to Basics was more "cohesive" than Stripped.

Various publications published articles about Back to Basics to celebrate its tenth anniversary of release, including Idolator and Fuse. On August 15, 2016, Jeff Benjamin of Fuse called Back to Basics Aguilera's "riskiest album", and stated: "While Aguilera shows the world who she truly was on Stripped, BTB appeared to be the first time Xtina got to truly create her own universe." PopMatters editor Kimberley Hill praised Back to Basics as "an ambitious blend of early 20th century gospel music, country blues, Philadelphian soul, 1970s funk, and mid 2000s hip hop/R&B", and also called it "a menagerie of sounds, instrumentation, motifs, tempos, and themes". At the 50th Annual Grammy Awards the following year, "Candyman" was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Back to Basics was named the best pop album of 2006 by iTunes. On June 17, 2008, Entertainment Weekly listed the album at number eighty of the hundred best albums of the last twenty five years.

Upon its release, Back to Basics reached number one in over fifteen countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. With 346,000 copies sold in its first week, the album debuted atop the US Billboard 200, being Aguilera's second number one album after her self titled debut album (1999) and her highest debut week sales. It remained on the chart for forty four weeks, falling off after a final position of number 164. The album was ranked at numbers fifty nine and seventy three on the Billboard 200 year end charts in 2006 and 2007, respectively. With first week sales of 24,000, Back to Basics also debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart. It was certified triple platinum in the country, selling over 300,000 copies. Back to Basics achieved similar success in Europe, peaking at number one on the European Top 100 Albums. and was eventually certified platinum in the country by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The album placed at numbers fifty six and one hundred and twenty seven on the year end UK Albums Chart in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

+ List of release dates, showing region, format(s), label(s) and reference(s) Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref. (References) Japan August 9, 2006 CD Sony BMG Germany August 11, 2006 Italy Australia August 12, 2006 France August 14, 2006 Poland Portugal United Kingdom RCA Canada August 15, 2006 Sony BMG New Zealand United States RCA Denmark August 16, 2006 Sony BMG Finland Norway Sweden Taiwan August 18, 2006 United States October 15, 2006 LP RCA Germany October 27, 2006 Sony BMG United Kingdom November 6, 2006 RCA