Walk Away (Christina Aguilera song): Difference between revisions
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{{Good Article}} |
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{{Infobox song |
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{{Rcat shell|{{R from song}} |
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| name = Walk Away |
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| type = |
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| artist = [[Christina Aguilera]] |
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| released = |
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| recorded = 2002 |
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| length = {{duration|m=5|s=47}} |
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| label = [[RCA Records|RCA]] |
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| writer = {{flat list| |
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*Christina Aguilera |
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*[[Matt Morris (musician)|Matt Morris]] |
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*[[Scott Storch]]}} |
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| producer = {{flat list| |
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*Scott Storch |
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*Christina Aguilera {{small|(vocals)}} |
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*E. Dawk {{Small|(vocals)}}}} |
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}} |
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"'''Walk Away'''" is a song by American recording artist [[Christina Aguilera]], taken from her fourth [[studio album]], ''[[Stripped (Christina Aguilera album)|Stripped]]'' (2002). The song was written by Aguilera, [[Scott Storch]] and [[Matt Morris (musician)|Matt Morris]]. Its production was handled by Storch, while Aguilera and E. Dawk served as vocal producers. The track is a piano-driven [[ballad]] which talks about an abusive relationship, where Aguilera uses a "clever" [[metaphor]]. |
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Upon its release, "Walk Away" received mainly positive reviews from [[music journalism|music critics]], who praised its melody and deemed it as one of the stand-out tracks from ''Stripped''. On March 14, 2008, the song peaked at number 35 on the Danish [[Tracklisten]] chart, becoming the only non-single entry from ''Stripped'' on the chart. Aguilera performed the track on two of her major concert tours: the [[Justified and Stripped Tour]] (2003) and [[The Stripped Tour]] (2003). |
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== Background and recording == |
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Following the release of the [[Christina Aguilera (album)|self-titled debut album]] in 1999, Aguilera had achieved major success with four worldwide number-one hits.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dominguez|first=Pier|title=Christina Aguilera: A Star Is Made, the Unauthorized Biography|publisher=Amber Books Publishing|year=2003|isbn=0-9702224-5-9|url=https://archive.org/details/christinaaguiler0000domi|url-access=registration|accessdate=July 18, 2013|chapter=The Seduction of Fame}}</ref> Despite the international success, the singer was dissatisfied with the music and image that her manager, Steve Kurtz, had created for her, having been marketed as a [[bubblegum pop]] singer because of the genre's upward financial trend.<ref>{{cite web|last=Stitzel|first=Kim|url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/a/aguilera_christina/news_feature_feb_02/|title=Christina Aguilera: Not Your Puppet|work=[[MTV Networks]]|publisher=[[Viacom (2005–present)|Viacom]]|year=2002|accessdate=January 29, 2009}}</ref> She mentioned plans for her next album to have more musical and lyrical depth.<ref name="USAToday">{{cite news|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|work=[[USA Today]]|date=October 24, 2002|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2002-10-23-christina-aguilera_x.htm|title=Aguilera's image is 'Stripped'|accessdate=July 3, 2009|first=Gardner|last=Elysa}}</ref> Aguilera decided not to continue the contact with Kurtz.<ref name="USAToday"/> By late 2000, after terminating Kurtz's services, [[Irving Azoff]] was hired as her new manager.<ref name="USAToday"/> Aguilera decided to take a more prominent role in the musical direction of her next record. She also used her new [[alter ego]], "Xtina", and changed her appearance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/christina_aguilera/0,,,00.html|title=Christina Aguilera: Five Fun Facts|work=[[People (magazine)|People]]|publisher=[[Time Inc.|Time Inc]]|accessdate=May 25, 2013}}</ref> |
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Speaking about the conception of the album, Aguilera told [[MTV News]] that "it is a new beginning, a re-introduction of myself as a new artist in a way, because for the first time people are really seeing and getting to know who I really am".<ref name="mtvnews">{{cite web|title=Christina Stands Up For The Ladies, Discusses Father's Abuse|work=[[MTV News]]|publisher=Viacom|first=Jennifer|last=Vineyard|date=October 31, 2002|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1458433/christina-talks-stripped.jhtml|accessdate=July 9, 2013}}</ref> She also revealed, "Coming off of the height of being a part of such a big pop-craze phenomenon, that imagery of that cookie-cutter sweetheart, without it being me, I just had to take it all down and get it away from me. And that is why I actually named the album ''Stripped'', because it is about being emotionally stripped down and pretty bare to open my soul and heart".<ref name="mtvnews"/> "Walk Away" was written by Aguilera, [[Scott Storch]] and [[Matt Morris (musician)|Matt Morris]], with production handled by Storch.<ref name="Notes">Aguilera, Christina (2002). ''[[Stripped (Christina Aguilera album)|Stripped]]'' (liner notes). Christina Aguilera. [[RCA Records]]</ref> |
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== Composition and critical reception == |
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{{Listen|filename=Christina Aguilera - Walk Away.ogg|title="Walk Away"|description=A 30-second sample of "Walk Away"|format=[[Ogg]]}} |
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"Walk Away" is a piano-driven [[waltz]] [[ballad]].<ref name="slant"/><ref name="lasvegas"/> Written in the [[key (music)|key]] of [[G major]], it is a [[downtempo]] song, with a moderate slow and bluesy [[tempo]] of 52 beats per minute.<ref name="sheet">{{cite web|url=http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0043933&|title="Walk Away" Music Sheet|work=Musicnotes.com|publisher=[[Universal Music Publishing Group]]|accessdate=July 12, 2013}}</ref> It is followed by a [[chord progression]] of Em–C7 in the verses.<ref name="sheet"/> Aguilera's vocal range on the song span nearly two [[octave]]s, from the low-note of [[C (musical note)|C<sub>3</sub>]] to the high-note of [[A (musical note)|A<sub>5</sub>]].<ref name="sheet"/> In the track, Aguilera uses a "sultry lower range".<ref name="slant"/> Lyrically, "Walk Away" is about an abusive relationship, where she uses a "clever" metaphor.<ref name="slant"/> At the song's beginning, the lyrics "What do you do, when you know something's bad for you, and you still can't let go?" are spoken by Aguilera.<ref name="sheet"/> In the first verse, she sings, "Your love was like candy/ Artificially sweet, I was deceived by your wrapping".<ref name="slant">{{cite web|last=Cinquemani|first=Sal|title=Christina Aguilera: Stripped – Music Review|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/christina-aguilera-stripped/216|accessdate=April 26, 2012|work=[[Slant Magazine]]|date=November 2, 2002}}</ref> The track was described as a non-sense song by Amanda Murray for [[Sputnikmusic]].<ref name="sputnikmusic"/> |
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Upon its release, "Walk Away" received mainly positive reviews from contemporary [[music journalism|music critics]]. ''[[Slant Magazine]]'' editor Sal Cinquemani chose "Walk Away" as one of the stand-out ballads from ''Stripped''.<ref name="slant"/> [[Jancee Dunn]] from ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' called it "sophisticated fare" and a "torchy can't-let-go number".<ref>{{cite web|first=Janceen|last=Dunn|title=Stripped – Album Reviews|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/stripped-20021105|accessdate=April 26, 2012|work=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=November 5, 2002}}</ref> Doug Elfman for the ''[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]]'' labelled it "gorgeous",<ref name="lasvegas"/> while Amanda Murray from Sputnikmusic wrote that the song "sounds sexy", although it is "one of the only songs on the album that makes no effort to, certainly not lyrically".<ref name="sputnikmusic">{{cite web|title=Christina Aguilera – Stripped|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/8088/Christina-Aguilera-Stripped/|publisher=Jeremy Ferwada|first=Amanda|last=Murray|accessdate=April 26, 2012|work=[[Sputnikmusic]]|date=July 3, 2006}}</ref> In 2010, Nick Levine from [[Digital Spy]] listed "Walk Away" as one of Aguilera's ten best songs. He calls Aguilera's vocals "emotive" and the song's theme "heartfelt", commenting that the song should have been a single.<ref name="digitalspy">{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/thesound/a224306/christina-aguilera-the-ten-essential-tunes.html|first=Nick|last=Levine|title=Christina Aguilera: The ten essential tunes|work=[[Digital Spy]]|publisher=[[Hearst Corporation]]|date=June 10, 2010|accessdate=September 20, 2013}}</ref> |
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== Live performances == |
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Aguilera first performed "Walk Away" on the [[Justified and Stripped Tour]], a concert tour which was held in summer 2003 to support [[Justin Timberlake]]'s album ''[[Justified (album)|Justified]]'' (2002) and Aguilera's ''Stripped''.<ref name="lasvegas">{{cite news|title=Aguilera Skillfuly Blends Her Two Sides|work=[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]]|publisher=[[Stephens Media]]|first=Doug|last=Elfman|date=June 23, 2003|issn=1097-1645}}</ref> In late 2003, Aguilera continued to perform the track on the former's extension, [[Stripped Live... on Tour]], which happened without Timberlake's acts.<ref name="dvdtour"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1536125/20060711/aguilera_christina.jhtml|title=Two Years Later, Aguilera Fans Finally Getting Their Due: A Refund|date=July 11, 2006|accessdate=July 6, 2013|last=Vineyard|first=Jennifer|work=MTV News|publisher=Viacom}}</ref> The performance in London is included on the singer's first full-length DVD ''[[Stripped Live in the U.K.]]'' (2004).<ref name="dvdtour">{{cite video| people=Julia Knowles (director), Sharon Ali (producer) and Christina Aguilera (singer-songwriter, producer) | title=[[Stripped Live in the U.K.]] | location=United Kingdom | publisher=RCA Records |date=October 12, 2004 }}</ref> Aguilera also performed "Walk Away" on the ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'' on January 16, 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0628506/|title=Late Show with David Letterman|work=[[Internet Movie Database]]|publisher=[[Rovi Corporation]]|accessdate=July 15, 2013}}</ref> |
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== Charts == |
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On March 14, 2008, "Walk Away" debuted and peaked at number 35 on the Danish [[Tracklisten]] chart, becoming the only non-single song from ''Stripped'' to chart on the Tracklisten.<ref name="dan"/> |
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{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |
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!Chart (2008) |
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!Peak<br>position |
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!scope="row"|Denmark ([[Tracklisten]])<ref name="dan">{{cite web|url=http://www.danishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Christina+Aguilera&titel=Walk+Away&cat=s|title=Christina Aguilera – Walk Away|work=[[Tracklisten]]|publisher=Hung Medien|accessdate=July 13, 2013}}</ref> |
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|align="center"|35 |
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==References== |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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==External links== |
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{{Wikipedia books|Stripped (Christina Aguilera album)|''Stripped''}} |
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* {{MetroLyrics song|christina-aguilera|walk-away}}<!-- Licensed lyrics provider --> |
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{{Christina Aguilera songs}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Walk Away (Christina Aguilera Song)}} |
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[[Category:2000s ballads]] |
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[[Category:2002 songs]] |
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[[Category:Christina Aguilera songs]] |
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[[Category:Songs written by Christina Aguilera]] |
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[[Category:Songs written by Scott Storch]] |
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[[Category:Songs written by Matt Morris (musician)]] |
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[[Category:Songs about domestic violence]] |
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Latest revision as of 06:52, 29 March 2022
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