Candyman (Christina Aguilera song)

Infobox Single
Name = Candyman


Artist = Christina Aguilera
Album = Back to Basics
Released = start date|2007|2|5 (U.S.) April 7 2007 (Europe, Australia)
Format = CD single, digital download
Recorded = 2006
Genre = Swing jazz
Length = 3:14
Label = RCA
Writer = Christina Aguilera, Linda Perry
Producer = Linda Perry
Certification = Platinum (ARIA) Platinum (RIAA, RIANZ)
Last single = "Tell Me" (2006)
This single = "Candyman" (2007)
Next single = "Slow Down Baby" (2007)

"Candyman" is a swing jazz song written by Christina Aguilera and Linda Perry for Aguilera's third studio album, "Back to Basics". It was released as the album's third and final American single in early 2007 (see 2007 in music). In December 2007, it received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Background and writing

Perry and Aguilera have said that the song is new lyrics to music that is a new arrangement of The Andrews Sisters' 1941 hit "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". [Cite news |last=Moss |first=Corey |title=Christina Aguilera Has Multiple-Personality Disorder In Clip|url=http://www.mtvasia.com/News/200702/22014149.html |work=MTV News |publisher=MTV Asia |date=February 22,2007 |accessdate=2008-08-25] Critics usually compliment Aguilera for the authentic replication of the old style. [Cite news |last=Eliscu | first=Jenny |title= Rolling Stones "Back to Basics" Review |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/christinaaguilera/albums/album/11107200/review/11111609/back_to_basics |publisher="Rolling Stone" |date= August 11, 2006|accessdate=2008-08-25] [cite web |last=Sterdan| first=Darryl |title= Xtina loses the chaps & looks for R-E-S-P-E-C-T on new CD | publisher= "Jam!" | url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/A/Aguilera_Christina/AlbumReviews/2006/08/15/1757059-sun.html| accessdate=2008-08-25]

The song includes the military cadence "Tarzan & Jane Swingin' on a Vine", sampled from the album "Run to Cadence with the United States Marines, Volume 2". [Booklet for "Back to Basics"; [http://www.militaryrecordings.com/product.php?prodID=16 Mili Documentary Recordings website] ]

Release

Originally, "Candyman" was to be the second single off the album, but the label pushed for "Hurt" hoping it would have comparable success to 2002's "Beautiful" and would become a holiday hit.Cite news |last=Jobling |first=John |title=Christina Aguilera – Candyman (review) |url=http://www.mansized.co.uk/reviews/review.phtml/540/667/ |publisher= "Mansized" |date=May 24,2007 |accessdate=2008-08-25] The song was released on February 5, 2007 in the US, although Aguilera had already performed it on "New Year's Rockin' Eve". The song debuted in the January 20, 2007 release of the Billboard Hot 100. "Candyman" peaked at #25 in its seventh week on the chart making it Christina Aguilera's 14th top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK it was released on download only, peaking at #17 on the UK main singles chart and getting over 100,000 digital downloads.The song performed very well in Oceania, peaking #2 in both Australia and New Zealand and remaining in the Australian Top10 over 15 weeks.cite web | title= Christina Aguilera- Candyman (song) | publisher= "Australian Charts" | url=http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Christina+Aguilera&titel=Candyman&cat=s | accessdate=2008-08-25]

In December 2007, it received a Grammy Award nomimation for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at this years 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

Music video

The music video for the single "Candyman" was filmed on January 28, 2007. It was directed by Matthew Rolston and co-directed by Aguilera. It is based on a 1940s World War II theme, and Aguilera rented out an airport in Spain to film it. In the music video, she dances and sings in three different hair colors - red, blonde and brown, as if she were in a singing trio, a tribute to the Andrews Sisters. [Cite news |last=Vineyard |first=Jennifer |title=Avril, Christina's Multiple-Personality Clips Copy A Page From Madonna's Handbook |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1555792/20070328/lavigne_avril.jhtml |work= MTV News |publisher= MTV Networks |date=March 28,2007 |accessdate=2008-08-25] In another scene, she appears as the famous biceps-flexing factory worker Rosie the Riveter from Westinghouse's "We can do it" poster. Finally, she appears in scenes inspired by pin-up girls Judy Garland, Betty Grable, and Rita Hayworth. The video also features product placement for Campari. Benji Schwimmer, 2006 winner of "So You Think You Can Dance", makes a cameo appearance as Aguilera's GI dance partner. Lacey Schwimmer, Benji's sister and also a contestant on "So You Think You Can Dance", had also appeared in the video as a jitterbugger.

Aguilera asked Rolston to direct the video after he worked with her for a photo shoot for the cover of "Rolling Stone"."Candyman". "Making the Video". MTV. February 21, 2007.] Shooting the sequences of Aguilera as a singing trio took the longest since they had to be shot for each hair color and camera angle, which was computer controlled for precision. The choreography was carefully arranged so that none of the versions overlapped and the takes could be spliced together. The color scheme is based on Technicolor films, focusing on primary colors and bright secondary colors.

On February 22, 2007, MTV gave the World Premiere of "Candyman" live on "TRL" and later on MTV's "Making The Video". The video debuted at number six on "TRL" [ [http://host17.hrwebservices.net/~atrl/trlarchive/db.html "The TRL Archive - Debuts"] . Popfusion. Retrieved April 4, 2007.] and reached the top of the countdown four times. The video has since gone on to retire at number three, making it Aguilera's ninth video to retire. "Candyman" has garnered Aguilera a MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Director with co-director Mathew Rolston.

The video has become Aguilera's most viewed clip on YouTube so far, being watched by over 16 million people. [Cite news | title=Most Viewed Clips- Music |url=http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=christina+aguilera&search_sort=video_view_count| publisher= "Youtube" |accessdate=2008-08-25]

Critical response

Most critics reserved high-praise for the single, while commenting on its highly-sexualized lyrics. "Billboard" magazine called the single "right raunchy", but praised it, saying that "Few popular vocalists could pull off such a laudable feat," and that it has such an "irresistible tempo that radio will have no choice but to sweeten airwaves with 'Candyman.The one problem was that radio didn't play the song as it was requested and that's what kept it from rising to the top of the USA charts.'" [Taylor, Chuck (2007-03-03), "Candyman". "Billboard". 119 (9):46] Bill Lame with About.com found that "listeners may want to be alerted to the sexual content," but concluded "Aguilera continues to demonstrate she is one of the top female artists in the business." [Cite news |last=Lamb |first=Bill |title=Christina Aguilera - Candyman - About.com Review |url=http://top40.about.com/od/singles/gr/candyman.htm |publisher= "About.com" |accessdate=2008-08-25] Yahoo! Music called the song "a good-time 1940's big band romp," and gave it eight out of ten stars. [Cite news |last=Gennoe |first=Dan |title=Christina Aguilera - Back To Basics Review
url=http://top40.about.com/od/singles/gr/candyman.htm |publisher= "Yahoo UK"| year= August 17, 2006|accessdate=2008-08-25]

Track listing

# "Candyman" (Album Version) - 3:14
# "Hurt" (Snowflake Radio Remix) - 4:05

Official versions

* "Album version" - 3:14
* "Squeaky Clean Radio Edit" - 3:14
* "Offer Nissim Remix" - 8:34
* "RedOne Remix" - 3:19
* "RedOne UltiMix" - 4:20

Charts

{| class="wikitable"!align="center"|Chart (2007)!align="center"|Peak position
-
align="left"|Italian Singles Chart
align="center"| 8
-
align="left"|New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart
align="center"| 2
-
align="left"|Slovak Airplay Chart [Cite news |title=Radio Top100 Oficiálna, Aguilera Christina, Candyman|url=http://www.ifpicr.cz/hitparadask/index.php?a=titul&hitparada=18&titul=144473&sec=10372390546fc9da7fc12e63b68a1028|publisher= "IFPI"|accessdate=2008-08-25]
align="center"| 4
-
align="left"|Swedish Singles Chart
align="center"| 24
-
align="left"|Swiss Singles Chart
align="center"| 11
-
align="left"|UK Singles Chart
align="center"| 17
-
align="left"|United World Chart
align="center"| 13
-
align="left"|U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100
align="center"| 25
-
align="left"|U.S. "Billboard" Pop 100
align="center"| 19
-
align="left"|U.S. "Billboard" Hot Dance Club Play
align="center"| 1

References

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4kR8OQCrlQ "Candyman" music video] on YouTube