- Dirrty
-
"Dirrty" Single by Christina Aguilera featuring Redman from the album Stripped B-side "I Will Be" Released September 16, 2002 Format CD single Recorded 2002
The Enterprise Studios
(Burbank, California)
Conway Studios
(Hollywood, Los Angeles, California)Genre R&B, hip hop Length 4:58 (Album version)
4:45 (Video edit)
3:59 (No rap edit)Label RCA Writer(s) Christina Aguilera, Rockwilder, Balewa Muhammad, Redman, Jasper Cameron Producer Christina Aguilera, Rockwilder Christina Aguilera singles chronology "Lady Marmalade"
(2001)"Dirrty"
(2002)"Beautiful"
(2002)Redman chronology "Smash Sumthin'"
(2001)"Dirrty"
(2002)"Put It Down"
(2007)"Dirrty" is a song performed by American singer Christina Aguilera featuring rapper Reggie "Redman" Noble. The song was written by Aguilera and Redman along with Jasper Cameron, Balewa Muhammad, and Rockwilder for Aguilera's fourth studio album Stripped (2002). It received mixed reviews from music critics.
"Dirrty" was released in September 2002 as the album's lead single (see 2002 in music). It was successful in the U.S., reaching number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, but was better received elsewhere, cracking the top ten in 17 countries and reaching number one in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. "Dirrty" was nominated for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" at the 45th Grammy Awards.
The song is best remembered for its accompanying music video, for which Aguilera was allowed creative control. The video brought her sexuality to the forefront and depicted various sexual fetishes, from mud wrestling to sthenolagnia. It eliminated the teenybopper, "girl next door" image that she had accumulated from her previous work.
Contents
Background and writing
Aguilera had worked with hip hop producer Rockwilder during the recording of "Lady Marmalade" (2001). Late in the making of Stripped, Aguilera approached him again, wanting him to help produce a seriously "down and dirty" song to announce her comeback and new public image. Aguilera suggested using Redman's "Let's Get Dirty (I Can't Get in da Club)" (2001) as a guide, and the resulting "Dirrty" was a remake of its precursor.[1] She later included a sequel titled "Still Dirrty" on her 2006 album Back to Basics.
"Dirrty" is a hip pop song composed in the key of G minor. The lines in the chorus and Redman's rap are emphasized by a pair of B♭ octave dyads.[2] The song's lyrics detail sexual activities such as table dancing.[3] Aguilera decided to use a misspelling for the title as a way to personalize the song, also considering "Dirtee" or "Dirrdy". She decided on "Dirrty" as a reflection of the music video, commenting, "I felt like having two r's, kind of like grrr…Gritty…underground, illegal stuff going on."[4]
Critical reception
"Dirrty" received mixed reviews from music critics. Allmusic referred to it as a "non-song" and found that Aguilera's vocal range in the song was too narrow.[5] Entertainment Weekly gave it a D-, calling the singing "desperate and shrill", and found it an unsuccessful attempt to gain street cred.[3] The Guardian, however, described it as "majestically filthy",[6] and Slant Magazine referred to it as "the most instantly gratifying" song from Stripped.[7] Stylus Magazine called it the best single of 2002, impressed by how "the bassline doesn't quite mesh with the song in a natural way" and the effective use of overdubbing.[8]
The track earned several award nominations, including a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals".
Chart performance
Linda Perry, who had worked with Aguilera on "Beautiful", stated that she and Aguilera's management had recommended it as the lead single from Stripped but that Aguilera insisted on "Dirrty" instead. RCA Records, however, stated that it had agreed with Aguilera to release "Dirrty" to attract attention to Aguilera and the album.[9] The single performed poorly in the United States, only peaking at number 48. The song was somewhat more successful in mainstream markets, reaching number 14 on the Top 40 Mainstream and number 22 on the Top 40 Tracks. It had some crossover success and peaked at number 20 on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart.[10] "Dirrty" was nominated for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" at the 2003 Grammy Awards, but lost out to Santana's "The Game of Love" featuring Michelle Branch.[11] It received four nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards for "Best Female Video", "Best Dance Video", "Best Pop Video", and "Best Choreography".
The track was much more successful in Europe. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at the top of the chart for the week ending November 23 and remained there for two weeks,[12] and is officially the 30th best-selling single of 2002 in the United Kingdom.[13] It was successful throughout Europe, reaching the top five in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland, and the top ten in Italy, Portugal, and Sweden.[14]
The single had similar success elsewhere. It debuted on the Canadian Singles Chart at number 7, later peaking at number 5, and remained within the top ten for three and a half months.[14] It peaked at number 4 for three consecutive weeks on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, lasting 11 weeks on the chart.[15] The single was listed at number 36 on the 2002 end of year chart,[16] and at number 12 on the Urban Singles Chart.[17] The Australian Recording Industry Association certified "Dirrty" platinum for shipping 70,000 copies.[18] "Dirrty" stayed on the Italian Singles Chart for 21 weeks, peaking at #8. The sales of "Dirrty" in the U.S. weren't as successful as Aguilera's previous singles; but only because it was released as a 12" Vinyl single. The track became an international Top 5 hit, spending 25 weeks on the charts in Switzerland. "Dirrty" was certified platinum by the IFPI and Gold in New Zealand.
Music video
The song's music video was directed by David LaChapelle. It depicts what was described as "a post-apocalyptic orgy".[19] The video opens with Aguilera gearing up and riding a motorcycle into a nightclub. Wearing a bikini and chaps, she is lowered from a cage into a boxing ring and dances, accompanied by several back-up dancers. A masked woman is lowered into the ring, and the two engage in foxy boxing. The scene is intercut with sequences of Aguilera dancing in a crop top, which she later removes to reveal a bikini top, and a microskirt. Redman then proceeds down a hallway, passing people such as mud wrestlers, a contortionist, and furries. The video proceeds to a scene of Aguilera and back-up dancers splashing and dancing while being sprayed with water in a room containing several urinals, as a possible reference to urolagnia.[20]
The music video was successful on video chart programs. It debuted on MTV's Total Request Live October 2, 2002 at number six.[21] It lasted 44 days on the program,[21] half of which were at the top of the countdown.[22] At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, the video was nominated for Best Female Video, Best Dance Video, Best Pop Video, and Best Choreography.[23] The video lasted eight weeks on MuchMusic's Countdown, peaking at number 11.[14]
The video generated some controversy and presented Aguilera's new public image. When Perry first saw the video, she asked Aguilera: "Are you high? This is annoying. Why are you doing this?"[24] Two weeks after its premiere, the video had already been spoofed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar on Saturday Night Live, who said (playing Aguilera): "When people see this video, they gonna stop thinking of me as some blonde-haired, bubblegum, music-industry ho – and start thinking of me as an actual ho."[25] Aguilera later commented that she found the spoof disappointing and that she "could have made a funnier script out of it."[19] Protests occurred in Thailand over Thai-language posters in the video that translate to "Thailand's Sex Tourism" and "Young Underage Girls". LaChapelle stated that he had not known what the posters stated, and RCA disallowed Thai television stations from playing the video.[26]
Aguilera's new image was widely rejected by the public to the extent that it began to overshadow her music.[27] Entertainment Weekly described it as "the world's skeeziest reptile woman",[3] and The Village Voice captioned her as a xenomorph from the Alien series.[28] Several of Aguilera's contemporaries, such as Shakira and Jessica Simpson, disapproved of her image, finding it "a step too far".[19] TIME magazine commented that "she appeared to have arrived on the set ... direct from an intergalactic hooker convention", adding that "she earned that extra r".[27] Writer Emma Forrest remarked: "What she's depicting is subcultures within sexuality, and to say that this is normal young woman's sexuality is just not fair. ... Even Madonna never did that to girls."[29] Aguilera, stating that she like "to play and experiment, to be as tame or as outlandish as [she] happened to feel", stood by the music video and her image in response to the criticism:
When you are bold and open, artistically speaking, in music and in video, a whole bunch of people automatically feel threatened by you, especially in Middle America ... OK, I may have been the naked-ass girl in the video, but if you look at it carefully, I'm also at the forefront. I'm not just some lame chick in a rap video; I'm in the power position, in complete command of everything and everybody around me. To be totally balls-out like that is, for me, the measure of a true artist.[19]Formats and track listings
Major formats and track listings for "Dirrty".[30]
- American 12" vinyl single
- "Dirrty" – 4:58
- "Dirrty" [no rap edit] – 4:01
- "Dirrty" [instrumental] – 3:58
- European CD maxi single
- "Dirrty" [no rap edit] – 4:01
- "I Will Be" – 4:12
- "Dirrty" – 4:58
- "Dirrty" [video] – 4:49
- American CD single
- "Dirrty" – 5:00
- "Make Over" – 4:12
- Canadian CD single
- "Dirrty" – 4:58
- "I Will Be" – 4:12
- Dance Vault Mixes (Digital EP)
- "Dirrty" [Tracy Young Radio] – 4:06
- "Dirrty" [Tracy Young Club] – 8:40
- "Dirrty" [MaUVe Remix] – 8:11
- Australian CD Single
- "Dirrty" [no rap edit] – 4:01
- "I Will Be" – 4:12
- "Dirrty" [Full Length Version] – 4:58
Credits and personnel
- Vocals: Christina Aguilera featuring Redman.
- Producers: Rockwilder, Christina Aguilera.
- Recording engineers: Oscar Ramirez, Wassim Zreik, Dylan "3-D" Dresdow.
- Mix engineer: Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado.
- Assistant mix engineer: Ethan Willoughby.
- Recorded at: The Enterprise Studios, Burbank, California.
- Background vocals: Redman.
Charts and certifications
Charts
Charts Peak
positionAustralia (ARIA)[31] 4 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[32] 5 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[33] 4 Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)[34] 8 Canadian Singles Chart[35] 5 Denmark (Tracklisten)[36] 4 European Hot 100 Singles[37] 2 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[38] 20 France (SNEP)[39] 98 Germany (Media Control AG)[40] 4 Greece (IFPI)[41] 24 Hungary (Single Top 10)[42] 5 Italy (FIMI)[43] 8 Ireland (IRMA)[44] 1 Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[45] 2 New Zealand (RIANZ)[46] 20 Norway (VG-lista)[47] 3 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[48] 3 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[49] 6 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[50] 3 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[51] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[52] 48 Certifications
Region Certification Sales/shipments Australia (ARIA)[53] Platinum 70,000^ Belgium (BEA)[54] Gold 25,000* Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[55] Gold 5,000^ Netherlands (NVPI)[56] Gold 40,000^ Norway (IFPI Norway)[57] Platinum 10,000* New Zealand (RIANZ)[58] Gold 7,500* Sweden (IFPI Sweden)[59] Platinum 30,000x Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[60] Gold 20,000x *sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification aloneYear-end charts
Chart (2002) Rank Australia[61] 36 Austria[62] 65 Ireland[63] 19 Netherlands[64] 16 Switzerland[65] 22 UK[66] 30 Chart (2003) Rank Austria[67] 58 Netherlands[68] 53 References
- ^ Hiatt, Brian. "'Dirrty' Work". Entertainment Weekly. October 29, 2002. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ Sheet music for "Dirrty". Hal Leonard Corporation. 2002.
- ^ a b c Seymour, Craig. "'Dirty' (2007)". Entertainment Weekly. September 13, 2002. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ Moss, Corey. "Y Kant Artists Spell? Christina, Jimmy Jam, K-Ci Explain". MTV News. November 13, 2002. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Stripped > Overview"[dead link]. Allmusic. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ Clarke, Betty. "Christina Aguilera: Stripped". The Guardian. October 25, 2002. Retrieved June 17, 2007.
- ^ Cinquemani, Sal. "Music Review: Christina Aguilera: Stripped". Slant Magazine. 2002. Retrieved June 17, 2007.
- ^ Burns, Todd. "Dirrty: The Best Single of the Year?". Stylus Magazine. October 7, 2007. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ Hiatt, Brian. "Rump Shaken". Entertainment Weekly, issue 680. November 1, 2002. Retrieved June 15, 2007.
- ^ "Stripped > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved June 15, 2007.
- ^ "45th Grammy Awards". Rock on the Net. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "Number 1 Singles – 2000s". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "Best Selling Singles of 2002". BPI.co.uk. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
Note: This is a large PDF file. - ^ a b c "Christina Aguilera Dirrty". Top40-Charts.com. Retrieved June 15, 2007.
- ^ "Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty". Australian-Charts.com. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2002". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Urban Singles 2002". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Duerden, Nick. "The Good, the Bad and the Dirrty". Blender. December 2003. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ Edwards, Tanya L. "How Dirty Is 'Dirrty'? X-posing The Kinks In X-tina's Video". MTV News. October 23, 2002. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ a b "The TRL Archive – Debuts". ATRL. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "The TRL Archive – Number Ones". ATRL. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "2003 MTV Video Music Awards". Rock on the Net. Retrieved June 15, 2007.
- ^ Ogunnaike, Lola. "Christina Aguilera, That Dirrty Girl, Cleans Up Real Nice". The New York Times. July 30, 2006. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "Sarah Michelle Gellar/Faith Hill". Saturday Night Live, episode 528. October 12, 2002.
- ^ D'Angelo, Joe. "'Dirrty' Christina Aguilera Video Thai-ed To Sex Industry". MTV News. October 18, 2002. Retrieved June 15, 2007.
- ^ a b Tryangiel, Josh. "Welcome to my Bubble". TIME. August 27, 2006. Retrieved June 17, 2007.
- ^ Dark, Jane. "Siren Wailing". The Village Voice. November 11, 2002. Retrieved June 18, 2007.
- ^ 100 Greatest Pop Videos. Presenter: Jimmy Carr. Channel 4. 6 February 2005. 130 minutes in.
- ^ "Christina Aguilera – Dirrty at Discogs". Discogs.com. http://www.discogs.com/Christina-Aguilera-Dirrty/master/101310. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
- ^ "Australian-charts.com – Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty" (in French). Ultratop 40. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p357293/charts-awards/billboard-singles
- ^ "Danishcharts.com – Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty". Tracklisten. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Christina Aguilera Album & Song Chart History" European Hot 100 for Christina Aguilera. Prometheus Global Media.
- ^ "Finnishcharts.com – CChristina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty". Suomen virallinen lista. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty" (in French). Les classement single. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
- ^ Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Web.archive.org (February 10, 2003). Retrieved on August 5, 2011.
- ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 10 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty". Top Digital Download. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
- ^ "Charts.org.nz – Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty". VG-lista. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty" Canciones Top 50. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – Dirrty – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien.
- ^ "23, 2002 Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. The Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Christina Aguilera Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Christina Aguilera. Prometheus Global Media.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-singles-2002.htm. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina - 2002". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. http://www.ultratop.be/xls/Awards%202002.htm. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Top 20 Singles Chart". IFPI Denmark. Tracklisten. http://hitlisterne.dk/lister.asp?w=4&y=2003&list=s20#. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Dutch single certifications – Christina Aguilera – Dirrty" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. http://www.ifpi.nl/nvpi/pagina.asp?pagkey=60463.
- ^ "Norwegian single certifications – Christina Aguilera – Dirrty" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. http://www.ifpi.no/sok/lst_trofeer_sok.asp?type=artist. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Christina Aguilera – Dirrty". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp?chartNum=&chartKind=S. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2003" (in Swedish) (PDF). IFPI Sweden. http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/ar-20033.pdf.
- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Christina Aguilera; 'Dirrty')". Hung Medien. http://www.swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=Christina+Aguilera+Dirrty.
- ^ ARIA Charts – End of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2002. Aria.com.au. Retrieved on August 5, 2011.
- ^ Jahreshitparade 2002. austriancharts.at (December 22, 2002). Retrieved on August 5, 2011.
- ^ >> IRMA << Irish Charts - Best of 2002 >>. Irma.ie. Retrieved on August 5, 2011.
- ^ Dutch charts portal. dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on August 5, 2011.
- ^ Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2002. hitparade.ch. Retrieved on August 5, 2011.
- ^ http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/ChartsPlusYE2002.pdf
- ^ Jahreshitparade 2003. austriancharts.at (December 28, 2003). Retrieved on August 5, 2011.
- ^ Dutch charts portal. dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on August 5, 2011.
External links
Preceded by
"Unbreakable" by WestlifeUK number one single
November 17, 2002 – November 30, 2002 (2 weeks)Succeeded by
"If You're Not The One" by Daniel BedingfieldPreceded by
"Aserejé (The Ketchup Song)" by Las KetchupIrish Singles Chart number-one single
November 30, 2002 – December 7, 2002Succeeded by
"Lose Yourself" by EminemChristina Aguilera Studio albums Compilations Soundtracks BurlesqueVideo albums Genie Gets Her Wish · My Reflection · Stripped Live in the U.K. · Back to Basics: Live and Down UnderTours Christina Aguilera: In Concert · Justified/Stripped Tour · Stripped World Tour · Back to Basics TourFilms BurlesqueTelevision The Voice · "Lose Yourself"Related articles Christina Aguilera singles Christina Aguilera Mi Reflejo My Kind of Christmas Stripped Back to Basics Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits Bionic Featured singles "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" · "What's Going On" · "El Último Adiós" · "Tilt Ya Head Back" · "A Song for You" · "Somos Novios (It's Impossible)" · "Tell Me" · "Moves Like Jagger"Soundtrack singles Other songs Redman Studio albums Whut? Thee Album · Dare Iz a Darkside · Muddy Waters · Doc's da Name 2000 · Malpractice · Red Gone Wild · ReggieOther albums El Niño · Blackout! · Blackout! 2Singles "Blow Your Mind" · "Time 4 Sum Aksion" · "Tonight's da Night" · "Rockafella" · "Can't Wait" · "How High" · "Funkorama" · "It's Like That (My Big Brother)" · "Whateva Man" · "Pick It Up" · "Full Cooperation" · "I'll Bee Dat!" · "Tear It Off" · "Da Goodness" · "Let da Monkey Out" · "Da Rockwilder" · "Y.O.U." · "Let's Get Dirty (I Can't Get in da Club)" · "Smash Sumthin'" · "Put It Down" · "A-Yo" · "City Lights" · "Mrs. International" · "Def Jammable"Featured artist "Head Banger" · "4, 3, 2, 1" · "The Weekend" · "Symphony 2000" · "Left & Right" · "Oooh." · "React" · "Dirrty" · "Yeah Yeah U Know It"Related articles Categories:- Singles certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association
- Singles certified gold by the Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers
- Singles certified platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry of Sweden
- Singles certified gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry of Switzerland
- 2002 singles
- Christina Aguilera songs
- Redman songs
- Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
- UK Singles Chart number-one singles
- Music videos directed by David LaChapelle
- Songs produced by Rockwilder
- Songs written by Christina Aguilera
- Songs written by Rockwilder
- American hip hop songs
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