Oh Mother

"Oh Mother"
Single by Christina Aguilera
from the album Back to Basics
Released	November 23, 2007 (2007-11-23)[1]
Format	CD single, digital download
Recorded	2006
Genre	Pop, R&B
Length	3:44
Label	RCA
Writer(s)	Christina Aguilera Christophe Barratier Bruno Coulais Kara DioGuardi
Producer	Christina Aguilera, Big Tank, L Boogie
Christina Aguilera singles chronology
"Slow Down Baby" (2007) "Oh Mother" (2007) "Keeps Gettin' Better" (2008)

"Oh Mother" is the fourth single from Christina Aguilera's third studio album, Back to Basics (2006). The single – penned by Christina Aguilera, Christophe Barratier, Bruno Coulais and Kara DioGuardi ^[2] – was released as an international double A-side with "Slow Down Baby".

Background and composition

The song was written about Aguilera's mother's abusive relationship with her husband, Fausto Aguilera. The single contains elements of the song "Vois Sur Ton Chemin" written by Bruno Coulais, which appeared in the 2004 film The Chorus. It was produced by Big Tank, L Boogie, and Aguilera herself. "Oh Mother" is a moderately slow song written in the key of C♯ minor.^[3] Its instrumentation comes from guitar, keyboards, piano, and strings.^[4] The vocal range spans 2 octaves from the "E₃" below middle to the "E₅" above middle.

Chart Performance

In Austria the single peaked at number 23 and spent 9 weeks on the Singles Chart in total.^[5] In the Netherlands the song peaked at number 54 where it spent one week, in total it spent 6 weeks on the chart.^[6] In Germany the track was fairly successful after spending 10 weeks on the chart, the singles peaked at number 18 on its first entry into the chart and in then fell to number 24 however it did raise from number 23 after its peak.^[7] In Switzerland the track spent 5 weeks on the Singles Chart peaking at number 79.^[8]

Music video

The video premiered and received its first official airing on the German music television channel VIVA.^[9] It has been taken from the live DVD of the Back to Basics Tour and features Aguilera singing and clips from the backdrop used during the tour.

Release

The single was delivered to the European region as "Oh Mother", while the Oceanian and Asian regions of the world received "Slow Down Baby" earlier that year on July 28, 2007. It was not released in the United States. The song was set to be released on Latin America, but the plans were scrapped in order to release "Slow Down Baby" as a radio single. The release was set on November 23, 2007 in Germany and Austria. In Switzerland, the single charted for four weeks based solely on downloads. On December 8, 2007 it was added to the A-Playlist of BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom and was released as digital download on December 31, 2007.^[10]

Track listing

Maxi basic

1. "Oh Mother" (Album Version) – 3:45
2. "Oh Mother" (Instrumental) – 3:45

Maxi premium

1. "Oh Mother" – 3:45
2. "Oh Mother" (Instrumental) – 3:45
3. "Ain't No Other Man" (Back to Basics Live in London) – 4:03
4. "Candyman" (Back to Basics Live in London) – 3:22

Charts

Chart (2007)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[11]	23
European Hot 100 Singles[12]	67
Germany (Media Control AG)[13]	18
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[14]	54
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15]	79

Release history

Country	Date	Format
Germany	November 23, 2007	Digital download, CD single
Neatherlands	December 3, 2007
United Kingdom	December 31, 2007

References

1. ^ "Christina Aguilera- German Release". Sony BMG. http://www.sonybmg.de/artists2.php?iA=1&artist=173781&product=88697211582. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
2. ^ Ascap entry for song ASCAP, accessed December 3, 2010
3. ^ "Christina Aguilera - Digital Sheet Music: Oh Mother". Musicnotes, Inc.. Hal Leonard Corporation. http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/scorch.asp?ppn=SC0041326. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
4. ^ Back to Basics - CD booklet. RCA Records. 2006. 
5. ^ http://www.austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Christina+Aguilera&titel=Oh+Mother&cat=s
6. ^ http://www.dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Christina+Aguilera&titel=Oh+Mother&cat=s
7. ^ http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/title/Aguilera%2CChristina/Oh+Mother%A5premium/single
8. ^ http://www.swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Christina+Aguilera&titel=Oh+Mother&cat=s
9. ^ "VIVA NEU". VIVA. Archived from the original on 2008-08-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20080822125343/http://www.viva.tv/TV/ShowDetail/id/5474. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
10. ^ "Ring In The New Year With Christina". Christina Music. November 29, 2007. http://www.christinamusic.co.uk/www/news_view.php?content_id=87. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
11. ^ "Christina Aguilera – Oh Mother – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
12. ^ "Christina Aguilera Album & Song Chart History" European Hot 100 for Christina Aguilera. Prometheus Global Media.
13. ^ "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.
14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Christina Aguilera – Oh Mother" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
15. ^ "Christina Aguilera – Oh Mother – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien.