Songoftheday 2/5/22 - I wanna thank you for giving me time to breathe, like a rock you waited so patiently...

 

 

"What A Girl Wants" - Christina Aguilera

from the album Christina Aguilera (1999)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 21

 

Today's song is from Christina Aguilera, who went all the way to #1 on her first try with "Genie In A Bottle" in the summer of 1999. She also released a special holiday single, "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)", which reached the pop top-20 later that year and was one of the biggest holiday hits of the decade. The second single from her eponymous debut album was "What A Girl Wants", which was originally recorded by French singer Ophélie Winter the year prior. Written by producer Guy Roche with Shelly Peiken, the song had her thanking her current love for being patient as she sorted things out, a change from the immediate passion in her previous hit. The laid-back pop track was brightened up with a subtle remix for the single version, adding some percussion touches that keep you bouncing along, and with the video, a cool faux-strings interlude/bridge before she drives it home. As opposed to "Genie", this one allowed Aguilera to show off her vocal power without drowning out the sound...

 

 "What A Girl Wants" became Christina's second #1 pop hit in America in January of 2000. The song also climbed to #31 on Billboard magazine's older-skewing Adult Top-40 radio chart, while the remixes of the track, done by the likes of Thunderpuss and Eddie Arroyo, helped it rise to #18 on their Dance Club Play tally. Internationally, the single topped the charts in Spain, Canada, and New Zealand, and made the top ten in the UK (#3), Australia (#5), Belgium (#5W/#8F), and Ireland (#7). It also went to #11 in France and #18 in Germany. At the Grammy Awards in 2001, "What A Girl Wants" earned Aguilera her second consecutive nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, losing to Macy Gray for her hit "I Try". Christina and this album will be back to the series.

(7/10)

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Here's the original version of the song, recorded by Ophelie Winter in 1998 for her album Privacy...

Next up is Christina singing "What A Girl Wants" on Australian TV...

and lastly, in concert in 2000...

Up tomorrow: Country music everyman praises stepfathers.