Songoftheday 08/01/24 - When you're safe inside your room you tend to dream, of a place where nothing's harder than it seems...

 

 

"The Voice Within" - Christina Aguilera

from the album Stripped (2002)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #33 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 4

 

Today's song comes from Christina Aguilera, who after faltering with the risky choice of the lascivious "Dirrty" to open her second regular studio album Stripped, which missed the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart, rebounded with three big hits with the Grammy-winning "Beautiful", "Fighter", and "Can't Hold Us Down".  For the fifth and final single from the record in America Aguilera went back to being reflective and serious on "The Voice Within". Written by the singer with producer Glen Ballard, the song pulls on the self-empowerment theme that "Beautiful" won so many over with. Except this time, instead of being the reassuring person, she compels you to look to yourself to find your strength. The production from Ballard builds gracefully like the other single, with the piano prominent in the mix but a nice orchestral touch in the background. With a sparse black and white music video, and Xtina kept her streak in the top-40 alive...

"The Voice Within" became the fourth top-40 hit from Stripped on the Billboard Hot 100 in January of 2004. On the radio, the song just missed the top ten on the Mainstream Top-40 chart at #11, peaked at #33 on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 station list, and rose to #16 on the Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") format. Internationally, the single reached the top ten in Switzerland (#3), Czechia (#3), Ireland (#4), Austria (#7), Australia (#8), the Netherlands (#8), the United Kingdom (#9), Denmark (#9), Canada (#10 Sales), Sweden (#10), and Hungary (#10). It also made the top-40 in Germany (#13), Norway (#13), Belgium (#14 Flanders/#40 Wallonia), New Zealand (#16), Italy (#19), and Iceland (#19).

Another cut from the Stripped album, "Walk Away" (another dramatic ballad), managed to get a late top-40 run as a single in Denmark at #35 in 2008. 

Christina will be back to the series.

(8/10)

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Here's Christina performing the song for a TV appearance...

 

 and lastly, from her tour behind the Stripped album in the UK...

Up tomorrow: The most notorious "baby daddy" admits his talents.