"The Voice Within"
is the fifth and final single from Christina Aguilera's second album, Stripped
. Released in 2003, the single peaked at #33 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Aguilera's 11th Top 40 hit. The single also peaked at #9 in the UK and #19 in Australia. The single is most known for its simplistic, but critically acclaimed music video that was filmed in black and white as a single continuous camera shot.
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THE VOICE WITHIN TICKETS
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Song information
"The Voice Within" was written by both Aguilera and
Glen Ballard, and was produced by the latter. The album version extends the song about five seconds and blends it with the next track, "I'm OK".
An alternate edit clocking in at 4 minutes and 26 seconds appears on the compilation album
Totally Hits 2004.
Aguilera did not want "The Voice Within" to be released as the fifth single. She was lobbying for "Impossible", a track from
Stripped
, which was produced by
Alicia Keys, as she felt it would help her break into the urban market.
RCA Records wanted to release a big ballad during the holiday season like they did the year prior with "Beautiful" and felt that 'The Voice Within' was the perfect candidate. Eventually, Aguilera's label made the final decision and the idea of 'Impossible' being the final single was scrapped.
It was performed on the third season of
Australian Idol
during "Contestant's Choice" week (Top 9) by
Roxane LeBrasse. Despite receiving good reviews from the judges, LeBrasse was eliminated the next night.
The song was performed later by
American Idol 5
runner-up
Katharine McPhee during 'Songs from the 21st Century' week (Top 10). During this performance, judge Simon Cowell compared McPhee's abilities to that of Aguilera's, saying the former's performance was almost as good as the original singer. He then said it was mediocre during the result show the night after, where McPhee landed in the bottom two.
The song was later performed in the film
The Voice Within
by Regina Fuller and the title was borrowed for the film.
Music video
The song's
music video was directed by
David LaChapelle. It opens with a
close-up of Aguilera and zooms out to her wearing a
slip and sitting in an abandoned
prop room. In one continuous
black-and-white shot, Aguilera walks through several rooms, exits the building, and finally lays on a light box. The video was filmed at a deserted
theater in downtown
Los Angeles,
California. It is inspired by
neorealist works.
[1]
"The Voice Within'" was the eleventh video for Aguilera to appear on TRL. The video hit number one twice and spent thirty-seven days on the countdown. The video was nominated for three
2004 MTV Video Music Awards, Best Female Video, Viewer's Choice, and Best Cinematography.
Track listing
CD Maxi-single
#"The Voice Within" [Album Version] — 5:04
#"The Voice Within" [Radio Edit] — 4:15
#"Beautiful" [Fug Remix] — 5:47
#"Can't Hold Us Down" [Da Yard Riddim Mix] — 4:16
Official remixes
- Almighty Remix — 8:01 [a.k.a. Almighty Definitive Mix & Almighty 12" Club Mix]
- Almighty PA — 8:01
- Almighty Dub — 7:57
- Almighty Radio [Edit 1] — 3:31
- Almighty Radio [Edit 2] — 4:01
- Almighty Mix Show
- Edit featured on Totally Hits 2004 — 4:26
Chart performance
| Charts (2003) [2]
| Peak
position
|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart
| 8
|
| Austrian Singles Chart
| 7
|
| Belgium Singles Chart
| 14
|
| Canadian Singles Chart
| 10
|
| Danish Singles Chart
| 9
|
| Dutch Singles Chart
| 6
|
| German Singles Chart
| 13
|
| Venezuela Record Report
| 15
|
| Irish Singles Chart
| 4
|
| Italian Singles Chart
| 19
|
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart
| 16
|
| Norway Singles Chart
| 13
|
| Swedish Singles Chart
| 10
|
| Swiss Singles Chart
| 3
|
| UK Singles Chart
| 8
|
| U.S. Billboard
Hot 100
| 33
|
| U.S. Billboard
Top 40 Mainstream
| 11
|
References
- Moss, Corey. "Stripped-Down Christina Aguilera Displays 'A Voice Within': Lens Recap". MTV News. October 20, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
- Chart peak positions:
*Christina Aguilera's Charts & Awards - Billboard Singles
*Christina Aguilera - The Voice Within ''Musicsquare.net''