Burlesque (soundtrack)
Burlesque: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name, released by Screen Gems, Inc and RCA Records on November 19, 2010. The soundtrack consists of ten songs sung by the film's stars, American singers Christina Aguilera and Cher; Aguilera sang eight of the tracks, while Cher performed the remaining two. The album is inspired by jazz music style, in style with Aguilera's fifth studio album Back to Basics (2006), but contrasting to her then-recent release Bionic (2010), which was recorded concurrently with Burlesque. Burlesque served as Cher's first album since the release of Living Proof nine years earlier.
Burlesque
November 19, 2010
31:53
- Screen Gems, Inc
- RCA
- Christina Aguilera
- Steven Antin
- Samuel Dixon
- Ron Fair
- Matthew Gerrard
- Claude Kelly
- Steve Lindsey
- Linda Perry
- The Phantom Boyz
- Matt Serletic
- C. "Tricky" Stewart
- Mark Taylor
Upon its release, the album received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Cher's song "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" won a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song at the 2011 ceremony, and received another nomination in the same category for Aguilera's "Bound to You". The album also received a nomination at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media. Commercially, the album was moderately successful, peaking at number eighteen on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and in the top ten in several other countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Austria. As of August 2019, the album has sold 779,000 copies in the United States.[1] The soundtrack spawned three promotional singles: "Express" and "Show Me How You Burlesque" by Aguilera, and "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" by Cher.
Composition[edit]
Burlesque: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack comprises ten songs: eight performed by Aguilera and two performed by Cher.[6] The soundtrack has a "brassy, jazzy" sound inspired by jazz,[10] in contrast to Aguilera's last electronic music-inspired studio album Bionic (2010) but similar to her fifth 1920s, 1930s and 1940s-influenced studio album Back to Basics (2006).[11] Four of the songs performed by Aguilera are cover versions, two of Etta James' works: "Something's Got a Hold on Me" and "Tough Lover",[10] a cover version of Mae West's "Guy What Takes His Time",[12] and a dance version of "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson, including the "unmistakable" drum beats and guitar riff in the original version.[11] "I Am a Good Girl" "sticks to the sassy swing of a bygone musical era",[13] while "Express" has a similar musical style to Aguilera's previous single "Lady Marmalade"[12] and lyrically evokes sexual theme as Aguilera "seductively" sings, "Show a little leg / You gotta shimmy your chest".[14] The uptempo number "Show Me How You Burlesque" has a "modern sounding" dance production, but "lack of melody and strong hooks".[13] The power ballad "Bound to You", co-written by Sia, has the same musical style to "You Lost Me" from Bionic, which was also written by Sia and features Aguilera's strong vocal delivery.[13]
The two songs performed by Cher are: "Welcome to Burlesque" and "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me". "Welcome to Burlesque" was described as "a 'Cabaret'-style oompah that shows both skill and humor".[10] The power ballad "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" features Cher's powerful vocals.[10]
Commercial performance[edit]
On the US Billboard 200, Burlesque debuted and peaked at number eighteen during the week of November 28, 2010, selling 63,000 copies in its first week.[29] It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America,[30] having sold 779,000 copies in the US as of September 2014.[1] On the Australian ARIA Albums Chart, the soundtrack peaked at number two and is Aguilera's second highest-charting album after Back to Basics (2006). It was certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association in 2015 for selling over 70,000 copies.[31] Burlesque peaked at number 16 on the Canadian Albums Chart and was certified gold by the Music Canada for shipments of 40,000 units in the region.[32] The soundtrack also gained commercial success on several record charts: peaking at number five in Austria[33] and New Zealand,[34] and number eight in Switzerland.[35]
All songs performed by Christina Aguilera except where noted.
Notes
Videos of song performances from the film on YouTube: