Just a Fool

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For other uses, see Just a Fool (disambiguation).
"Just a Fool"
Single by Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton
from the album Lotus
ReleasedDecember 4, 2012 (2012-12-04)
Recorded2012
GenreCountry pop
Length4:13
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Robson
  • Aguilera (vocals)
  • Kelly
Christina Aguilera singles chronology
"Your Body"
(2012) 		"Just a Fool"
(2012) 		"Feel This Moment"
(2013)
Blake Shelton singles chronology
"Over"
(2012) 		"Just a Fool"
(2012) 		"Sure Be Cool If You Did"
(2013)
Licensed audio
"Just A Fool" on
YouTube

"Just a Fool" is a duet recorded by American singer songwriters

hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States by RCA Records as the second and final single from the album on December 4, 2012. The song is a country pop
ballad which discusses the pain of a break-up.

Following its release, "Just a Fool" received mostly positive reviews from

the third season of American television singing contest The Voice on November 19, 2012, and on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
on December 7, 2012.

Background and release

Following the release of her sixth studio album,

Moves Like Jagger" (2011), which spent four weeks atop the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.[4] Following these events, Aguilera announced her plans to begin production of her seventh album, stating that she wanted high quality and "personal" songs for the record.[4] Regarding the creative direction, she revealed that the album would be a "culmination of everything I've experienced up until this point ... I've been through a lot since the release of my last album, being on ('The Voice'), having had a divorce ... This is all sort of a free rebirth for me."[5] She further said "I'm embracing many different things, but it's all feel-good, super-expressive [and] super-vulnerable."[5] Aguilera continued to say that the album would be about "self–expression and freedom" because of the personal struggles she had overcome during the last couple of years.[6]

Speaking about her new material during an interview on

hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States as the second and final single from the album.[10][11] On February 18, 2013, the single was released to adult contemporary radio in the US.[12]

Development

The Voice, American recording artist Blake Shelton
(left), is featured on the track.

Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera both served as coaches on the NBC's American reality talent show The Voice and became good friends during production. During an interview, Aguilera said, "He's my big brother, I'm the closest to him of all the guys. Blake is just a rockstar; he's great. He's so playful, so fun and down to earth. He's got a lot of heart".[13] The whole idea for the duet between Christina and Blake came into being when Christina started a performance with a snippet of his song "Hillbilly Bone".[14] Blake tweeted he was speechless, and Christina tweeted back, "Now we need to team up for a country duet Blake!! I'm down!!".[15] In an interview with Rolling Stone, Aguilera commented about teaming up with her colleagues,

"I'm one that likes to collaborate. I love feeding off the creative energy, and it only makes me better. I'm on a continual path both personally and professionally. All-around, it's my goal to better myself as a person and an artist, and the show is one of those contributing factors and the guys are great friends at this point. It's fun collaborating with them at this point".[16]

Aguilera also revealed that Shelton "busted his [butt]" to "make the time" to record the song with her.[17] On October 16, 2012, it was announced that the duet was called "Just a Fool" and the track would be included on Aguilera's album Lotus (2012).[18] According to Steve Robson–the main writer of the song–at first, "Just a Fool" was initially pitched to Pink, but later Adam Lambert recorded a version of the track.[19] Finally, Aguilera and Shelton recorded "Just a Fool" after the song was scrapped from Lambert's album Trespassing (2012) "at the last minute".[19]

Composition

"Just a Fool" (2012)
A 25 second sample of "Just a Fool", featuring Aguilera and Shelton singing the chorus over a country pop production.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Just a Fool" was written by Steve Robson, Claude Kelly and Wayne Hector, with production done by Robson.

guitar riff and a toe-tapping mid-tempo drum beat.[21] Chris Youne of 4Music described the song as a "pop-meets-rock-meets-country" song.[21] Lyrically, "Just a Fool" talks about the pain of a break-up.[21] Aguilera takes the first verse singing about sitting alone in a bar late at night, "Another shot of whisky please bartender, keep it coming till I don't remember".[21] At the second verse, Blake sings in his raspy country tones and the two unite for the chorus.[21] Robert Cospey of Digital Spy described the chorus of the track as a "sing-songy" one.[20]

Critical reception

"Just a Fool" received mostly positive reviews from

Idolator called "Just a Fool" is a "gorgeous" country ballad,[28] while Jon Caramanica of The New York Times described it as a "surprisingly warm duet"[29] and Molly Lambert of Grantland named it "a monster-ballad".[30] That Grape Juice praised "Just a Fool" as an "emotive anthem" and an "unexpected gem".[31]

Sarah Godfrey of

Allmusic named it "a slow, bluesy closer".[33] Christina Garibaldi of MTV News praised Shelton's "smooth" and country vocals on the "hearbreaking" ballad, which fits nicely with Aguilera's "booming" ones.[17] Melinda Newman of HitFix analyzed that Aguilera's voices on "Just a Fool" sounded like former longtime producer Linda Perry as she sings "yeah, yeah, yeah", but Shelton's sounds "rose to the occasion" and plays the "perfect partner".[34] Michael Galluci of PopCrush praised Aguilera's "great" "throaty rasp" on the track.[35] Jim Farber of New York Daily News provided a mixed review, writing that "[Shelton] sings with measured resolve while [Aguilera] nearly suffocates him. It's certainly a powerful approach, but it comes at the cost of communicating genuine soul".[36] Negatively, Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called it "an out-of-place country-pop duet with Blake Shelton, who feels like a cheap cash-in",[37] while Annie Zaleskie for The A.V. Club criticized its "schmaltzy" sound.[25] Idolator's Mike Wass ranked "Just a Fool" at number thirty-two on his list of Aguilera's forty best songs.[38]

Chart performance

Music-related website That Grape Juice noted that at the time of its release, the song was "growing into a burgeoning hit".

Nielsen SoundScan.[1]

In Canada, the single peaked at number 37 on the country's singles chart and remained there for 20 weeks.[45] On the 49th week of 2012, "Just a Fool" debuted and peaked at number 45 in Slovakia.[46] It reached Top 5 in Iceland, where its peak was number four.[47]

Live performances and cover versions

Charice Pempengco covered the song on the show Kris TV
.

On November 19, 2012, Aguilera and Shelton performed "Just a Fool" for the first time on

the third season of The Voice, an American television singing competition on which she is serviced as a coach.[9] Wearing "sharp in dark", "semi-casual" outfits,[9] the couple sang the first verse at opposite sides of the stage, and then came together onstage and shared the second one.[9] During the performance, Aguilera kept belting to a minimum.[9] The duo ended their singing with a hug.[9] Caila Ball from Idolator wrote, "Clumsy cross-promotions and hyperbole aside, it was a night of stellar performances, kicked off by Coaches Christina and Blake making the world debut of 'Just a Fool'".[48] She continued to praise the performance, commenting, "It was a refreshingly stripped down performance from Legendtina – who uncharacteristically took the stage in jeans. Blake, on the other hand, looked a little awkward up there without a guitar and a stool".[48] On December 7, 2012, Aguilera and Shelton performed "Just a Fool" again on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[49] Sam Lansky from Idolator praised the performance, writing that the performance featured "typically dramatic" vocals and a lot of "spectacular runs", which helped the duo sound great.[49]

During the semi-finals of

21st season of The Voice.[53]

Credits and personnel

Recording
  • Recorded at Northern Sky Music.
  • Vocals recorded at The Red Lips Room, Beverly Hills, California (Aguilera's vocals); Luminous Sound, Dallas, Texas (Shelton's vocals).
Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Lotus, RCA Records.[8]

Charts

Chart (2012–13) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[45] 37
Canada AC (Billboard)[54]
 26
Canadian Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[55] 21
Iceland (Tónlist)[47] 4
Slovakia (
Rádio Top 100)[46]
 45
Ukraine (TopHit)[56] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[44] 71
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[44] 21
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[42] 28

Release history

Country Released Format Label
United States December 4, 2012 (2012-12-04) Contemporary hit radio[10] RCA Records
Hot adult contemporary radio[11]
February 18, 2013 (2013-02-18)
Adult contemporary radio[12]

References

  1. ^ a b Trust, Gary (April 30, 2015). "Christina Aguilera Makes First Appearance on Hot Country Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  2. Buzz Media. Archived from the original
    on April 4, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Hampp, Andrew (September 21, 2012). "Christina Aguilera: Billboard Cover Story". Billboard. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Schneider, Marc (April 11, 2012). "Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Hit the Studio". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Elber, Lynn (August 28, 2012). "Christina Aguilera: New album is a 'rebirth'". Yahoo! Music. Yahoo!. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
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  7. Hearst Corporation
    . May 27, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Lotus (inlay cover). Christina Aguilera. RCA Records. 2012. p. iTunes Digital Booklet.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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