Slow Down Baby

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"Slow Down Baby"
Single by Christina Aguilera
from the album Back to Basics
ReleasedJuly 24, 2007 (2007-07-24)
Genre
Length3:27
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Mark Ronson
  • Christina Aguilera (add.)
Christina Aguilera singles chronology
"Candyman"
(2007) 		"Slow Down Baby"
(2007) 		"Oh Mother"
(2007)
Licensed audio
"Slow Down Baby" on
YouTube

"Slow Down Baby" is a song recorded by American singer

Gladys Knight and the Pips and "So Seductive" (2005) by American rapper Tony Yayo
. Due to the inclusion of the samples, the original songs' writers obtained writing credits.

Musically, "Slow Down Baby" is a

Australian Singles Chart
, although it did not receive any promotion in that country.

Background

Aguilera's fifth studio album, Back to Basics, is made up of two discs.

samples in the production.[1] The second disc consists solely of collaborations with producer Linda Perry.[1][2] Aguilera sent letters to different producers that she hoped could help her with the direction she was taking for the project, encouraging them to experiment, re-invent and create a modern soul feel.[3] She described the first disc as "kind of a throwback with elements of jazz, blues and soul music combined with a modern-day twist, like hard-hitting beats".[1]

Aguilera and Ronson wrote "Slow Down Baby" alongside

North Hollywood.[4]

Composition

"Slow Down Baby"
A 21-second sample of "Slow Down Baby"'s chorus, featuring the "Window Raisin' Granny" and "So Seductive" samples and elements of R&B, hip hop, funk and soul genres.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Slow Down Baby" is an

JournalNews critic Sonia Murray observed that it "savvily" combines hip hop and early soul.[8] "Slow Down Baby"'s instrumentation consists of pianos and horns,[10] which recall the 1970s blaxploitation film genre.[11] In the lyrics, Aguilera tells a "lusty" man to leave her alone as she sings, "If you knew anything you'd realise I'm wearing a ring".[9] The song contains two samples, "Window Raisin' Granny" (1973) by R&B group Gladys Knight & the Pips—written by William Guest, Merald Knight, Edward Patten and Gladys Knight—and "So Seductive" (2005) by rapper Tony Yayo—written by Marvin Bernard, Michael Harper and Curtis Jackson.[4] Due to its sampling, the original songs' writers are credited as songwriters.[4] According to sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, "Slow Down Baby" is written in the time signature of common time with a moderate beat rate of 110 beats per minute. The song is written in the key of F♯ minor and Aguilera's vocal range spans from the low-note of A3 to the high-note of G5.[12] According to Spence D. of IGN, "Slow Down Baby" interpolates a "vocal page" from LL Cool J's "Jingling Baby" (1990).[13]

Critical reception

Aguilera performing "Slow Down Baby" on the Back to Basics Tour

The Guardian critic Dorian Lyskey was positive regarding "Slow Down Baby", writing that it "smartly slaps a 50 Cent samplehow funk".[14] John Murphy of musicOMH named it one of the album's highlights and deemed it "fresh and funky".[7] Moreover, Murphy called it "sharp and sassy infectious pop" and used it as an example of Aguilera being "at her best".[7] Writing for The Boston Globe, Joan Anderman commented that the song's "tangle of horns and pianos [are] pushed to the edge of sonic sense".[10] Len Righi of The Morning Call wrote that Aguilera "sings with remarkable conviction" throughout the album, but the soul and funk of "Slow Down Baby" put her at "Aretha Franklin's doorstep".[15] The Virginian-Pilot writer Malcolm Venable commented that "Slow Down Baby", alongside "Back in the Day" and "Without You", displays Aguilera's "well-shaking" vocals and "tight, seemingly effortless songwriting".[16]

Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the song "neatly blends old- and new-school R&B".[6] Tampa Bay Times critic Sean Daly referred "Slow Down Baby" to as "the very essence of Aguilera", indicating "old school, new school and big vocal belting".[17] Spence D. of IGN recommended "Slow Down Baby" for digital download and commended Aguilera's "throaty insistence".[13] Scott Mervis of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that the song, alongside the album's first single "Ain't No Other Man" and "Understand", "keep [Aguilera] on the track of torchy old-school soul that lets her limitless voice run wild and free".[18] In 2010, Digital Spy's critic Nick Levine included "Slow Down Baby" on a list of Aguilera's ten best songs.[9] On a similar, top-40 list for the Idolator "Slow Down Baby" was ranked at number thirty-three.[19]

Commercial performance

To promote the Oceanian leg of the Back to Basics Tour, "Slow Down Baby" was released as the album's fourth single on July 28, 2007, in Australia.[20] It debuted at number 41 on the ARIA Digital Tracks chart in the issue dated July 23, 2007.[21] The song later entered the main singles chart at number 21 in the issue dated August 6, 2007.[22] The position became its peak, which made it Aguilera's first single since "I Turn to You" (2000) to miss the top ten.[23] The same week, "Slow Down Baby" debuted at number 20 on the physical singles chart, and rose to number 22 on the digital chart.[22] It remained on the main chart for six weeks.[23]

Live performances

Aguilera first performed the song during a concert held in front of 1,500 fans and invited guests in London on July 20, 2006.[24][25] The 40-minute concert comprised songs from the then-upcoming Back to Basics and other songs, including "Lady Marmalade" (2001) and "Beautiful" (2002).[25] Aguilera ended the show with "Slow Down Baby", and David Smyth of Evening Standard commented that the song "rounded things up with big horns and bigger beats".[24] The song was later performed during the worldwide Back to Basics Tour.[26] The performance was preceded by newspapers headlines that flashed across a big screen, such as, "Christina goes from 'dirrty' to demure" and "Christina cleans up her act".[27] Aguilera wore black lace thigh-high boots and a white bodysuit.[27] The performance is included on the video release Back to Basics: Live and Down Under (2008).[28]

Formats and track listing

  1. "Slow Down Baby" (album version) – 3:27
  2. "Slow Down Baby" (instrumental version) – 3:27

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the "Slow Down Baby" liner notes.[4]

Recording and samples

  • Recorded at Allido Sound, New York City and
    The Record Plant
    , Los Angeles, California
  • Contains a sample from "Window Raisin' Granny", written by
    Gladys Knight and the Pips
  • Contains a sample from "So Seductive", written by Marvin Bernard, Michael Harper and Curtis Jackson as performed by Tony Yayo

Personnel

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Slow Down Baby"
Chart (2007) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[23] 21
New Zealand Airplay (Recorded Music NZ)[31] 38

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Slow Down Baby"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Australia July 24, 2007 Digital download Sony BMG [29]
July 28, 2007 CD [30]

References

  1. ^
    Viacom
    . Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  2. Wenner Media
    . Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  3. ^ Clarke, Stuart (August 12, 2006). "Aguilera takes twin-track approach for new album". Music Week. Intent Media.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Slow Down Baby (liner notes). Christina Aguilera. Australia: RCA Records. 2007. 8 8697-13691-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ a b Adams, Cameron (August 30, 2007). "Mark Ronson, hitman to the stars". Herald Sun. The Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  6. ^
    Time, Inc
    . Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  7. ^ a b c Murphy, John. "Christina Aguilera – Back To Basics". musicOMH. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  8. ^
    JournalNews. Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original
    on August 23, 2006. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  9. ^
    Hachette Filipacchi UK
    . Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  10. ^ a b Anderman, Joan (August 13, 2006). "Aguilera is too clever by half". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  11. ^ Gennoe, Dan (August 17, 2006). "Christina Aguilera - Back To Basics". Yahoo! UK & Ireland. Yahoo! Inc. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  12. ^ "Christina Aguilera, 'Slow Down Baby' – Composition Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Universal Music Publishing Group. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  13. ^
    News Corporation. Archived from the original
    on July 10, 2007. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  14. ^ Lyskey, Dorian (August 4, 2006). "Christina Aguilera, Back to Basics". The Guardian. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  15. Tribune Company
    . Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  16. ^ Venable, Malcolm (December 29, 2006). "Soundwaves". The Virginian-Pilot. Landmark Media Enterprises.
  17. ^ Daly, Sean (August 19, 2006). "Aguilera takes out the trash". Tampa Bay Times. Times Publishing Company. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  18. ^ Mervis, Scott (August 17, 2006). "Christina Aguilera 'Back to Basics'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Block Communications. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  19. ^ Wass, Mike (December 18, 2020). "Christina Aguilera's 40 Best Songs". Idolator. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  20. ^ "Christina Aguilera Arrives In Town This Week!". Sony Music Australia. July 12, 2007. Archived from the original on September 4, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  21. ^ "The ARIA Report – Week Commencing 23rd July 2007" (PDF). ARIA Charts. Australian Web Archive. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2007. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  22. ^ a b "The ARIA Report – Week Commencing 6th August 2007" (PDF). ARIA Charts. Australian Web Archive. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2007. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  23. ^ a b c "Christina Aguilera – Slow Down Baby". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  24. ^ a b Smyth, David (July 21, 2006). "What a night, Christina". Evening Standard. Alexander Lebedev / Evgeny Lebedev / Daily Mail and General Trust. Archived from the original on May 5, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  25. ^
    MTV UK
    . Viacom. August 1, 2006. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  26. ^ Walsh, Ben (December 17, 2006). "Christina Aguilera, Wembley Arena, London". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  27. ^ a b Schaffer, Regina (April 2, 2007). "Singer entertains with fast-paced 90-minute show". The Press of Atlantic City. Abarta. Archived from the original on September 12, 2007. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  28. ^ "Christina Aguilera – Back to Basics: Live and Down Under DVD". RCA Records. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  29. ^
    Apple
    . Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  30. ^ a b "Slow Down Baby – Christina Aguilera". Getmusic.com.au. Universal Music Australia. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  31. ^ "RadioScope100 – August 5 2007 – RadioScope New Zealand". RadioScope. August 5, 2007. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
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