Liberation (Christina Aguilera album)

Following the release of her seventh album Lotus (2012), Aguilera took a career hiatus to focus on her family. Later in October 2015, Aguilera confirmed that she was recording two albums: one in English and one in Spanish (which was slated to be her second after 2000's Mi Reflejo). During the interview, she also elaborated on the album's working process, saying: "I've been loosely working and sort of accumulating ideas for what my next album will be over the last couple of years. I'm excited for my fans to finally be getting something from me — it's been a while!" In 2016, she returned to The Voice season ten, winning the series with her contestant Alisan Porter, making Aguilera the first female coach to win the series. During a promotional interview for the TV show, Aguilera stated about the album: "It will be an album of freedom." On June 16, 2016, Aguilera released the song "Change", dedicated to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting, while on August 23, 2016, she released "Telepathy" for the TV series The Get Down soundtrack, which topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. In February 2018, media reported that Aguilera was collaborating with Demi Lovato who confirmed a collaboration. In March 2018, a low-quality snippet of a song called "Masochist" leaked online, as well as the full-length demo of the song "Fall in Line", which prompted rumors that the tracks were supposed to be on the album. On May 3, 2018, Aguilera released the first single "Accelerate" featuring American singer Ty Dolla Sign and rapper 2 Chainz, as well as its music video, while also confirming the album's title, Liberation, and its art, track listing and announced the album was available for pre-order online. ==Recording==

Recording for the album initially took place in early 2014. At early stages, the first producer that was confirmed to be working with Aguilera was Pharrell Williams, which according to the singer, had one song that she loved. In 2015, Aguilera confirmed that she was still writing and gathering songs for the album to eventually record them. In February 2017, Aguilera claimed she was adding the final touches to the album, however in the same month, Tayla Parx confirmed she had worked with Aguilera, as well as Da Internz, Kanye West and PartyNextDoor. Billboard would later reveal that Aguilera met West in Rick Rubin's Shangri La studio in Malibu, California, a few months before West released The Life of Pablo in 2016. Aguilera also mentioned about working with Paak, which produced two tracks, by saying: "He and I connected big-time. He was like, 'I used to watch you on TRL!' He's a great lyricist, soul singer and rapper. And he murders the drums." Commenting about choosing Lovato, Aguilera claimed: "We went through a few names of women. I needed a belty singer, and she took it to the next level. I almost cried when I first heard her on the record." American singer and songwriter Jon Bellion confirmed in a now-deleted tweet that he is the producer behind "Fall in Line". The singer revealed that during the album's working process she regretted not having Cardi B and Childish Gambino on the album; the first "got lost in the shuffle", after being discouraged by a producer to work with her, while the latter was working on the TV series Atlanta and the two never had the time to materialize the collaboration. Hamilton did not initially confirm this, but confirmed the rumors in July 2020. In August 2018, Aguilera revealed that she recorded "a lot more" songs during the Liberation studio sessions, and they could end up on her follow-up album. ==Music and lyrics==

is featured on the R&B song "Pipe", under the pseudonym XNDA. Liberation is a pop, R&B and hip-hop record, with soul, reggae, trap, Southern rock and dancehall elements. It was described as a "hip-hop and R&B inspired" album by Billboard. The album opens with the eponymous composition, "Liberation", written by Nicholas Britell. We hear the voices of laughing children, This instrumental prelude, lasting no more than two minutes, emphasizes the essence of freedom and being oneself. Billboard described the third track, "Maria", as "a pulsing, intricately orchestrated piece that includes a Michael Jackson sample and an extended introduction in which Aguilera sings from The Sound of Music." On "Maria", Aguilera adapts a "bluesy lower range" and sings about existential misery. The song's lyrics were characterized as "thrillingly acerbic" by The Guardian's Alim Kheraj, and Aguilera explained that they "were born out of feeling stagnant in one place for too long, feeling a little asleep at the wheel. Anytime that you get just too comfortable in a place where you just feel that you're not living up to your full potential it's time to flip the script and move." The track begins with a spoken word verse by an unknown man, but later, in a feminist gesture, it is performed by three female artists (Aguilera, Keida, Shenseea). ==Title and artwork==

About the title of the album Aguilera explained, "I wanted to have a title that meant freeing myself from anything that wasn't my truth. That's a constant I think in everyone's life: every time you feel stifled in a current situation where you feel you're not quite yourself or being bogged down by other people's opinions. Or when you feel like you're stuck in a stagnant place." On the May 2018 cover of Paper magazine, Aguilera appeared bare-faced without makeup and retouching, saying "I'm at the place, even musically, where it's a liberating feeling to be able to strip it all back and appreciate who you are and your raw beauty." The similar photography style was chosen for the Liberation artwork—posing with a natural look, Aguilera is seen in closeup. The cover of the standard edition was revealed on Aguilera's website on May 3, 2018. ==Release and promotion==

. On April 28, 2018, Aguilera had a concert at Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix where she unveiled a promo video as an intro for the upcoming album. On May 3, 2018, Liberations release date in the United States was confirmed to be June 15, and a teaser trailer titled ''Liberation: Where's Maria?'' was released on May 4, in which the singer spoke about her inspiration and the concept of the album. On May 9, 2018, Aguilera announced she will embark on The Liberation Tour to support the album, which is her first tour since 2006's Back to Basics Tour. Aguilera performed "Fall in Line" with Lovato at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards on May 20, 2018. The singer partnered with Pandora and held an album listening session on May 31, 2018, at The Peppermint Club. On June 13, 2018, Aguilera made a surprise performance in disguise in a New York City subway alongside Jimmy Fallon, where she performed Aretha Franklin's "Think" and her own "Fighter". The performance was taped and broadcast the next night on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she was interviewed and performed and "Fall in Line". The next day, she performed on Today Show and was interviewed on Total Request Live. On September 12, Aguilera was interviewed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Several songs from Liberation made it onto the set list of Aguilera's Las Vegas residency Christina Aguilera: The Xperience (2019–2020). When on a break from the residency, Aguilera embarked on another tour in support of the album, The X Tour, throughout 2019. The X Tour promoted Liberation in Europe and Mexico across 18 dates. Singles "Accelerate" featuring singer Ty Dolla Sign and rapper 2 Chainz was released on May 3, 2018, as the lead single from the album. The music video premiered on Aguilera's Vevo channel on the same day. It reached number-one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart for the issue dated September 1, 2018, becoming Aguilera's tenth song to do so, as well as Ty Dolla Sign and 2 Chainz's first number-one song. On May 11, 2018, "Twice" was released as a promotional single from the album. "Fall in Line" featuring singer-songwriter Demi Lovato was released on May 16, 2018, as the second official single from Liberation. A lyric video was uploaded on Aguilera's Vevo channel on the same day, while the music video premiered on May 23, 2018. A week prior the album release, on June 7, 2018, "Like I Do" featuring rapper GoldLink was released as the third single. The lyric video for the song was released on June 21, 2018. ==Critical reception==

Liberation received positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Liberation has an average score of 71 based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The New York Times critic Jon Pareles complimented the album's experimental styles incorporating various genres and wrote that "[Aguilera's] extravagant vocal flourishes connect with sweeping emotion". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member George Clinton complimented the album track "Sick of Sittin'", calling it Funkadelic-inspired, as well as praising its "vibe" and production. At the 2018 GAFFA Awards, Liberation was nominated for the International Album of the Year award. It was also nominated for the International Album of the Year at the 2018 Luvpop Awards. Year-end lists "Unless It's with You" was ranked the 23rd best song of 2018 by Rolling Stone. ==Commercial performance==

In the United States, Liberation debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 68,000 album-equivalent units (62,000 in album sales), becoming Aguilera's second lowest-peaking and lowest-selling record in the United States. In the second week, it fell 90 positions to 96 with sales of approximately 3,000 copies, a 95% drop compared to the first week. Liberation was also the third best-selling album of the week. Furthermore, the release saw Aguilera re-enter and peak at number eight on the Billboard Artist 100 chart. The album spent two weeks on the chart, falling ninety-two spots to number ninety-eight in its second week before leaving the chart in its third week. On the Canadian Albums Chart compiled by Billboard, the record debuted and peaked at number five, becoming her highest-charting album since Bionic and overall, her fifth album that peaks inside the top-five. In Australia, the album debuted at number 9 on the Australian Albums Chart, becoming her fourth top 10 album and earning her highest charting studio effort since Bionic. Elsewhere, it became Aguilera's highest-charting album in Spain, entering the Spanish Albums Chart at number 1. It also became her third top 10 album, following Back to Basics and Bionic. ==Track listing==

Notes • signifies a co-producer • signifies an additional producer • signifies a vocal producer for Demi Lovato • "Maria" contains a sample of "Maria (You Were the Only One)", written by Lawrence Brown, Linda Glover, Horgay Gordy and Allen Story, as performed by Michael Jackson. • "Sick of Sittin'" contains a sample of "No Registration", written and performed by Janne Schaffer. • "Accelerate" contains a sample of "I Like Funky Music" by Uncle Louie, and "I Feel So Good Inside", written by Ronald Brown, as performed by The Techniques IV. ==Personnel==

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Liberation. Performers and musicians • Christina Aguilera – vocals (all tracks) • Demi Lovato – vocals (track 6) • Keida – vocals, additional vocals (track 7) • Shenseea – vocals, additional vocals (track 7) • GoldLink – vocals (track 8) • Ty Dolla $ign – vocals (track 12) • 2 Chainz – vocals (track 12) • XNDA – vocals (track 13) • Ilsey Juber – background vocals (tracks 3, 14) • Anderson .Paak – background vocals (tracks 4, 11) • Jon Bellion – background vocals (track 6) • Audra Mae – background vocals, additional vocals (track 6) • Tayla Parx – background vocals (tracks 7, 13) • Lauren Evans – background vocals (track 15) • Elizabeth Komba – background vocals (track 15) • MNEK – additional vocals (track 9) • Kirby Lauryen – additional vocals (track 12) • Nicholas Britell – piano (track 1), strings arranger (track 3) • Tim Fain – violin (track 1) • Rob Moose – violin (track 3), viola (tracks 1, 3), octave bass viola (track 3) • Jairus "J MO" Mozee – guitar (track 4) • Ryan Svendsen – trumpet & flugelhorn (track 6) • Bryan "Composer" Nelson – all instruments (track 7) • Darhyl "Hey DJ" Camper Jr – all instruments (track 14) • Tim Anderson – all instruments (track 14) • Ricky Reed – guitar (track 15) • Carlitos del Puetro – bass (track 15) • Vinnie Colaiuta – drums (track 15) • Rogét Chahayed – piano (track 15) Production • Christina Aguilera – executive production, production (track 11) • Nicholas Britell – production (track 1) • Kanye West – production (tracks 3, 12) • Che Pope – production (tracks 3, 12, 13), co-production (track 7) • Hudson Mohawke – co-production (track 3) • Noah Goldstein – co-production (track 3), additional production (track 12) • Anderson .Paak – production (tracks 4, 8) • Mell Beats – production (track 4) • Jon Bellion – production (track 6) • Mark Williams – co-production (track 6) • Raul Cubina – co-production (track 6) • Mitch Allan – vocal production for Demi Lovato (track 6) • Bryan "Composer" Nelson – production (track 7) • Kosine – production (track 7) • BRLLNT – co-production (track 8) • Dumbfoundead – additional production (track 8) • MNEK – production (track 9) • Kirby Lauryen – production (track 10) • Sandy Chila – additional production (track 10) • Mike Dean – production (track 12) • Charlie Heat – co-production (track 12) • Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E. – co-production (track 12) • Eric Danchick – additional production (track 12) • Sango – production (track 13) • Neenyo – production (track 13) • Darhyl "Hey DJ" Camper Jr – production (track 14) • Tim Anderson – production (track 14) • Ricky Reed – production (track 15) Technical • Oscar Ramirez – vocals engineering (tracks 2–4, 7–11, 13–15), Christina Aguilera vocals engineering (tracks 6, 12) • Noah Goldstein – engineering (tracks 3, 12) • Jonathan Simpson – recording (track 6) • Scott Robinson – additional vocal engineering (track 6) • Bryan "Composer" Nelson – programming (track 7) • MNEK – engineering (track 9) • Pro Logic – XNDA vocals recording (track 13) • Darhyl "Hey DJ" Camper Jr – programming (track 14) • Tim Anderson – programming, engineering (track 14) • Bill Malina – engineering (track 15) Artwork • Brian Roettinger – art direction & design • Milan Zrnic – photography (cover, back cover, pages 2, 3, 5, 10 and 16) • Luke Gilford – photography (pages 4, 8–9) • Lea Colombo – photography (pages 6–7) ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts == Certifications and sales==