Background and development The music video for "Not Myself Tonight" was filmed from April 7 to 9, 2010, in Los Angeles, directed by
Hype Williams. It officially premiered on
Vevo on April 30, 2010. On working with Williams and the new looks she developed in the video, Aguilera stated, "...someone with that much of a catalog under his belt and success as a video maker, he's like a legend. So again entering into the collaborating factor, I didn't know what to expect ... and he's probably thinking the same about me. And when we walked away from working with each other, it was just a love connection. I wanted to maintain and keep consistent with the look of the album packaging and book, and I really wanted to keep all that in line, and so he really paid attention, and I think it's really iconic and classic. We totally made magic together on a creative level, it was absolutely amazing. He really got in and listened to where my music was at". File:Christina Aguilera - Not Myself Tonight vs. Madonna - Express Yourself.jpg|thumb|right|300px|In the video for "Not Myself Tonight"
(left), Aguilera paid tribute to Madonna's visual for "Express Yourself"
(right). She further elaborated, "A lot of that [video] was based on my visual inspiration. I took Hype into my salon area in my home ... it's like my creative den. He took the ideas and then took other ideas and related to the ideas, and it just was really iconic imagery." Make-up artist Kristofer Buckle, who worked on the set of the video, said that Aguilera "wanted to push it" during the shooting. As Aguilera performs the song, she adopts identities of many different personas, including a
sex kitten. She kisses a bound female dancer portrayed by
Jenna Dewan, which reflects the song's lyrics ("I'm kissing all the boys and the girls"), and is being surrounded by look-alikes whom she
dominates. She viewed the visual for "Express Yourself" as "really strong and empowering which [she] always try to incorporate through my expression of sexuality." Several critics further noted that the S&M-inspired theme of the music video for "Not Myself Tonight" was also resembled other Madonna music videos such as "
Human Nature" (1995) and "
Like a Prayer" (1989).
MTV News' Gil Kaufman also opined that Aguilera recalled her "Dirrty" video for sharing the same sexual depiction.
Reception The music video to "Not Myself Tonight" received mixed reviews from music critics. James Montgomery of MTV News called the video "jaw-dropping". On behalf of
Rolling Stone, Daniel Kreps stated that "Aguilera assumes no less than a dozen different guises, all scantily clad, ranging from
carbon copies of Lady Gaga (borrowing heavily from her unique wardrobe), Madonna, Beyoncé,
Gwen Stefani, the girls from
Robert Palmer's '
Simply Irresistible' video and
Michelle Pfeiffer's S&M-inspired
Catwoman from
Batman Returns. Despite the video's attempt to shock, it's unlikely Aguilera will ever out-Gaga Gaga or
out-controversy Madonna. ... Hopefully next time she steps in front of the lens she'll be more herself and less like everyone else".
Idolator's editor Mike Wass opined that "the Hype Williams’ directed video is equal parts
fetish porn and high-fashion shoot".
NME ranked the "Not Myself Tonight" music video at number 8 on its list of the "50 Worst Music Videos Ever". Writing for the
Gay Times, Daniel Megarry believed the video was a clear tribute to Madonna but "its message was lost on critics". ==Live performances==