Telepathy (song)

Composed and written by Sia, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, "Telepathy" is a song recorded by Christina Aguilera featuring Nile Rodgers for the accompanying soundtrack to the Netflix musical drama series The Get Down (2016). The track listing for the soundtrack was released on August 4, 2016; Mike Wass of Idolator noted that "Telepathy" could possibly be a disco track given that Rodgers is credited as a featured artist and the disco theme of the series. ==Composition==

"Telepathy" is a disco song which lasts for a duration of three minutes, eleven seconds. PopCrush writer Bradley Stern noted that the addition of Rodgers "signature joyful, dance floor-friendly" sound adds a "touch of authenticity". Producer Nelson George described the track as being reminiscent of "1970s vogueing anthems popular at vogue-club balls like the House of LaBeija." Entertainment Weekly writer Joey Nolfi placed "Telepathy" somewhere in between the compositions of her fifth studio album Back to Basics (2006) and the lead single from her seventh album Lotus, "Your Body" (2012). ==Critical reception==

"Telepathy" garnered a positive response from music critics. Writing for Idolator, Mike Wass was initially underwhelmed by "Telepathy" upon its release. According to him, he downloaded the song regardless, and added it to what he calls his "Upbeat Xtina" playlist. He writes that a few months later, the song played on shuffle and he realized that he had previously brushed off what he now believed to be one of the best and most underrated songs of 2016. Robbie Daw of the same publication was complimentary of Aguilera's vocal performance, opining that she "sings beautifully amidst a swirling wall of sound." He continued to write that it was a welcome change of tempo following the release of her previous single, "Change". Joey Nolfi of Entertainment Weekly described "Telepathy" as the "funkiest" release by Aguilera for several years, Fuse.tv called it one of the best songs of 2016, and Digital Spy's Alim Kheraj shared the same sentiment. In a review for That Grape Juice "Telepathy" has been called "a glittery disco tune that beams with the success of experimentation", as well as "one of the best songs of 2016", and an underrated track in Aguilera's discography. In 2023, LGBTQ-related website Queer.pl called it a "gay classic". ==Chart performance==

Commercially, "Telepathy" achieved the most success in the United States, where it reached number-one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart for the issue dated November 12, 2016. It reached the top twenty in its third week, charting at number 18, and topped the chart in its seventh. "Telepathy" became Aguilera's ninth number-one song on the Dance Club Songs chart—her first being "Beautiful" in 2003—and her first since "Say Something" with A Great Big World in May 2014; the track also became Rodgers' fourth chart-topper. Rodgers has achieved four number-ones since "I'll Be There", a collaboration with Chic, in June 2015; only Rihanna has achieved more number-one songs in that time span, with five. Elsewhere, the song failed to replicate the same success. It reached the top 40 on the Urban chart in the Flanders region of Belgium, where it peaked at number 38 and spent a total of three weeks on the chart. In France, "Telepathy" spent one week at number 120. ==Music video==

Due to the song's success on the US Dance Club Songs chart, Aguilera decided to self-produce a music video for "Telepathy" as a thank you gift, stating on Facebook "I wanted to make a fun video for my fans since 'Telepathy' from The Get Down is #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs Chart. Thanks to all the fans, radio and DJs loving the song!" Directed by Hannah Lux Davis, it is Aguilera's first music video as a soloist in four years and, despite the song being more than three minutes long, the video itself is 96 seconds in length. It consists of the singer sitting in a multi-colored room dressed in disco-themed sequined clothes, including knee-high boots, with a large hair style as she holds a disco ball. She is also seen lying down on a glittering pool table. Deepa Lakshmin of MTV News thought that given the theme of The Get Down, it "makes sense" that the video should be disco-themed. Writing for Billboard, Taylor Weatherby noted that the video is "short-but-sweet" and did not blame her for wanting to celebrate the song reaching number-one and having some fun. Joey Nolfi for Entertainment Weekly wrote that her large hair style was reminiscent of how she had it around the time of the release of Moulin Rouge!. Gay Times writer Daniel Megarry joked that the size of Aguilera's hair would "make RuPaul jealous". == Live performances ==

The song was included in the setlist for Aguilera's Vegas residency Christina Aguilera: The Xperience (2019–2020). It was used as an interlude, followed directly by a hip hop song "Accelerate". ==Formats and track listings==

• ;Digital download (Album version) "Telepathy" (featuring Nile Rodgers) [from The Get Down (Original Soundtrack from the Netflix Original Series)] – 3:11 • ;Digital download (Remix) • "Telepathy" (featuring Nile Rodgers) [Le Youth Remix] – 4:19 • ;Digital download (Remix EP) • "Telepathy" (featuring Nile Rodgers) [Rare Candy Radio Mix] – 3:16 • "Telepathy" (featuring Nile Rodgers) [Eric Kupper Radio Mix] – 3:40 • "Telepathy" (featuring Nile Rodgers) [Solidisco Remix] – 4:00 • "Telepathy" (featuring Nile Rodgers) [Malay & Young Bombs Remix] – 3:22 • "Telepathy" (featuring Nile Rodgers) [Tobtok Remix] – 4:46 • "Telepathy" (featuring Nile Rodgers) [Moto Blanco Radio Mix] – 3:06 ==Personnel==

Credits adapted from Tidal. • Vocals – Christina Aguilera • Composers – Sia Furler, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen • Lyricists – Sia Furler, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen • Producers – Elliott Wheeler, Baz Luhrmann • Conductor – Eric Hachikian • Musicians – Nile Rodgers, Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon, Thomas Brenneck • Mixing engineers – Chris Galland, Manny Marroquin ==Charts==