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Background After signing a record deal with
RCA Records, Christina Aguilera started working on songs from her debut album, set to be released in January 1999.
Ron Fair was the album's
executive producer and according to him, "She was very much a raw talent, so building a collection of songs that would become her first album was a time-consuming process. We wanted to find the ones that could knock the door down and put her up there." Famous songwriter
Diane Warren was hired to write material for the album, eventually writing "Somebody's Somebody" and suggested that "I Turn to You" would be perfect for her voice. Eventually, Aguilera recorded "I Turn to You" and included it on her
self-titled debut album, and the song was chosen as the album's third single. It was sent to U.S. radio on March 28, 2000, while its CD single was released on June 13, 2000. A Spanish version of the song entitled "Por Siempre Tú" was recorded and also released as a single, According to the sheet music published by
Alfred Publishing, it has a slow
tempo of 62 beats per minute and a key of
D♭ major. Aguilera's vocal range spans from the low-note of
A♭3 to the high-note of
F5. Lyrically, the song is about calling upon the love of that special one when times get tough. For Aguilera, the song "is about that sort of perfect love, which we all dream. This kind of song can make you feel safe and warm anytime of the year. And there's no one better to turn to for that than my own mother," she claimed. "For a shield, from the storm for a friend, for a love to keep me safe and warm, I turn to you/For the strength to be strong, for the will to carry on/For everything you do, for everything that's true, I turn to you," she sings in the chorus.
Critical reception "I Turn to You" received mixed reviews from
music critics, with some praising Aguilera's vocals, while others criticizing the ballad for being too formulaic. In a positive review, Amanda Murray of
Sputnikmusic called the song a "truly well-made pop song", writing that "the music plays a diminished role and Aguilera's voice is allowed to soar and shine moreso than on any of the other tracks." Despite writing that Aguilera "does deliver on the glorious mid-section," Chuck Taylor of
Billboard felt that the track "is about as clichéd as ballad gets," sounding "more like a leftover from the stack rather than the kind of glorious anthem Warren is capable of," calling it a remake of
Whitney Houston's "
Count On Me". Music critic Kenneth Partridge complimented the song, calling it "sweet" and "inspirational", and noted that "Christina turns in a winning vocal performance". Nikki Tranter of
PopMatters called it "a nice little song ruined by that horrid pop beat threatening to destroy cheesy love songs for all time," writing that "the beat alone drags Christina's
Etta James potential back down to
Mariah Carey quality." Beth Johnson of
Entertainment Weekly called it a "maudlin ballad best suited to thirtysomething divas," calling it "a near-identical rip-off of Diane Warren's own
Celine Dion smash, '
Because You Loved Me'." Julene Snyder of
Sonic.net considered "I Turn to You" a "tear-jerker designed to incite concertgoers to link arms and sing along, even while some of us cringe at the over-the-top vocal histrionics." In retrospect,
Billboard's Chris Malone called the song "an expertly written ballad". and
AXS placed it at number three of a similar list. "I Turn to You" has been nominated for
Choice Music — Best Love Song at the
2000 Teen Choice Awards.
Chart performance "I Turn to You" debuted at number 50 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the Hot Shot Debut of the week ending April 15, 2000. It also debuted on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, at number 47, with an audience of 28.5 million, also becoming the highest-debuting song on the airplay chart. In its second week, the song jumped to number 39, while in its third week the song climbed to number 30. The song entered the top-twenty on the week of May 20, 2000 (at number 19), and peaked on the week ending July 1, 2000, with a huge climb from number 17 to number 3, becoming its peak position and Aguilera's third top-ten single, making it the only single from the album to fail to reach number one. It peaked at number 5 on the
Adult Contemporary chart, becoming her highest-charting single at the time. "I Turn to You" reached the top 20 in New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom. In New Zealand, "I Turn to You" peaked at number 11 and spent 18 weeks on the chart; her longest of the album, and was directed by
Joseph Kahn. and it premiered on April 3, 2000, during the
MTV's
Making the Video and made its world premiere on
MTV's
Total Request Live on April 10, 2000. The video's storyline follows a young woman getting into an accident, after arguing with her mother. Later, her mother is seen worriedly waiting for word on where she is at the late hour. The video ends with the girl being given the support she needs by her mother. Christina is seen singing in front of a microphone before walking in the rain with an umbrella, and on a rooftop. The rooftop scene was shot in front of a
green screen, not in a real rooftop, as seen on the making of.
The Celebrity Cafe listed it at number 5 on their "Top 10 Christina Aguilera music videos" list.
Live performances Aguilera performed "I Turn to You" in a number of places, first being in 1999 alongside
Tevin Campbell at the
Alma Awards (April 11, 1999) followed
Saturday Night Live (April 8, 2000) & ''
The Rosie O'Donnell Show being the first three. She also performed on a medley with "What a Girl Wants" during the American Music Awards of 2000, "Party in the Park", "The Music Factory Dutch" and many others. Aguilera also performed the track during her "Christina Aguilera in Concert" tour as well as on the Genie Gets Her Wish'' home video, where Heather Phares of
AllMusic praised the performance of the song, writing that on the track "Aguilera's undeniable vocal gifts shine through," and on her
My Reflection DVD (2001).
Spanish version In 1999, Aguilera began recording her first Spanish album in Miami with Cuban-American producer
Rudy Pérez. He composed Spanish versions of five songs from Aguilera's debut album, including "I Turn to You", which became "Por Siempre Tú". "Por Siempre Tú" was written and produced by Pérez among the former producer of the song, Guy Roche.
Diane Warren and
Ron Fair executively produced the track, while Aguilera, Pérez and Wendy Pendersen provided background vocals. Her decision to record in Spanish scored points with the Spanish-speaking audience, said Haz Montana, program director at the
Los Angeles Latin-music station KSSE-FM. "There's usually a sizeable rejection when someone just translates an English song and doesn't speak a lick of Spanish," he said. "She's defied the odds." He further commented: "Her accent is impeccable," he said. "There may be a slight nuance here and there that tells you that Spanish is not her first language, but that's as far as it gets." "Por Siempre Tú" was released as a single during the time "I Turn to You" was also released. Sean Piccoli of
Sun-Sentinel described Diane Warren's song as, "one of those
Wind Beneath My Wings lifter-uppers that she cranks out for the likes of
Celine Dion and
Faith Hill," and noted that "Aguilera, like Warren's other interpreters, is faithfully cringe-inducing and overdramatic. She shares their deafness to understatement and can no more reel it in for this or any other moment that might benefit from a lighter touch." Piccoli's thoughts on the
Mi Reflejo album were summed up as, "For anyone who thinks Taco Bell is authentic Mexican, this is Latin pop." "Por Siempre Tú" peaked at number six on the
Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart, becoming Aguilera's first top-ten single on the Latin charts. It spent 10 weeks on the charts. Aguilera performed the Spanish version on the "Caracas Pop Festival" in 2001 as well as on her
Mi Reflejo Tour.
Track listings US CD single • "I Turn to You" – 4:01 • "Por Siempre Tú" – 3:53
European maxi single Aguilera's version of "I Turn to You" was part of the soundtrack of Brazilian soap opera
Uga-Uga (2000). In 2005, American singer
Vonzell Solomon performed the track during the
fourth season of
American Idol. In 2008,
Nina Girado, a
Filipino pop/
R&B singer, covered the track for her fourth studio album
Nina Sings the Hits of Diane Warren. In 2020, American Idol contestant and winner ''
'Just Sam''' performed the song as a dedication to her grandmother, part of the season's Mother's Day Tribute after becoming top 7 in the competition. In a 2013 interview, American recording artist
Lady Gaga stated that she was inspired by Aguilera's version of the track, saying, "When I was 15, I was singing 'I Turn to You' at the top of my lungs trying to hit all her notes. So she was an inspiration to me to have a wider vocal range." Most recently, the song was used as a battle song between contestants Beth Spangler and Mia Pfirrman during the
seventh season of the American singing competition
The Voice.
Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications and sales Release history ==References==