AMVR CRISTINA AGUILERA WHAT A GIRL WANTS REVERSE VERSION1VIDEO NOT OFFICIAL FULLYREMASTERED 4K60FPS

What a Girl Wants

Released



1999

B-side

"Too Beautiful for Words"

"We're a Miracle"

"Genio Atrapado"

"Christina Aguilera Medley"

ReleasedSeptember 4, 1999Recorded

1998 (album version)

September 1999 (re-recorded version)[1]

Genre

Teen pop

R&B

Length

3:52 (original version)

3:35 (new album version)

3:20 (radio edit)

LabelRCASongwriter(s)

Shelly Peiken

Guy Roche

Producer(s)Guy RocheChristina Aguilera singles chronology"Genie in a Bottle"
(1999)"What a Girl Wants"
(1999)"I Turn to You"
(2000)The song was described as a pop and R&B track and had similarities to "Genie in a Bottle". It received positive reviews from music critics, who described it as a "light" song and compared Aguilera's vocals on the track to those of Mariah Carey. Commercially, the song became her second consecutive US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, and also topped the charts in Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, and Spain; the song is recognized as the first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single of the 2000s. The single eventually earned gold certifications in countries including Australia, Belgium and Sweden, as well as being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

A music video was directed by Diane Martel, who had also directed her previous video for "Genie in a Bottle". The video features Aguilera dancing in a room with female friends whilst being viewed by their boyfriends, and includes a scene where she is dressed as a medieval-style princess. In December 1999, the video reached pole position on the US music video chart TRL. Aguilera has performed the song at events such as the US Jingle Ball and the MTV New Year's Eve Special in 1999,[2] as well as her tours including the Christina Aguilera: In Concert (2000–2001), the Stripped Live... on Tour (2003), the Back to Basics Tour (2006–2008), the Liberation Tour (2018), and most recently on both The X Tour and Christina Aguilera: The Xperience in 2019.Background
Edit
After what was described as an "incredible" response to her debut single, the interest in Aguilera began to grow, at which point her record label decided it was time to release a second single.[3] The label and Aguilera disputed over which track should be released, with Aguilera recalling: "You know, some people do want me to stay in the pop scene, [but] I want to grow from there. I always want to continue growing and getting to that level of, 'Oh, she's a real singer, a real ballad-singer, she can do it'."[3] However, the announcement then came that "What a Girl Wants" would be released as the follow-up single, with Aguilera saying "The next single will be 'What a Girl Wants', but a totally cool remix of it".[3] The single was not chosen by Aguilera, but instead her record label RCA and label executive Ron Fair. Aguilera herself had little control over the entire project, and a marketing strategy foresaw that Aguilera would have better success as a "teen idol" so in an effort to maintain her persona, music was chosen and recorded under the basis that she would become the next pop phenomenon.[4]Writing and recording
Edit
"I had a little cassette running, a work tape in case you can't remember something but you know it was good. A lot of hooks come out of making mistakes and then you can't remember what you did. I went home that night and got into bed with my husband. I was listening to our work tape. I knew there was a real gem there in a very raw form that was going to be something one day."

Writer Peiken talks about the development of the track.[5]
Shelly Peiken was the writer behind "What a Girl Wants". One day the pair were working with a cassette tape, experimenting with vocals and hooks, after which she decided that the work-in-progress had potential and she would return to it at a later date.[5]

"What a Girl Wants" was the first track recorded for Christina Aguilera in June 1998. Fair liked the song and after the decision was made to release it as the second single the label called for a second recording of the track, changing the original key in addition to editing rhythmic changes.[5] The second recording came in September 1999 after the success of her debut single "Genie in a Bottle", with Aguilera's label wanting to produce a similar tone.[5]

Peiken stated that "What a Girl Wants" and "Bitch"—another song co-written by her—were both inspired by the songwriter's relationship with her husband. Peiken went on to add: "They've got a common thread because they're from the same soul."[6]Composition
EditWhat a Girl Wants" is a teen pop[7]-R&B track with some similarities to her debut single "Genie in a Bottle".[8] Written in the key of C major,[9] the track begins with the lyrics "What a girl wants, what a girl needs, whatever makes me happy sets you free" and is set at a tempo 142 beats per minute. The vocal range is F♯3-E♭6.[10] Anthony Violanti from Buffalo News described the track as a "light hip-hop song" in comparison to the previous single.