"Dirrty" | |||||||||||
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Single by Christina Aguilera featuring Redman | |||||||||||
from the album Stripped | |||||||||||
B-side | "I Will Be" | ||||||||||
Released | September 16, 2002 (US) November 18, 2002 (UK) |
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Format | CD single, 12" single | ||||||||||
Recorded | 2002 The Enterprise Studios (Burbank, California) Conway Studios (Hollywood, Los Angeles, California) |
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Genre | Pop rock, hip hop, R&B | ||||||||||
Length | 4:58 (Album version) 4:45 (Video edit) 4:01 (No rap edit) |
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Label | RCA | ||||||||||
Writer(s) | Christina Aguilera, Rockwilder, Balewa Muhammad, Redman, Jasper Cameron | ||||||||||
Producer | Rockwilder, Christina Aguilera | ||||||||||
Certification | Platinum (ARIA, IFPI) Gold (RIANZ) |
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Christina Aguilera singles chronology | |||||||||||
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"Dirrty" is a song performed by American singer Christina Aguilera featuring rapper Reggie "Redman" Noble. The song was written by Aguilera and Redman along with Jasper Cameron, Balewa Muhammad, and Rockwilder for Aguilera's second studio album Stripped (2002). It received mixed reviews from music critics.
"Dirrty" was released in September 2002 as the album's lead single (see 2002 in music). It was unsuccessful in the U.S., only reaching number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it was successful outside the U.S., cracking the Top 10 of 17 countries and topping the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart. "Dirrty" was nominated for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" at the 45th Grammy Awards.
The song is best remembered for its accompanying music video, for which Aguilera was allowed creative control. The video brought her sexuality to the forefront and depicted various sexual fetishes, from mud wrestling to sthenolagnia. It eliminated the teenybopper, "girl next door" image that she had accumulated from her previous work.
Aguilera had worked with hip hop producer Rockwilder during the recording of "Lady Marmalade" (2001). Late in the making of Stripped, Aguilera approached him again, wanting him to help produce a "down and dirty" song to announce her comeback and new public image. Aguilera suggested using Redman's "Let's Get Dirty (I Can't Get in da Club)" (2001) as a guide, and the resulting "Dirrty" was a remake of its precursor.[1] She later included a sequel titled "Still Dirrty" on her 2006 album Back to Basics.
"Dirrty" is a hip pop song composed in the key of G minor. The lines in the chorus and Redman's rap are emphasized by a pair of B♠octave dyads.[2] The song's lyrics detail sexual activities such as table dancing.[3] Aguilera decided to use a misspelling for the title as a way to personalize the song, also considering "Dirtee" or "Dirrdy". She decided on "Dirrty" as a reflection of the music video, commenting, "I felt like having two r's, kind of like grrr…Gritty…underground, illegal stuff going on."[4]
"Dirrty" received mixed reviews from music critics. Allmusic referred to it as a "non-song" and found that Aguilera's vocal range in the song was too narrow.[5] Entertainment Weekly gave it a D-, calling the singing "desperate and shrill", and found it an unsuccessful attempt to gain street cred.[3] The Guardian, however, described it as "majestically filthy",[6] and Slant Magazine referred to it as "the most instantly gratifying" song from Stripped.[7] Stylus Magazine called it the best single of 2002, impressed by how "the bassline doesn't quite mesh with the song in a natural way" and the effective use of overdubbing.[8] Aguilera stated in an interview that she thought it was outrageous how rappers could sing about sexual antics onscreen but she couldn't. "Dirrty" immediately got rid of Aguilera's girl next door image that she had during her previous work. Many critics believed it was a smart move for Aguilera, because she showed her creative control. After Dirrty debuted, Aguilera began to go by her alter-ego name, Xtina.
The track earned several award nominations, including a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, the video was nominated for "Best Female Video", "Best Dance Video", "Best Pop Video", and "Best Choreography".
Linda Perry, who had worked with Aguilera on "Beautiful", stated that she and Aguilera's management had recommended it as the lead single from Stripped but that Aguilera insisted on "Dirrty" instead. RCA Records, however, stated that it had agreed with Aguilera to release "Dirrty" to attract attention to Aguilera and the album.[9] The single performed poorly in the United States, only peaking at number 48. The song was somewhat more successful in mainstream markets, reaching number 14 on the Top 40 Mainstream and number 22 on the Top 40 Tracks. It had some crossover success and peaked at number 20 on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart.[10] "Dirrty" was nominated for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" at the 2003 Grammy Awards, but lost out to Santana's "The Game of Love" featuring Michelle Branch.[11] It received four nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards for "Best Female Video", "Best Dance Video", "Best Pop Video", and "Best Choreography".
The track was much more successful in Europe. In the United Kingdom, the song reached the top of the chart for the week ending November 23 and remained there for two weeks,[12] and is officially the 30th best-selling single of 2002 in the United Kingdom.[13] It was successful throughout Europe, reaching the top five in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland, and the top ten in Italy, Portugal, and Sweden.[14]
The single had similar success elsewhere. It debuted on the Canadian Singles Chart at number 7, later peaking at number 5, and remained within the top ten for three and a half months.[14] It peaked at number 4 for three consecutive weeks on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, lasting 11 weeks on the chart.[15] The single was listed at number 36 on the 2002 end of year chart,[16] and at number 12 on the Urban Singles Chart.[17] The Australian Recording Industry Association certified "Dirrty" platinum for shipping 70,000 copies.[18] "Dirrty" stayed on the Italian Singles Chart for 21 weeks, peaking at #8. The sales of "Dirrty" in the U.S. weren't as successful as Aguilera's previous singles; but only because it was released as a 12" Vinyl single. The track became an international Top 5 hit, spending 25 weeks on the charts in Switzerland. "Dirrty" was certified platinum by the IFPI and Gold in New Zealand.
The song's music video was directed by David LaChapelle. It depicts what was described as "a post-apocalyptic orgy".[19] The video opens with Aguilera gearing up and riding a motorcycle into a nightclub. Wearing a bikini and chaps, she is lowered from a cage into a boxing ring and dances, accompanied by several back-up dancers. A masked woman is lowered into the ring, and the two engage in foxy boxing. The scene is intercut with sequences of Aguilera dancing in a crop top, which she later removes to reveal a bikini top, and a microskirt. Redman then proceeds down a hallway, passing people such as mud wrestlers, a contortionist, and furries. The video proceeds to a scene of Aguilera and back-up dancers splashing and dancing while being sprayed with water in a room containing several urinals, as a possible reference to urolagnia.[20]
The music video was successful on video chart programs. It debuted on MTV's Total Request Live October 2, 2002 at number six.[21] It lasted 44 days on the program,[21] half of which were at the top of the countdown.[22] At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, the video was nominated for Best Female Video, Best Dance Video, Best Pop Video, and Best Choreography.[23] The video lasted eight weeks on MuchMusic's Countdown, peaking at number 11.[14]
The video generated some controversy and presented Aguilera's new public image. When Perry first saw the video, she asked Aguilera, "Are you high? This is annoying. Why are you doing this?"[24] Two weeks after its premiere, the video had already been spoofed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar on Saturday Night Live, who said (playing Aguilera): "When people see this video, they gonna stop thinking of me as some blonde-haired, bubblegum, music-industry ho – and start thinking of me as an actual ho."[25] Aguilera later commented that she found the spoof disappointing and that she "could have made a funnier script out of it."[19] Protests occurred in Thailand over Thai-language posters in the video that translate to "Thailand's Sex Tourism" and "Young Underage Girls". LaChapelle stated that he had not known what the posters stated, and RCA disallowed Thai television stations from playing the video.[26]
Aguilera's new image was widely rejected by the public to the extent that it began to overshadow her music.[27] Entertainment Weekly described it as "the world's skeeziest reptile woman",[3] and The Village Voice captioned her as a xenomorph from the Alien series.[28] Several of Aguilera's contemporaries, such as Shakira and Jessica Simpson, disapproved of her image, finding it "a step too far".[19] Time magazine commented that "she appeared to have arrived on the set…direct from an intergalactic hooker convention", adding that "she earned that extra r."[27] Aguilera, stating that she like "to play and experiment, to be as tame or as outlandish as [she] happened to feel", stood by the music video and her image in response to the criticism:
When you are bold and open, artistically speaking, in music and in video, a whole bunch of people automatically feel threatened by you, especially in Middle America…OK, I may have been the naked-ass girl in the video, but if you look at it carefully, I'm also at the forefront. I'm not just some lame chick in a rap video; I'm in the power position, in complete command of everything and everybody around me. To be totally balls-out like that is, for me, the measure of a true artist.[19]
"Dirrty" was released worldwide in mid-2002. In the U.S., "Dirrty" was released on September 16, 2002 on a 12" Vinyl single. Because of that, "Dirrty" couldn't achieve the sales success it possibly could've if released on a different format. In the U.K., "Dirrty" was released on November 18, 2002, becoming an instant hit, skyrocketing to #1. The B-Side, called "I Will Be" was available on the Maxi-CD single only. Also, the main and instrumental version of the song were accompanied by the "No Rap Edit" on the 12" Vinyl single edition. In addition, the CD single was released, but a restricted amount of copies were produced. It included the remixes by Tracy Young, Sleaze Sisters, and George Moniev.
Year | Ceremony | Award | Result |
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2003 | Grammy Awards | Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals | Nominated |
2003 | MOBO Awards | Best Video | Won |
2003 | MVPA Video Award | Best Styling in a Video | Won |
2003 | MVPA Video Award | Best Make-Up | Won |
2003 | Q Awards | Best Track | Won |
2003 | Teen People Readers' Choice Awards | Best Booty-Shakin' Song | Won |
2003 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Female Video | Nominated |
2003 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Dance Video | Nominated |
2003 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Pop Video | Nominated |
2003 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Choreography | Nominated |
Major formats and track listings for "Dirrty".[29]
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Notes:
Country | Record label | Release format | Catalog no. | Release date |
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United States | BMG, RCA Records | 12"[30] | 07863606171 | September 16, 2002 |
Europe | BMG, RCA Records | CD single [31] | 74321962712 | November 2002 |
Australia [32] | BMG Music (Australia) | CD single | 74321976352 | 2002 |
Canada [33] | RCA Records | CD single | 7432196836-2 |align="left"|2002 |
Charts[34] | Peak position |
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Australia (ARIA)[35] | 4 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[36] | 5 |
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[37] | 4 |
Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia)[38] | 8 |
Canadian Singles Chart[39] | 5 |
Denmark (Tracklisten)[40] | 4 |
European Hot 100 Singles[41] | 2 |
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[42] | 20 |
France (SNEP)[43] | 98 |
Germany (Media Control AG)[44] | 4 |
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[45] | 5 |
Italy (FIMI)[46] | 8 |
Ireland (IRMA)[47] | 1 |
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[48] | 2 |
New Zealand (RIANZ)[49] | 20 |
Norway (VG-lista)[50] | 3 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[51] | 6 |
Switzerland (Media Control AG)[52] | 3 |
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[53] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100[54] | 48 |
Country | Certification | Sales/shipments |
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Australia[55] | Platinum | 70,000[56] |
Belgium[57] | Gold | 15,000[58] |
Netherlands | Gold[59] | 25,000 [60] |
Norway | Platinum[61] | 30,000[62] |
Sweden | Platinum[63] | 40,000[64] |
Switzerland | Gold [65] | 30,000[66] |
United Kingdom | Silver | 230,000 |
Preceded by "Unbreakable" by Westlife |
UK number one single November 17, 2002 - November 30, 2002 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "If You're Not The One" by Daniel Bedingfield |
Preceded by "Aserejé (The Ketchup Song)" by Las Ketchup |
Irish Singles Chart number-one single November 30, 2002 - December 7, 2002 |
Succeeded by "Lose Yourself" by Eminem |
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