| "The Voice Within" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Christina Aguilera | ||||
| from the album Stripped | ||||
| Released | November 23, 2003 | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Recorded | The Record Plant (Hollywood, Los Angeles, California) NRG Recording Studios (North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California) |
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| Genre | Soul, Gospel | |||
| Length | 5:04 (Album Version) 4:15 (Single Edit) 4:24 (Radio Edit) |
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| Label | RCA | |||
| Writer(s) | Christina Aguilera, Glen Ballard | |||
| Producer | Glen Ballard | |||
| Christina Aguilera singles chronology | ||||
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"The Voice Within" is a song written by Christina Aguilera and Glen Ballard, with production by Ballard. It was released as the fifth and final single from Aguilera's second album, Stripped on December 23, 2003. The single peaked at #33 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Aguilera's seventh Top 40 hit. The single also peaked at #9 in the UK and #8 in Australia. The single is most known for its simplistic, but critically acclaimed music video that was filmed in black and white as a single continuous camera shot.
Contents |
"The Voice Within" was written by both Aguilera and Glen Ballard, and was produced by the latter. The album version extends the song about five seconds and blends it with the next track, "I'm OK". An alternate edit clocking in at 4 minutes and 26 seconds appears on the compilation album Totally Hits 2004. Aguilera did not want "The Voice Within" to be released as the fifth single. She was lobbying for "Impossible", a track from Stripped, which was produced by Alicia Keys, as she felt it would help her break into the urban market. RCA Records wanted to release a big ballad during the holiday season like they did the year prior with "Beautiful" and felt that 'The Voice Within' was the perfect candidate. Eventually, Aguilera's label made the final decision and the idea of 'Impossible' being the final single was scrapped. Aguilera's, voice range spans from D3 to F♯5.
The song's music video was directed by David LaChapelle and produced by LaChapelle Studio and MMG. It opens with a close-up of Aguilera and zooms out to her wearing a slip and sitting in an abandoned prop room. In one continuous black-and-white shot, Aguilera walks through several rooms, exits the building, and finally lays on a light box. The video was filmed at a deserted theater in downtown Los Angeles, California. It is inspired by neorealist works.[1] "The Voice Within'" was the eleventh video for Aguilera to appear on TRL. The video hit number one twice and spent thirty-seven days on the countdown. The video was nominated for three 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, Best Female Video, Viewer's Choice, and Best Cinematography.
It was performed on the third season of Australian Idol during "Contestant's Choice" week (Top 9) by Roxane LeBrasse. Despite receiving good reviews from the judges, LeBrasse was eliminated the next night. The song was performed later by American Idol 5 runner-up Katharine McPhee during 'Songs from the 21st Century' week (Top 10). During this performance, judge Simon Cowell compared McPhee's abilities to that of Aguilera's, saying the former's performance was almost as good as the original singer. He then said it was mediocre during the result show the night after, where McPhee landed in the bottom two. In How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? finalist Meliz Serman performed this in the second week. Her performance was not strong and she was put into the bottom two, only to be saved by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The song was then used in 2010, when Jessica Robinson performed it in Over the Rainbow.[2] The song was later performed in the film The Voice Within by Regina Fuller and the title was borrowed for the film. It was also covered by a Hong Kong singer G.E.M. The Nolans covered this song on their 2009 'I'm In The Mood Again' tour.
CD maxi-single
Canadian CD single
| Charts (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[3] | 8 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[4] | 7 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] | 14 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)[6] | 40 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[7] | 10 |
| Denmark (Tracklisten)[8] | 9 |
| European Hot 100 Singles[9] | 13 |
| Germany (Media Control AG)[10] | 13 |
| Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[11] | 8 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[12] | 4 |
| Italy (FIMI)[13] | 19 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] | 6 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ)[15] | 16 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[16] | 13 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] | 10 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] | 3 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[19] | 9 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[20] | 33 |
| US Pop Songs (Billboard)[21] | 11 |
| Chart (2003) | Rank |
|---|---|
| UK[22] | 195 |
| Chart (2004) | Rank |
| Austria[23] | 37 |
| Switzerland[24] | 35 |
| Country | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| United States | November 13, 2003 | CD single |
| United Kingdom | January 13, 2004 |
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