You Lost Me
Encyclopedia
"You Lost Me" is a song by American recording artist Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...

, taken from her sixth studio album, Bionic (2010). Described by Aguilera as the "heart of the album", the song was written by Aguilera and Sia Furler
Sia Furler
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler or simply Sia, is an Australian pop, downtempo, and jazz singer and songwriter. In 2000, her single, "Taken for Granted" was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. Her 2008 album, Some People Have Real Problems peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200...

, with the song's producer Samuel Dixon
Samuel Dixon
Samuel Dixon is an Australian record producer, songwriter and musician, based in London.He has frequently collaborated with fellow-Australian Sia Furler. His compositions have featured on her albums, Some People Have Real Problems, Colour the Small One and We Are Born...

. The song lyrically talks about a cheating man, who has left the world in Aguilera's view as "infected". The song was released on July 6, 2010 by RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...

 as the third and final single from Bionic.

"You Lost Me" was well-received by contemporary critics, with reviewers complimenting the song for being a return to Aguilera in the time before the previous single, "Not Myself Tonight
Not Myself Tonight
"Not Myself Tonight" is a song recorded by American pop singer Christina Aguilera. The song was written by Jamal Jones, Ester Dean, Jason Perry, and Greg Curtis, and produced by Polow da Don for Aguilera's sixth studio album, Bionic. The song was released on April 13, 2010 as the lead single from...

", which gained mixed reviews. Commercially, the song's performance was very weak, missing out on the majority of charts, it did have moderate success on the US Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...

 chart, peaking at number one.

A music video directed by Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler is a commercial and music video director, who has written and directed music videos for several artists. His most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna...

 was conceived to embody the lyrics of the track, it featured Aguilera in several scenes. First in a room full of damaged furniture, second in an area filled with charcoal on which she lies, and thirdly in a blue and white room in which a man attempts to pick her up of which she fights back, all the while in tears. The video received positive reviews, many critics saw it as a welcome change from the "Not Myself Tonight" video, and generally Aguilera's appearance was well received. She performed the song on American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...

, and The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...

.

Background

"You Lost Me" was announced as the third single from Aguilera's sixth studio album Bionic on June 22, 2010. The track was written by Aguilera with Samuel Dixon
Samuel Dixon
Samuel Dixon is an Australian record producer, songwriter and musician, based in London.He has frequently collaborated with fellow-Australian Sia Furler. His compositions have featured on her albums, Some People Have Real Problems, Colour the Small One and We Are Born...

 and recording artist Sia
Sia Furler
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler or simply Sia, is an Australian pop, downtempo, and jazz singer and songwriter. In 2000, her single, "Taken for Granted" was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. Her 2008 album, Some People Have Real Problems peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200...

. Previous this collaboration, Sia had asked her managers to contact Aguilera about collaborating on her track "Death by Chocolate" on her record, Some People Have Real Problems
Some People Have Real Problems
Some People Have Real Problems is the fourth studio album by Australian singer Sia. Released in 2008, the album featured singles including 'Day Too Soon', 'The Girl You Lost' and 'Soon We'll Be Found'. In live performances of the latter song, Sia used sign language to accompany her singing...

, however Sia did not know whether the message was received. Sia reported that Aguilera's management team contacted her to see about the possibility of working together. Aguilera was familiar with the Zero 7
Zero 7
Zero 7 is a British musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. The group members began their musical careers as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, Simple Things was released in 2001 and received critical acclaim...

 records which Sia had been involved in and Sia was amongst a number of favorite artists whom Aguilera had her management contact for Bionic. Aguilera said, "I'm definitely a fan of Sia's. I was thrilled she also wanted to work together and, in turn, was a fan of mine." Aguilera's management contacted Sia and asked if they could set up a phone call between her and Aguilera, Sia stated "she called me and I asked her, what do you want?, basically". Aguilera asked Sia whether she wished to bring anyone to their first recording session which Sia did; after Sia contacted her regular co-writer and bass player Samuel Dixon
Samuel Dixon
Samuel Dixon is an Australian record producer, songwriter and musician, based in London.He has frequently collaborated with fellow-Australian Sia Furler. His compositions have featured on her albums, Some People Have Real Problems, Colour the Small One and We Are Born...

 they wrote four tracks for Aguilera's Bionic record, all of which Dixon produced including "You Lost Me" which was described as the "heart of the album". Sia said:

She was just excited to get to work with the artists she loves. There's this misconception that she's a middle-America kind of person. But she's a little hipster. You go back to her house and sit by the fire with some wine, and what's playing over the sound system? The Knife
The Knife
The Knife are a Swedish electronic music duo from Gothenburg, formed in 1999. The group consists of siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer, who together also run their own record company, Rabid Records. They first received international attention after their song "Heartbeats", covered by...

 and Arthur Russell. She doesn't listen to pop music.

Composition

"You Lost Me" is a pop-ballad song that "crescendos into the sort of melismatic pyrotechnics Aguilera is best suited to." Aguilera's vocal range spans from Eb3-E5 in the song set in the key of A-minor. Set at just 50 beats per minute, it is categorized in genres; Adult Contemporary, Europop
Europop
Europop refers to a style of pop music that first developed in today's form in Europe, throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and ’90s...

, Urban
Urban
Urban means "related to cities." It may refer to:*Urban, California, former town in El Dorado County*Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas*Urban , given name and surname*Urban , Danish free daily newspaper...

 and neo-soul. Backed by little more than a piano and string arrangement, lyrically the song talks of a cheating man, who has left the world in Aguilera's view as "infected" with Aguilera performing lyrics such as; ""I feel like our world's been infected," Aguilera belts at the end, "and somehow you left me neglected." The released single version of the track, the "radio edit", produced by Danja, features a "subtle dream beat", gaining comparisons to artists; Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....

 and the Wall of Sound
Wall of Sound
The Wall of Sound is a music production technique for pop and rock music recordings developed by record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, California, during the early 1960s...

 and songs; "Unchained Melody
Unchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....

" and "The Long and Winding Road
The Long and Winding Road
"The Long and Winding Road" is a ballad written by Paul McCartney that originally appeared on The Beatles' album Let It Be. It became The Beatles' 20th and last number-one song in the United States on 23 May 1970, and was the last single released by the quartet...

".

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from critics. Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

noted Sia's efforts on the album have turned "Aguilera into a smoky, almost Fiona Apple-esque torch singer on the lovely sequential ballads "All I Need", "I Am", and "You Lost Me"". Elysa Gardner from USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

noted that the ballad tracks including "You Lost Me", were the highlights of the record saying, "It's when Bionic gets past sex, though, that Aguilera impresses most. On the ballads I Am and You Lost Me, she respectively offers her soul to a lover and, after a betrayal, reclaims it, sounding as raw as an open wound. Her nuanced beauty here may surprise fans as much as critics." Genevieve Koski of the The AV Club stated that it was a ballad, Aguilera was best suited to. Mesfin Fekadu from the Northwest Herald
Northwest Herald
The Northwest Herald is a daily newspaper published in Crystal Lake, Illinois. The paper has a circulation of nearly 33,000 with a coverage area of McHenry County and northern Kane County in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago....

stated like others that the Sia composed ballads were a highlight, they said; ""All I Need" is a beautiful ode to Aguilera’s 2-year-old son, while the emotional ballad "You Lost Me", about a cheating lover, is exceptional and showcases the diva’s powerful voice, as does the sensitive and smooth groove "I Am". Nick Levine from Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....

, gave the song a negative review stating it did not compare to some of her previous ballads, he said; "her performance somehow lacks the sincerity she displayed on 'Hurt' or 'Oh Mother' - the very sincerity, of course, that has often given her the edge over her chart rivals.

Chart performance

The song failed to make a large impact commercially. In Belgium the song charted at number 19 on the Ultratop
Ultratop
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts...

 Wallonia chart, the song also charted in the Netherlands but spent just one week at number 91. In Slovakia the single charted on the airplay chart, spending four weeks on the chart, it peaked at number 78. In the United States, the song spent four weeks on the Adult contemporary chart where it peaked at number 28, however it performed better on the US Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...

 chart, peaking atop the chart.
The song also charted at number 153 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 from digital sales after the release of Bionic.

Background

Directed by Anthony Mandler, who also produced the concept described it saying; "From the first keys of the opening of the track, we know that we are about to watch something that is going to move and transform us. In the end, we've traveled through Christina's world. One that is physical, mental and spiritually charged. Nothing is what it seems. Everything is fractured and evolving, falling away... fragile." The music video was set to a remixed version of the track, with Aguilera stated that the video strips back the theatrics unlike the previous music video for, "Not Myself Tonight
Not Myself Tonight
"Not Myself Tonight" is a song recorded by American pop singer Christina Aguilera. The song was written by Jamal Jones, Ester Dean, Jason Perry, and Greg Curtis, and produced by Polow da Don for Aguilera's sixth studio album, Bionic. The song was released on April 13, 2010 as the lead single from...

", discussing this, she said; "I love a big production and some of my elaborate makeup styles I totally get off on, but this particular song... it was really important that I interpret the simplicity of the raw emotion that takes place within the song itself and not any sort of theatrics involved." In the music video scenes show, a torn empty mattress, burnt up pillow cases, and in the chorus section of the video, whenever lyrics "It feels like our world is infected" are performed", Aguilera stated "that's exactly what we wanted to embody in the vision of the song", she explained: "I'm literally being torn. When I take my shirt off it's a moment where I'm saying 'I'm taking control of the situation, I'm shedding the skin." The music video also featured over 200 lbs of charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...

.

Synopsis

The music video begins with the camera slowly revealing a smoking gun, behind which gradually appears a strawberry-hair colored Aguilera with red lipstick, lip-synching the words to the track. The video progresses to show her wearing black ensemble in a room of torn mattresses and other randomly placed furniture, in the room she walks to the bed post of which she places her hand before moving her way down the bed until she leans on a bed post. After this the color of her in the video changes from flesh colored to metallic in some scenes showing various shots of her at once. Aguilera then leaves the furniture filled room, as she places herself on top of blocks of charcoal, for a mountainous look where she lip-syncs with mascara running down her face as she is crying. As she moves around Aguilera becomes increasingly discolored, as the black charcoal color is rubbing off onto her skin. The surrounding sky area changes from dark to light orange, after which a shirtless male figure arrives and picks Aguilera from the charcoal ground all the time she is struggling to get him away from her, until he finally picks her up and she pushes him away and is shown to be crying further. As white particles move around Aguilera she takes the black sweater off, and the light takes over the screen. After this another shot of Aguilera in white attire in a salmon pink room merges with shots of her throughout the video. Finally an image of Aguilera shoulders up in a blue and white background with white particles moving fades ending the video.

Reception

Monica Hererra from Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

 noted it was Aguilera returning to form, stating "Christina Aguilera cries her eyes out, and looks great doing it, in the video for her new piano-driven ballad, "You Lost Me," which premiered today on Vevo [..] representing a kind of return to form for the gifted singer. Bill Lamb from About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....

 also noted it as a welcome return for Aguilera, as he said "the video directed by Anthony Mandler, best known for many of Rihanna's hit videos, look and sound like a powerful return to form for Christina Aguilera [...] marvel once again at one of the top voices in pop music. OK!
OK!
OK! is a British weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly, its first issue was published in April 1993. In September 2004, OK! publishers Northern and Shell launched in Australia as a monthly title – the magazine went weekly in October 2006...

also stated it was a return for Aguilera, "We definitely didn’t lose you Christina Aguilera, we’ve finally gotten you back". Idolator
Idolator
Idolator is the third album by the Japanese, melodic death metal band, Blood Stain Child. Idolator combines melodic death metal similar to the more recent In Flames albums with electronic and trance influences, particularly on "Nuclear Trance". "Embrace Me", has a piano section both at the...

 responded well also, noting Anthony Mandler's effect on the video positively, they said "We’ve been looking forward to this video since Christina first performed the song on the American Idol finale, and ace director Anthony Mandler served the song well by shrouding it in simple but dark atmospherics."

Live performances

The song was performed on May 26, 2010 on the American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

finale, accompanied by "somber" strings and a piano, her hair pulled back into curls as featured on the Bionic album cover, and wearing a "demure black ensemble", Aguilera started softly, performing the lyrics of the first verse, after which MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 noted that it "picked up steam" as the music "swirled beneath her". The middle section of the performance according to James Montgomery was "smoky and solemn" as Aguilera performed "stretching" notes with her eyes closed and right arm extended. Her vocals gradually got bigger as the song entered the final section until she ended it with the "breathy" lyrics "you lost me". The performance gathered a standing ovation from the American Idol audience with MTV stating "it became clear that Aguilera still has got the goods to go up against anyone".

Aguilera performed the song on The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...

during a mini-concert held in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, however the performance was not featured on the television special, MTV responded well to the performance saying "The singer brought a subtle and gentle ambience to her set as she delicately delivered the tender ballad." On June 11, 2010 Aguilera performed on The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...

where amongst other new additions from Bionic she performed "You Lost Me" of which Robbie Daw of Idolator stated "the blonde vocal powerhouse donned a partially see-through coat and belted out new songs "Not Myself Tonight" and "You Lost Me". Aguilera performed the track on the Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...

, in the performance Christina featured a 1950's vintage curls hair-do, with red lipstick she wore diamante leggings and a white glitter style cut-out blouse, worn with red sparkly stilettos, with a sparkly microphone to match.

Formats and track listings

  • Digital download
  1. "You Lost Me" (Radio Remix) – 4:19

  • Digital remix (Radio edit)
  1. "You Lost Me" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Mix Radio Edit) – 3:37

  • Digital remix (Club mix)
  1. "You Lost Me" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Extended Club Mix) - 6:53


  • Digital Single
  1. "You Lost Me" (Radio Remix) – 4:19
  2. "You Lost Me" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Mix Radio Edit) – 3:37

  • Digital (Dub remix)
  1. "You Lost Me" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Remix Dub Edit) – 6:57


Credits and personnel

  • Songwriting - Christina Aguilera, Sia Furler, Samuel Dixon
  • Production - Samuel Dixon
  • Vocal production - additional by Sia Furler
  • Recording
    Recording
    Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....

     - Samuel Dixon, Jimmy Hogarth, Cameron Craig
  • Vocal recording - Oscar Ramirez

Source

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia) 19
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100
Mega Single Top 100
The Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales and legal downloads and composed by MegaCharts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutch Top 40 and the Mega Top 50. The difference is that these charts also include airplay data.The list is...

)
91
Slovakian Airplay Chart
IFPI
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland...

78
UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

153
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...

 (Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

)
19
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 28
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard) 1

Radio and release history

Region Date Format Label
United States June 29, 2010 Mainstream release RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...

July 6, 2010 Digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

, Radio edit
August 3, 2010 Digital download, Remixes
Germany August 20, 2010 Digital download Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....

September 3, 2010 CD single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...

United Kingdom October 18, 2010 UK Digital EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

RCA Records
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