When I’m lost… Christina Aguilera ballads are the light that gets me through.
Travel back in time with me to June 2000, when Aguilera was set to release her third single from her self-titled debut album, which had just won her the best new artist Grammy.Following the more uptempo “Genie in a Bottle” and “What a Girl Wants” dance singles, it was time to showcase those “Reflection” pipes that would become her big-riff signature. Enter “I Turn to You.”
Christina Aguilera’s Top 20 Billboard Hits
The tune, written by superstar songwriter Diane Warren, was originally recorded by R&B group All-4-One for the Space Jam soundtrack (!) but didn’t become a hit until Aguilera debuted her version, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. In honor of the CD release of the single 15 years ago this week (June 13), we’re celebrating Aguilera and looking back at a few of her early performances of the track on Throwback Thursday.
1. Prior to the release of her album, Aguilera built buzz performing at industry events, where bigwigs were blown away by her pipes.
2. As part of her single promotion, Aguilera stopped by The Rosie O’Donnell Show to blow away the daytime-TV audience.
3. For a performance on ABC, Aguilera sang the tune in both English and Spanish, hinting at her Spanish-language album sophomore effort, Mi Reflejo.
4. “I Turn to You” was in regular rotation as part of her 2000 My Reflection concert.
5. Aguilera combined her two latest singles — “What a Girl Wants” and “I Turn To You” — for her 2000 American Music Awards performance.