Over My Naked Body (Christina Aguilera song)

"Over My Naked Body" is a song recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was officially released on January 13, 2017, as the lead single off Aguilera's eighth studio album, "1 Eye Open" (2017), as her comeback single. It was written by Aguilera, Max Martin and Savan Kotecha, with the production being handled by the latter. It is an R&B, electronic-infused song that talks about sexual themes, such as fear of intimacy in a committed relationship and need for validation from the partner.

TThe single's release was preceded by a radio tour by Aguilera and promotional messages on social media. The song garnered a mixed to negative response from music critics, most being towards the lyrical content and the generic sound. Commercially, the song reached number 14 on the CAL Charts and is certified Gold by RIAA for selling over 500,000 copies worldwide.

The music video for the song was directed by Hannah Lux Davis and was released on January 21, 2017. Dubbed as part one of video series, "The Reflections", it takes place in a fictional recreation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and shows Aguilera walking in a palace while a mysterious man shows up and dances with her. Aguilera performed "Over My Naked Body" on various shows, notably, on Conan and as part of a medley on X Factor UK in 2017.

Background & release
After working with Swedish producer Max Martin on "Lotus", Aguilera and him reunited to work on her eighth studio album. The two wrote "Over My Naked Body" alongside Savan Kotecha, while Martin and Kotecha handled the production of the song. Recorded sometime in late 2016, the song was recorded in Maratone Studios, Los Angeles, California. Lyrically, it talks about fear of intimacy in a committed relationship and a woman's attempt at allowing herself to be pleasured by her man. Sonically, it is an R&B song with electronic and EDM influences, with Aguilera alternating between singing and spoken parts. The song and its release date were officially announced on Elvis Duran's radio show, on January 5, 2017, as the lead single from Aguilera's forthcoming studio album, due later that year. On the same day, she posted the song's artwork on her Twitter page. She then embarked on a promotional radio tour in the days leading up to the release and began teasing the song on social media. On January 9, 2017, she posted a 15 second snippet on her Twitter page. Aguilera 's label advised her to release "Better Off Without You" as the lead single, but she eventually convinced them to allow "Over My Naked Body" to be released instead. The singer picked it as the lead because "it is something fresh" with "very unusual [lyrics], about a subject few people dare to think about".

Critical reception
"Over My Naked Body" was received poorly by the critics, especially its lyrical content. Some of them praised the production, while others called it "tragic". Universally, its lyrics were panned and deemed as laughable, especially the second verse. A critic writes "['Over My Naked Body'] isn't at all bad, it just goes no nowhere from it's potentially interesting premise. Max Martin also seems to have not given much attention to this one because the song's production is pretty basic as well."

Commercial performance
Commerically, "Over My Naked Body" performed moderately on the charts. Following its release, the song debuted at number 23 on the CAL Charts, selling over 50,000 copies in its first week. In the next weeks, it stagnated at its debut position. Eventually, it peaked at number 14 and was certified Gold by RIAA for selling over 500,000 copies in its sixth week of charting. On radio, the song charted for 40 days and reached a peak of 9, making it Aguilera's first top 10.

Music video


The music video for "Over My Naked Body" was directed by Hannah Lux Davis. Aguilera called Davis a "wonderful director" and described the video as "very simple and very sexy". The video is included as part one of "The Reflections" video series and it works as an "fantastic introduction" to the story. The video starts with Aguilera sitting on a balcony of what seems to be a replication of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. She walks confused around the building, wearing a white dress, and dances seductively in a white bedroom. A Rocky Horror-inspired piece of imagery is used for the spoken word parts and minimal choreography is performed towards the end. The video closes with a mysterious "to be continued" title card.

Live performances
Aguilera performed "Over My Naked Body" a few times during the 1 Eye Open album cycle. The first one was on The Late Late Show with James Corden, where the singer premiered a snippet of the music video. She also performed it on Conan, Jimmy Kimmel and X Factor UK as part of a medley with "Tango Alone" track, "Smoke".

Elements of the song were also included during Aguilera's 2018 Glastonbury performance as part of the performance for album track, "By Myself", specifically in the song's chorus. It was also used in the intro for her performance at 2019's inaugural Freedom Festival.

Recording

 * Recorded at MXM Studios (Los Angeles)

Management
Personnel
 * All rights administered by Sony Music Group/Holy Tongues Recordings
 * Christina Aguilera - lead vocals, background vocals, songwriter
 * Max Martin - songwriter, producer
 * Savan Kotecha - songwriter, producer
 * Ann Mincieli - mixing, engineering