Burlesque: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name, released by Screen Gems, Inc and RCA Records on November 19, 2010. The soundtrack consists of ten songs sung by the film's stars, American singers Christina Aguilera and Cher; Aguilera sang eight of the tracks, while Cher performed the remaining two. The album is inspired by jazz music style, in style with Aguilera's fifth studio album Back to Basics (2006), but contrasting to her then-recent release Bionic (2010), which was recorded concurrently with Burlesque. Burlesque served as Cher's first album since the release of Living Proof nine years earlier.
Upon its release, the album received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Cher's song "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" won a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song at the 2011 ceremony, and received another nomination in the same category for Aguilera's "Bound to You". The album also received a nomination at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media. Commercially, the album was moderately successful, peaking at number eighteen on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and in the top ten in several other countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Austria. As of August 2019, the album has sold 779,000 copies in the United States. The soundtrack spawned three promotional singles: "Express" and "Show Me How You Burlesque" by Aguilera, and "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" by Cher.
Background
In early May 2010, Aguilera announced that she would embark on the supporting concert tour for her sixth studio album, Bionic. However, her management team announced shortly afterwards that the tour was postponed due to Aguilera's promotion for her first feature film, Burlesque (2010), in which she starred alongside Cher. Aguilera reported that she would reschedule the tour in 2011, though the tour never happened.
Burlesque was released in November 2010. The film was met with mixed reviews from critics, who criticized it for being "campy and clichéd", yet praised Aguilera's acting debut. The accompanying soundtrack, Burlesque: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, comprises ten songs: eight performed by Aguilera and two performed by Cher. It was Cher's first major release since her compilation Gold in 2005. Producer Tricky Stewart stated that the collaboration with Aguilera on Burlesque soundtrack was "a crazy opportunity different from anything [he]'ve ever done before". Danja was looking forward to working with Aguilera on the soundtrack, however it was not done.
"Nasty"
During the recording process, Aguilera recorded a song titled "Nasty", which featured guest vocals from CeeLo Green. However, the track was ultimately scrapped due to legal issues concerning sample clearance. The song was passed to multiple other artists, including British singer Pixie Lott. Lott was able to clear the samples, and eventually released the song as the lead single from her self-titled third studio album in 2014. Aguilera's recording was eventually leaked online, and received positive reviews.
Composition
Burlesque: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack comprises ten songs: eight performed by Aguilera and two performed by Cher. The soundtrack has a "brassy, jazzy" sound inspired by jazz, in contrast to Aguilera's last electronic music-inspired studio album Bionic (2010) but similar to her fifth 1920s, 1930s and 1940s-influenced studio album Back to Basics (2006). Four of the songs performed by Aguilera are cover versions, two of Etta James' works: "Something's Got a Hold on Me" and "Tough Lover", a cover version of Mae West's "Guy What Takes His Time", and a dance version of "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson, including the "unmistakable" drum beats and guitar riff in the original version. "I Am a Good Girl" "sticks to the sassy swing of a bygone musical era", while "Express" has a similar musical style to Aguilera's previous single "Lady Marmalade" and lyrically evokes sexual theme as Aguilera "seductively" sings, "Show a little leg / You gotta shimmy your chest". The uptempo number "Show Me How You Burlesque" has a "modern sounding" dance production, but "lack of melody and strong hooks". The power ballad "Bound to You", co-written by Sia, has the same musical style to "You Lost Me" from Bionic, which was also written by Sia and features Aguilera's strong vocal delivery.
The two songs performed by Cher are: "Welcome to Burlesque" and "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me". "Welcome to Burlesque" was described as "a 'Cabaret'-style oompah that shows both skill and humor". The power ballad "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" features Cher's powerful vocals.