Back to Basics: Live and Down Under explained

Back to Basics: Live and Down Under
Type:video
Artist:Christina Aguilera
Cover:Back to Basics Live and Down Under DVD cover by Christina Aguilera.jpg
Alt:Image of Christina Aguilera against a red background
Recorded:July 17–18, 2007
Venue:Adelaide Entertainment Centre
(Adelaide, Australia)
Length:130 minutes
Label:RCA
Prev Title:Stripped Live in the U.K.
Prev Year:2004

Back to Basics: Live and Down Under is the fourth video album by American singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera. It premiered on television on January 26, 2008, on VH1, and was released on DVD on February 4, 2008, by RCA Records. The DVD included material from recordings from two of Aguilera's concerts during her Back to Basics Tour in Adelaide on July 17 and 18, 2007. Behind-the-scenes footage is included with video from the concerts.

Upon its release, Back to Basics: Live and Down Under garnered positive views from music critics as well as attained chart success in a number of countries, peaking at number one on the DVD charts of Belgium (Flanders) and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the DVD debuted atop the chart with first-week sales of 18,437 copies. It achieved double platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and gold certification by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Background and release

To support Back to Basics (2006), Aguilera embarked on the worldwide concert Back to Basics Tour.[1] The tour received mixed to positive reviews from music critics; The Georgia Straights Mike Usinger praised Aguilera's vocals as "insanely powerful", while Dave Simpson from The Guardian criticized the setlist as "confusing".[2] [3] The show in Adelaide, Australia on July 17 and 18, 2007 was filmed and was released as a DVD.[4]

On January 26, 2008, Back to Basics: Live and Down Under made it premiere on VH1 at 10 PM.[5] The DVD was released officially on February 4, 2008, in the United Kingdom.[6] The next day, it was released in Canada and the United States.[7] [8] In Germany, it was released on February 8, 2008.[9] It was released on February 11 in France,[10] and on February 16 in Australia.[11] The DVD features old-school style materials such as trapeze artists, circus jugglers, and cabaret dancing.[12] It also includes behind-the-scene interviews with dancers, musicians, stylists, Aguilera's husband Jordan Bratman and the singer herself.

Critical response

Upon its release, Back to Basics: Live and Down Under garnered mainly positive feedback from music critics. Jake Meaney for PopMatters gave it a seven out of ten stars rating, commenting it "huge and overwhelming, deeply soulful and expressive, if sometimes a bit unsubtly melismatic".[13] Clayton Perry from the online website Blogcritics provided a positive review, writing that it "is more than a simple presentation of song and dance; the show, by all measures, is a Broadway-caliber production".[14] The New York Times was also impressed toward the video release, writing that it is "at the top of her already speaker-blowing vocal range".[15]

Commercial performance

On February 25, 2008, the DVD debuted and peaked at number 2 on the ARIA Music DVD Chart, where it remained its peak for two weeks.[16] [17] On the Austrian Music DVD Chart, it debuted at number 7 on the issue chart dated February 22, 2008.[18] The following week, it fell to number 8.[19] The DVD reached its peak at number 6 on March 14, 2008.[20] In the Wallonia region of Belgium, Live and Down Under made its first chart appearance at number 10 on February 16, 2008.[21] It subsequently peaked at number 8 the following week. In the Flanders region, the DVD peaked atop the chart on March 1, 2008, after two weeks charting within the top 10.

In New Zealand, it peaked at number 7 on the RIANZ DVD Chart and remained on the top ten for on week. It also peaked at number 6 in Austria,[20] number 4 in Switzerland, number 2 in Dutch, and atop the chart of United Kingdom. In the United States, Back to Basics: Live and Down Under debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Music Videos chart on February 23, 2008, with first-week sales of 18,437 copies.[22] It fell to number 3 the following week. On March 8, 2008, the DVD fell to number 4.[23]

The DVD was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 50,000 copies in the United States. It was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for exceeding shipments of 30,000 copies in Australia.

Track listing

Bonus content

  1. "Dancers"
  2. "Wardrobe: Simone Harouche"
  3. "Hair & Make-Up: Stephen Sollitto"
  4. "Musicians"
  5. "Background Vocalists"
  6. "Musical Director: Rob Lewis"
  7. "Jordan Bratman"
  8. "Christina Aguilera"

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic[25]

Charts

Weekly charts

Charts (2008) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA Charts)[26] 2
Austria (IFPI)6
Belgium (Flanders Chart)[27] 1
Belgium (Wallonia Chart)[28] 8
Japan (Japanese DVD Chart)[29] 76
Netherlands (Dutch Music DVD Top 10)[30] 2
New Zealand (RIANZ)[31] 7
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[32] 2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 4
UK DVDs (Official Charts Company)[34] 1
US Billboard Top Music Videos[35] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2008)Position
Australian Music DVD Chart[36] 32
Dutch Music DVD Top 10[37] 34

Release history

CountryRelease dateFormatLabel
United KingdomFebruary 4, 2008DVDRCA Records
CanadaFebruary 5, 2008
United States
GermanyFebruary 8, 2008
FranceFebruary 11, 2008
AustraliaFebruary 16, 2008Sony Music Entertainment

Notes and References

  1. Aguilera Going 'Back To Basics' On Tour. Billboard. July 22, 2013.
  2. Web site: Christina Aguilera. The Georgia Straight. March 14, 2007. Mike. Usinger. June 12, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140727235753/http://www.straight.com/music/christina-aguilera. July 27, 2014.
  3. Web site: Christina Aguilera, MEN Arena, Manchester. Dave. Simpson. The Guardian. November 24, 2006. June 12, 2014.
  4. 'Christina Aguilera: Back to Basics Tour: Live and Down Under' Makes Its U.S. Television Premiere on VH1, Saturday, January 26 at 10PM. PR Newswire. January 26, 2008. July 22, 2013.
  5. News: Highlights. January 26, 2008. July 22, 2013. John. Maynard. The Washington Post.
  6. Web site: Back To Basics Live And Down Under [2007] [DVD] [2008]]. Amazon.com UK. 4 February 2008 . July 22, 2013.
  7. Web site: Back to Basics: Live and Down Under (PAL) [Import]]. 5 February 2008 . Amazon.com Canada. July 22, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20080311074805/http://www.amazon.ca/Christina-Aguilera-Back-Basics-Under/dp/B000WTSWTK. March 11, 2008.
  8. Web site: Back to Basics: Live and Down Under (PAL) . 5 February 2008 . Amazon.com US. https://web.archive.org/web/20160320110131/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WTSWTK. March 20, 2016. July 22, 2013.
  9. Web site: Back to Basics: Live and Down Under. 8 February 2008 . Amazon.com Germany. de. July 22, 2013.
  10. Web site: Back to Basics - Live and Down Under. Amazon.com France. French. July 22, 2013.
  11. Web site: Back to Basics: Live and Down Under. Sanity. July 22, 2013.
  12. Web site: Christina Aguilera – Back to Basics: Live Down Under DVD. July 22, 2013. CD Universe.
  13. Web site: Christina Aguilera: Back to Basics Live And Down Under [DVD]]. Jake. Meaney. March 31, 2008. July 22, 2013. PopMatters. https://web.archive.org/web/20130801111511/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/christina-aguilera-back-to-basics-live-and-down-under-dvd/. August 1, 2013.
  14. Web site: Music DVD Review: Christina Aguilera  - 'Back to Basics: Live and Down Under'. Blogcritics. Clayton. Perry. July 22, 2013. February 2, 2008.
  15. Web site: Christina Aguilera: Back to Basics - Live Down Under (2008). July 22, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160314144453/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/420381/Christina-Aguilera-Back-to-Basics-Live-Down-Under/overview. Movies & TV Dept.. The New York Times. Cammila Collar. 2016. March 14, 2016.
  16. Week Commencing 3rd March 2008. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080319130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20080320-0000/issue940.pdf. dead. 2008-03-19. Pandora Archive. ARIA. 940. 22. July 22, 2013. March 3, 2008.
  17. Week Commencing 10th March 2008. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080319130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20080320-0000/issue941.pdf. dead. 2008-03-19. Pandora Archive. ARIA. 941. 22. July 22, 2013. March 10, 2008.
  18. Web site: Musik-DVDs Top 10 Hitparaden 22.02.2008 . German . IFPI. Hung Medien . July 22, 2013 . February 22, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140910200044/http://austriancharts.at/weekchart.asp?cat=d&year=2008&date=20080222 . September 10, 2014 .
  19. Web site: Musik-DVDs Top 10 Hitparaden 29.02.2008 . German . IFPI. Hung Medien . February 29, 2008 . July 22, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150505101910/http://www.austriancharts.at/weekchart.asp?cat=d&year=2008&date=20080229 . May 5, 2015 .
  20. Web site: Musik-DVDs Top 10 Hitparaden 24.03.2008 . German . IFPI. Hung Medien . March 23, 2008 . July 22, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150505031220/http://www.austriancharts.at/weekchart.asp?cat=d&year=2008&date=20080314 . May 5, 2015 .
  21. Web site: Musik-DVD Top 10 . French . . Hung Medien . February 16, 2008 . July 22, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130702065236/http://www.ultratop.be/fr/weekchart.asp?cat=d . July 2, 2013 .
  22. Superstar Christina Aguilera Debuts at No. 1 on the DVD Music Video Chart With Back to Basics – Live and Down Under. February 13, 2008. PR Newswire. New York. September 23, 2013.
  23. Top Music Videos. Billboard. March 8, 2008. 120. 10. 68.
  24. Back to Basics: Live and Down Under. Christina Aguilera. RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. 2008. 88697 28520 9. Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, Australia.
  25. Web site: Back to Basics: Live and Down Under Credits. AllMusic. March 22, 2016.
  26. Week Commencing 25th February, 2008. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080319130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20080320-0000/issue939.pdf. dead. 2008-03-19. Pandora Archive. 939. 22. Australian Recording Industry Association. February 25, 2008. July 22, 2013.
  27. Web site: Musik-DVD Top 10 . Dutch . . Hung Medien . March 1, 2008 . July 22, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130921140930/http://www.ultratop.be/nl/weekchart.asp?cat=d&year=2011&date=20080301 . September 21, 2013 .
  28. Web site: Musik-DVD Top 10 . French . Ultratop . Hung Medien . March 1, 2008 . July 22, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130702065236/http://www.ultratop.be/fr/weekchart.asp?cat=d . July 2, 2013 .
  29. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20150304110756/http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/62420/products/742405/1/. バック・トゥ・ベーシックス:ライヴ・アンド・ダウン・アンダーDVD. Oricon (in Japanese). March 4, 2015.
  30. Web site: Musik-DVD Top 10 . . Hung Medien . February 9, 2008 . July 22, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140309064230/http://www.dutchcharts.nl/weekchart.asp?cat=d&year=2008&date=20080209 . March 9, 2014 .
  31. Web site: Top 10 Music DVDs. Recorded Music NZ (formerly known as Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). July 22, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055547/http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/oldchart.asp?chartNum=1605&chartKind=D. September 21, 2013.
  32. Web site: Swedish Music Chart: Search . . February 10, 2014 . Enter the keyword "Christina Aguilera" and then click "Sok", search for "Back to Basics – Live and Down Under DVD, Audio/Video Album" and then click "Visa" . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130521232120/http://www.sverigetopplistan.se/index.html . May 21, 2013 .
  33. Web site: Swiss Charts – Music DVD Top 10 . . Hung Medien . July 22, 2013 . February 17, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130620070554/http://swisscharts.com/weekchart.asp?year=2008&date=20080217&cat=d . June 20, 2013 .
  34. Iron Maiden. 72. 120. 20. Billboard. May 17, 2008.
  35. Top Music Videos: Week of February 23, 2008. Billboard. https://web.archive.org/web/20130922152718/http://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/2008-02-23/music-video. September 22, 2013.
  36. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Music DVDs 2008 . ARIA . December 31, 2008. July 22, 2013.
  37. Web site: Jaaroverzichten - DVD Music 2008 . Hung Medien. MegaCharts . July 22, 2013.

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