We Remain Explained

We Remain
Cover:Christina Aguilera We Remain cover.png
Type:single
Artist:Christina Aguilera
Recorded:2013
Genre:Arena pop
Chronology:Christina Aguilera
Prev Title:Say Something
Prev Year:2013
Next Title:Change
Next Year:2016

"We Remain" is a song by American singer Christina Aguilera, taken from , the soundtrack to the 2013 American science-fiction adventure film . It was released as the third single from the soundtrack on October 1, 2013, following Coldplay's "Atlas" and Sia's "Elastic Heart". Composed by Ryan Tedder, Brent Kutzle and Mikky Ekko, "We Remain" is an arena pop power ballad about perseverance. Contemporary music critics lauded the song for its sound and picked it as one of the highlights from the soundtrack. The single appeared on a few national record charts including Belgium, South Korea and the United Kingdom.

Background

Following the release of her seventh studio album, Lotus (2012), which spawned two singles "Your Body" and "Just a Fool",[1] Aguilera was reported to be featured on the soundtrack for with a song called "We Remain" in September 2013.[2] On September 25, 2013, Aguilera unveiled a 90-second preview of the track.

Composition

"We Remain" was written by Ryan Tedder and Brent Kutzle of OneRepublic, and Mikky Ekko. The song is a midtempo arena pop power ballad.[3] It lasts for a duration of (four minutes). Aguilera sings with "enormous" and "soaring" vocals on a "propulsive Ryan Tedder-ish beat" background.[4] "We Remain" incorporates a smooth piano and drum machine in its instrumentation. According to Billboard magazine, the ballad "finds [Aguilera] tamping down [...] for a natural and forceful message of perseverance". At the chorus, Aguilera sings "So burn me with fire/ Drown me with rain/ I'm gonna wake up screaming your name/ Yes I'm a sinner, yes I'm a saint/ whatever happens here, whatever happens here, we remain".[3] Several critics compared "We Remain" to Aguilera's previous hit "Beautiful" (2002) and Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire" (2012) for musical similarities.[5]

Release history

The song was released as the third single from the soundtrack, following "Atlas" by Coldplay and "Elastic Heart" by Sia.[6] [7] [8] [9] It was released as a digital download single at Amazon.com on October 1, 2013.[10] It was also released on the iTunes Stores on the same day.[11] [12] On October 8, "We Remain" impacted US contemporary hit radio. Aguilera performed "We Remain" live with her contestant Jacquie Lee during the season finale of the fifth season of The Voice on December 17, 2013.[13] A studio version of the duet was released on the US iTunes Store on December 16, 2013.[14]

Critical reception

"We Remain" received critical acclaim from music critics. Ryan Reed from Rolling Stone magazine praised the "triumphant sounding" track "sure to be a hit at District 12 radio".[15] An editor from The Huffington Post picked "We Remain" as one of the standout tracks from the soundtrack that "encapsulates the spirit and power of Games heroine, Katniss".[16] Sam Lansky for Idolator praised the single's musical departure from Aguilera's ballads for her 2012 album Lotus.[4] Brett Malec of E! simply called it "a beautiful track",[3] while a staff writer from Billboard named it a "triumphant" song.[9] While reviewing the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Alex Young from Consequence of Sound selected "We Remain" as one of the highlights from the album, which made Aguilera "the biggest star on display".[17] Entertainment Weekly writer Nick Catucci picked it as one of the best tracks, calling it "an awesome reminder of Christina's power" and "one of the most righteous doses of uplift this year, on any platform".[18] Mike Wass from the Idolator placed "We Remain" at number twenty on his list of Aguilera's forty best songs.[19]

Personnel

Credits adapted from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack digital inlay cover[20]

Track listing

Digital download[10]
  1. "We Remain" – 4:00

Charts

"We Remain" peaked at number 58 on the South Korean Gaon International Download Chart with 2,689 copies sold on October 6, 2013. The single also peaked at number 31 on the Belgian Flanders Singles Chart and number 14 on the Belgian Wallonian Singles Chart.

Chart (2013)Peak
position
Italy (FIMI)[21] 101
South Korea (GAON Download Chart)[22] 58
Taiwan (Hito Radio)[23] 9
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[24] 144

Release history

CountryDateFormatLabel(s)
BelgiumOctober 1, 2013Digital downloadUniversal Music Group[25]
Finland[26]
France[27]
Germany[28]
New ZealandUniversal Music Group[29]
Switzerland[30]
United States
AustraliaOctober 2, 2013Universal Music Australia[31]
United StatesOctober 8, 2013Contemporary hit radio[32]
December 16, 2013Digital downloadRepublic
Notes

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Discography Christina Aguilera. ARIA Charts. Hung Medien. June 19, 2014.
  2. 'Catching Fire' Soundtrack: Christina Aguilera, The Weeknd, Lorde Join The Hunger Games. Etan. Vlessing. September 26, 2013. Billboard. October 1, 2013.
  3. Web site: Christina Aguilera's Catching Fire Song "We Remain" Released—Listen to the Power Ballad Now!. Brett. Malec. September 30, 2013. October 1, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130930215032/http://www.eonline.com/news/465032/christina-aguilera-s-catching-fire-song-we-remain-released-listen-to-the-power-ballad-now. September 30, 2013. E!.
  4. Web site: Christina Aguilera's "We Remain": Hear The Monster 'Hunger Games' Power Ballad. Sam. Lansky. September 30, 2013. Idolator. Spin Media. October 1, 2013.
  5. Web site: The Hunger Games:Catching Fire Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. AllMusic. Heather. Phares. April 21, 2014.
  6. Web site: Christina Aguilera previews 'Hunger Games' song 'We Remain' - listen . Catherine . Earp . . September 26, 2013 . September 30, 2013.
  7. Christina Aguilera Records Song for New 'Hunger Games' Soundtrack . Billboard . Philiana . Ng . September 26, 2013 . September 30, 2013.
  8. Web site: Sia's 'Elastic Heart' Single For 'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Drops With The Weeknd And Diplo . . September 30, 2013 . October 1, 2013.
  9. Christina Aguilera Delivers 'We Remain' for 'Catching Fire' Soundtrack: Listen . . October 1, 2013 . October 2, 2013.
  10. Web site: We Remain (From "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" Soundtrack): Christina Aguilera . Amazon . October 1, 2013.
  11. Web site: Christina Aguilera Teases 'Hunger Games' Ballad: 'We Remain' . Tara . Nicodemo . . September 30, 2013 . September 30, 2013.
  12. Web site: Christina Aguilera's Fiery 'Hunger Games' Single Art Revealed: Take A Look! . https://web.archive.org/web/20140505234107/http://www.mtv.com/news/1714787/hunger-games-catching-fire-christina-aguilera-soundtrack-art-we-remain/ . dead . May 5, 2014 . Brenna . Ehrlich . . September 30, 2013 . September 30, 2013.
  13. Web site: The Voice Season 5 (2013): And the Winner Is.... International Business Times. December 18, 2013. May 16, 2014. April 23, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140423113920/http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/530913/20131218/voice-season-5-2013-winner-tessanne-chin.htm. dead.
  14. Web site: We Remain (The Voice Performance) – Single by Jacquie Lee & Christina Aguilera . iTunes Store (US). December 17, 2013.
  15. Christina Aguilera Catches Fire on 'We Remain' . . Ryan . Reed . September 26, 2013 . September 30, 2013 . September 29, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130929015831/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/christina-aguilera-catches-fire-on-we-remain-20130926 . dead .
  16. Web site: Christina Aguilera Adds 'We Remain' To 'Catching Fire' Soundtrack (LISTEN) . Michael . Lopez . The Huffington Post. September 27, 2013 . September 30, 2013.
  17. News: Young. Alex. Album Review: Various Artists – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Soundtrack. April 21, 2014. Consequence of Sound. November 19, 2013.
  18. Catucci. Nick. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Soundtrack. April 21, 2014. Entertainment Weekly. January 23, 2014. November 30, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141130194533/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20755131,00.html. dead.
  19. Web site: Christina Aguilera's 40 Best Songs. Idolator. Mike. Wass. December 18, 2020. August 22, 2023.
  20. . Various artist. Republic Records, a division of Universal Music Group. 2013. digital inlay cover.
  21. Web site: Tutti i successi del 2013. https://archive.today/20140804101553/http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/indici/per_anno/hpy2013.htm. dead. 2014-08-04. it. Hit Parade Italia. January 19, 2021.
  22. Web site: Gaon Download Chart. Gaon Chart. ko. May 16, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20131018005004/http://gaonchart.co.kr/digital_chart/download.php?nationGbn=E&current_week=42&current_year=2013&chart_Time=week. October 18, 2013. dead.
  23. Web site: Christina Aguilera – We Remain. Hit FM. August 3, 2024.
  24. Web site: Cluk Update: 12.10.2013. Zobbel Archive. January 20, 2015.
  25. Web site: We Remain. 7digital Belgium. December 17, 2014. December 17, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141217163655/https://nl-be.7digital.com/artist/christina-aguilera/release/we-remain-1/. dead.
  26. Web site: We Remain. 7digital Finland. December 17, 2014. December 17, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141217163400/https://fi.7digital.com/artist/christina-aguilera/release/we-remain-1/. dead.
  27. Web site: We Remain. 7digital France. December 17, 2014. December 17, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141217165102/https://fr.7digital.com/artist/christina-aguilera/release/we-remain-1/. dead.
  28. Web site: We Remain (From "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire") - Single. January 2013 . iTunes Store. Germany. August 17, 2014.
  29. Web site: We Remain. 7digital New Zealand. December 17, 2014. December 17, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141217164226/https://nz.7digital.com/artist/christina-aguilera/release/we-remain-1/. dead.
  30. Web site: We Remain. 7digital Switzerland. December 17, 2014. December 17, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141217162301/https://de-ch.7digital.com/artist/christina-aguilera/release/we-remain-1/. dead.
  31. Web site: We Remain (From 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Soundtrack). bandit.fm. February 15, 2015. February 15, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150215102640/http://www.bandit.fm/album/7504148?cc=AU. dead.
  32. Web site: Top 40/M Future Releases. All Access. All Access Music Group. October 3, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131012022315/http://www.allaccess.com/top40-mainstream/future-releases. live. October 12, 2013.

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