Accelerate (Christina Aguilera song)

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"Accelerate"
Christina Aguilera Accelerate cover artwork.jpg
Single by Christina Aguilera featuring Ty Dolla Sign and 2 Chainz
from the album Liberation
ReleasedMay 3, 2018 (2018-05-03)
Genre
Length4:03
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Christina Aguilera singles chronology
"Telepathy"
(2016) 		"Accelerate"
(2018) 		"Fall in Line"
(2018)
Ty Dolla Sign singles chronology
"OTW"
(2018) 		"Accelerate"
(2018) 		"Ooh Yeah"
(2018)
2 Chainz singles chronology
"Medication (Remix)"
(2018) 		"Accelerate"
(2018) 		"Big Bank"
(2018)
Music video
"Accelerate" on YouTube

"Accelerate" is a song by American singer Christina Aguilera and was released as the lead single from her eighth studio album Liberation (2018). It features guest vocals from singer Ty Dolla Sign and rapper 2 Chainz.[3] The song was produced by Kanye West alongside Che Pope, Mike Dean and Eric Danchick, with co-production from Honorable C.N.O.T.E. and Charlie Heat. "Accelerate" became Aguilera's tenth number-one song on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.

Recording[]

Ty Dolla Sign recalled the studio recording process in the Rolling Stone interview: "She [Aguilera] invited me to her crib to come finish the record. It was dope. We just went in there and I just heard her do her shit live in person. I was like 'What the fuck is this? It’s incredible!'"[4]

Critical reception[]

Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called "Accelerate" "fantastically weird", stating, "Ty Dolla Sign's moans and yelps, sinuous keyboard lines, a charmingly staccato verse from 2 Chainz. Somewhere in there is Ms. Aguilera, under-singing and trying not to get pushed into a corner. And yet despite these disparate inputs, there's something loose and admirable happening here: everyone is trying new things, and the disarray verges on flamboyance."[5] According to MTV's Sam Prance, "Accelerate" is one of Aguilera's "most experimental releases to date," as well as "an instantly memorable pulsating club bop."[6] Billboard called the single "a stormy comeback" with high energy,[7] while The Guardian regarded it as catchy and a "promising comeback", noting Aguilera's "incredible" vocals.[8] The Fader praised Aguilera for "brave artistic choice" and assured that upon listening deeper into the song, its weirdest and most interesting sounds become "addictive".[9] Brock Radke of Las Vegas Magazine believed "Accelerate" is a "pulsating, rhythmic track" that "defies categorization and reaffirms Aguilera’s dedication to pushing past pop boundaries".[10]

Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork said it is "certainly a liberation from something, though it's unclear what. There's a fun song (or two) trapped in here somewhere, between several mutations, but without any sort of constancy or meaningful direction, it isn't much of a song at all; it's a series of disjointed episodes with superfluous parts. 'Accelerate' is unnecessarily mixing and inflating ideas when far less would do."[11] Hugh McIntyre, a contributor to Forbes.com, was critical of the song, saying "'Accelerate' sounds like it's headed somewhere, but it never actually arrives. The track is disappointingly one-note, and once you've heard what it has to give in the first few seconds, there isn't a lot more to discover. The drum-heavy production immediately catches the ear, but it never develops and grows, and there's no powerful hook that requires a replay".[12]

The British magazine i-D ranked the song on a list of the Best Pop Comebacks of the 21st Century.[13]

Chart performance[]

In the United States, the song peaked at number twenty-four on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles. Elsewhere, the song had minor chart success, reaching the top ten in Spain. In the United Kingdom and Canada, the song charted on the digital sales component charts in each country, although in the UK it also reached number 99 on the biggest singles of midweek list compiled by the Official Charts Company.[14] "Accelerate" became Aguilera's tenth number-one song on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.[10] It also peaked at number thirteen on the German Black Chart.[15]

Music video[]

Aguilera performing "Accelerate" on the Liberation Tour.

An accompanying music video for "Accelerate", directed by Zoey Grossman, premiered via Aguilera's YouTube channel on May 3, 2018.[3] Ty Dolla Sign and 2 Chainz do not appear in the video.[16]

Additionally, a vertical video for the song was released exclusively via Spotify on the same day.[17]

Live performances[]

On May 31, 2018 Pandora Radio hosted a listening party as a preview for a then-upcoming album Liberation. Aguilera sang parts of "Accelerate" during the meeting with journalists.[18][19] On June 9 she performed the track, along with "Fall in Line", at the Genentech Gives Back benefit concert in San Francisco.[20][21] The next day she made a surprise appearance during the Los Angeles Pride Parade.[22] Her performance of a dance remix of "Accelerate" featured a group of drag queens.[22] The song was then included in the setlist for three of Aguilera's tours: The Liberation Tour (2018),[23] The Xperience (2019–2020),[24] and The X Tour (2019).[25]

Charts[]

References[]

  1. ^ Reed, Ryan (May 3, 2018). "Hear Christina Aguilera's Kanye West-Produced New Song With 2 Chainz". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  2. ^ Waa, Mike (May 3, 2020). "Christina Aguilera's "Accelerate" Was Ahead Of Its Time". Idolator. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Aswad, Jem (May 3, 2018). "Christina Aguilera Drops Kanye West-Produced Song 'Accelerate,' Announces New Album (Video)". Variety. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  4. ^ Spanos, Brittany (June 20, 2018). "Ty Dolla $ign Is Making Hits for Everybody This Summer". Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  5. ^ Calamarica, Jon (May 4, 2018). "The Playlist: Christina Aguilera's Bizarre Puzzle, and 13 More New Songs". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  6. ^ Prance, Sam (May 3, 2018). "Christina Aguilera Wows with New Single 'Accelerate'". MTV. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  7. ^ "Christina Aguilera Prepping 'Liberation' Album, Drops 'Accelerate' with Ty Dolla $ign & 2 Chainz: Listen". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  8. ^ Sampson, Issy (May 11, 2018). "Tracks of the week reviewed: Christina Aguilera, Céline Dion and Kanye West". The Guardian. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  9. ^ "Stop sleeping on Christina Aguilera's "Accelerate"". The Fader. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Radke, Brock (October 19, 2018). "Christina Aguilera's creativity has been liberated". Las Vegas Magazine. Greenspun Media Group. Archived from the original on 2020-07-22. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  11. ^ Pearce, Sheldon (May 3, 2018). "Christina Aguilera "Accelerate" [ft. Ty Dolla $ign & 2 Chainz]". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  12. ^ McIntyre, Hugh (May 3, 2018). "Christina Aguilera Finally Kicks Off A New Era With Lackluster Single 'Accelerate'". Forbes.com. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  13. ^ Greenwood, Douglas (November 12, 2020). "Best pop comebacks of the 21st century so far, ranked". i-D. Vice Media Group LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-11-13. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Update Top 100: 07 May 2018 − 13 May 2018 (Midweeks)". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 2020-06-12. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b c "JAHRESCHARTS URBAN 2018 – Deutsche Trendcharts". Deutsche Black Charts. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  16. ^ Breihan, Tom (May 3, 2018). "Christina Aguilera – 'Accelerate' (Feat. 2 Chainz & Ty Dolla $ign) (Prod. Kanye West) Video". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 2018-05-04. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  17. ^ "Exclusive #Accelerate vertical video on @Spotify". Twitter. Twitter, Inc. May 3, 2018. Archived from the original on 2020-07-20. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  18. ^ "Christina Aguilera hosts an intimate listening party for her biggest fans on Pandora to preview her upcoming album, LIBERATION, at The Peppermint Club on May 31, 2018 in Los Angeles, California". Getty Images. May 31, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  19. ^ "Christina Aguilera Has a Liberation Listening Party with Pandora". Oh No They Didn't. June 1, 2018. Archived from the original on 2020-07-25. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  20. ^ "Christina Aguilera Concert Setlist at Genentech Gives Back – San Francisco, CA, USA – June 9, 2018". Setlist.fm. Archived from the original on 2020-07-25. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  21. ^ "ZDJĘCIA/VIDEO: KONCERT CHARYTATYWNY #GENENTECHGIVESBACK". Christina Aguilera (in Polish). June 10, 2018. Archived from the original on 2020-07-25. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Youtt, Henry (June 11, 2018). "Christina Aguilera Makes Surprise Appearance at LA Pride, Debuts Special 'Accelerate' Remix: Watch". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2018-06-14. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  23. ^ Villa, Lucas (November 2, 2018). "Christina Aguilera's Liberation Tour marks beautiful comeback in Las Vegas". AXS. Archived from the original on 2019-07-11. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  24. ^ Nied, Mike (June 1, 2019). "Christina Aguilera Launches 'The Xperience' Residency: See The Setlist". Idolator. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  25. ^ "Christina Aguilera Brings 'The X Tour' to Europe". So Sugary. July 14, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-07-19. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  26. ^ "Canadian Digital Song Sales: Week of May 19, 2018". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  27. ^ "Top 20 Costa Rica Anglo – Del 28 de Mayo al 3 de Junio, 2018" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Archived from the original on 2020-08-13. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  28. ^ "Lescharts.com – Christina Aguilera feat. Ty Dolla $ign & 2 Chainz – Accelerate" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  29. ^ "Digital Singles Chart (International) Εβδομάδα: 18/2018" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on May 4, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  30. ^ "Top 20 Guatemala Anglo – Del 7 al 13 de Mayo, 2018" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Archived from the original on 2020-08-13. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  31. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  32. ^ "Top 20 Panama Anglo – Del 28 de Mayo al 3 de Junio, 2018" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  33. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  34. ^ "Spanish Song Sales: Week of May 13, 2018". Spanishcharts.com. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  35. ^ "Taiwan Airplay – Week 26, 2018". Charts Around the World. MH Magazine. July 7, 2018. Archived from the original on 2020-12-15. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  36. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  37. ^ "Christina Aguilera Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  38. ^ "Christina Aguilera Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  39. ^ "Dance Club Songs − Year-End − 2018". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2020-01-04. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
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