Can't Hold Us Down

American singer Christina Aguilera rose to prominence with the successes of her first three studio albums Christina Aguilera (1999), Mi Reflejo (2000), and My Kind of Christmas (2000).[1] However, she was dissatisfied with being marketed as what her then-manager Steve Kurtz desired rather than Aguilera's own wish.[2] In late 2000, Aguilera hired Irving Azoff as her new manager and announced that her forthcoming album would have more musical and lyrical depth.[3] She named the album Stripped, explaining that the term represented "a new beginning, a re-introduction of [herself] as a new artist".[4] Hip hop producer Scott Storch wrote and produced several tracks for the album, including "Can't Hold Us Down".[5] Additional writing credits for the song were provided by Aguilera and Matt Morris.[6]

"Can't Hold Us Down" was serviced to mainstream radio and rhythmic stations in the United States as the fourth single from Stripped by RCA Records on July 8, 2003.[7][8] The song was distributed as a CD single from September to October 2003 in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Italy by RCA Records and Sony Music Entertainment.[9][10][11][12] A 12-inch edition of the song was released in the United States on September 9, 2003.[13]

"Can't Hold Us Down" is written in the key of E♭ major.[15] Chuck Taylor from Billboard described it as a R&B track,[16] while The New York Times's Kelefa Sanneh characterized it as a hip hop song.[17] Todd Burns writing for Stylus Magazine also noted elements of dancehall towards the end of the track.[18] Aguilera and Kim's vocals on the track, which Taylor described as "faux-R&B",[16] span two octaves, from F₃ to F₅.[15]

"Can't Hold Us Down" lyrically discusses feminism;[19] the song criticizes "common" gender-related double standards, in which men are applauded for their sexual behaviors, while women who behave in a similar fashion are disdained.[14][20] In the book Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip-Hop, Susan Hadley and George Yancy discuss that "Can't Hold Us Down" is a hip hop song that "encourages young women to be proud, strong, and empowered to be all that they can be".[21] At the song's first verse, Aguilera sings "Call me a bitch 'cause I speak what's on my mind / Guess it's easier for you to swallow if I sat and smiled";[22] she later rejects that all women "should be seen, not heard" and encourages them to "shout louder" during the chorus.[23] Aguilera comments on the double standard with the lyrics "The guy gets all the glory the more he can score / While the girl can do the same and yet you call her a whore". Lil' Kim shares a similar sentiment during her verse in the bridge, questioning why a man is able to give a woman "some sex or sex her raw" while "if the girl do the same and then she's a whore".[20]

Media outlets speculated that the lyrics of "Can't Hold Us Down" were directed towards rapper Eminem, who referred to Aguilera in his songs "Off the Wall" and "The Real Slim Shady".[24][25][26] Spin magazine's Josh Kun wrote that Aguilera suggested Eminem "Must talk so big / To make up for smaller things".[24] According to Kelefa Sanneh writing for The New York Times, Aguilera referred to Eminem in the lyrics "It's sad you only get your fame through controversy".[25]

Aguilera performing excerpts from "Can't Hold Us Down" in a medley with "Still Dirrty" on the Back to Basics Tour in Dublin, November 2006

Upon its release, "Can't Hold Us Down" received mixed reviews from music critics. Chuck Taylor from Billboard criticized the song as a "real waste of time and talent",[16] while Rolling Stone's Jancee Dunn called the track "curiously lifeless".[27] Stylus Magazine's Todd Burns was critical of the song's "bland" lyrics yet appreciated the dancehall elements that emerged at the end of the track.[18] Josh Kun of Spin praised the lyrics for being more confrontational than the works of her contemporary Britney Spears.[24] Jacqueline Hodges writing for BBC Music appreciated Lil's Kim's inclusion on the track for adding "a bit of edge".[28] "Can't Hold Us Down" was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 2004 Grammy Awards, but lost to "Whenever I Say Your Name" by Sting and Mary J. Blige.[29] On reviewing Aguilera's greatest hits album, Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits in 2008, Nick Levine from Digital Spy shared disappointment because the song could not make it to the compilation.[30]

The song has been recognized as a feminist anthem. Nicholas Ransbottom from The Charleston Gazette placed the song on his list of the top ten songs of female empowerment in 2013, calling it a "great anthem about women sticking up for themselves in a misogynistic world".[31] Several writers for The A.V. Club included the track on their list of seventeen "well-intended yet misguided feminist anthems" in 2010; they agreed that the song itself was "actually one of her better songs", although they felt that its accompanying music video overshadowed its lyrical "[confrontation of] the double standard of female sexuality" since Aguilera conducted herself in a provocative fashion that conflicted its intended meaning.[14] Yasamin Saeidi from Burton Mail listed "Can't Hold Us Down" on her list of the "top ten empowering lady anthems" in 2013.[23] According to Julianne Shepherd of Portland Mercury "Can't Hold Us Down" is a "valuable and important moment for feminist pop music".[32]

"Can't Hold Us Down" peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 3 on the Pop Songs chart.[33] The song peaked at number 4 on the Canadian Singles Chart.[34] In Australia, "Can't Hold Us Down" reached a peak position of number 5 on the Australian Singles Chart,[35] and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipments of 35,000 copies in the country.[36] Additionally, it reached number 2 on the New Zealand Singles Chart.[37] It peaked at number 4 on the Hungarian Singles Chart,[38] number 5 on the Irish Singles Chart,[39] and number 6 on the UK Singles Chart.[40] On May 4, 2020, it was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry for shipments of 200,000 copies in the UK. The single charted at numbers 7[41] and 15[42] on the Belgian Flanders and Walloon Singles Charts, respectively. On the Danish Singles Chart, "Can't Hold Us Down" peaked at number 8,[43] while its highest position on the German Media Control Charts was number 9.[44]

The music video for the song was inspired by Lower East Side, Manhattan, in the 1980s.

The music video for "Can't Hold Us Down" was directed by David LaChapelle, who previously directed the music video for Stripped's lead single "Dirrty" in 2002. It was filmed in a Los Angeles soundstage that depicted a 1980s Lower East Side neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City.[22] LaChapelle described the concept of the video as his "ode to the '80s".[22] In the video, Aguilera wears a pink midriff shirt matching a sleeveless sports jacket and pair of shorts, a purple baseball cap embroidered with the words "Lady C", and white long socks.[45] She is seen with dyed black hair and gold earrings.[20]

As the video starts with Aguilera is chatting with a group of women. When Aguilera leaves the conversation, a man suddenly grabs her butt, making Aguilera stop and causing an argument between them. As she continues to sing, the nearby women in the neighborhood join her, while the male dancers are joined and form their respective sides in the street. They performed their own hip hop dance skills against each other. At the bridge, Lil' Kim appears in a bikini and a mesh black coat, and dances in her high heels. The argument ends with Aguilera spraying the men with a water hose, which she holds between her legs and parodies the penis.[45]

Though Lil' Kim and Christina have not performed the song together, Aguilera performed "Can't Hold Us Down" on her Justified and Stripped Tour, which was held in support of Aguilera's Stripped and Justin Timberlake's album Justified (2002).[49] In late 2003, the track was included on the setlist of the Stripped Tour,[50] which acted as the Justified and Stripped Tour's extension and happened without Timberlake's acts.[51] The performance in London was included on the singer's first full-length DVD Stripped Live in the U.K. (2004).[52] On her Back to Basics Tour (2006–08), Aguilera performed excerpts of "Can't Hold Us Down" in a medley with "Still Dirrty".[53]

In July 2021, Aguilera performed the song for two nights at the Hollywood Bowl with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.[54][55] She also sang excerpts from the song during the 47th People's Choice Awards,[56] and later made "Can't Hold Us Down" part of her setlist at the EuroPride concert in Malta in September 2023.[57][58]

Credits adapted from "Can't Hold Us Down" CD liner notes[59]

Studios

• Mixed at the Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA
• Recorded at the Enterprise Studios, Burbank, CA, and Conway Studios, Hollywood

Personnel

• Hadley, Susan; Yancy, George (2012). Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip-Hop. Routledge. p. 94. ISBN 9781136652332.
• Balaji, Murali (2008). "Vixen Resistin': Redefining black womanhood in hip-hop music videos". Journal of Black Studies. 41 (1): 5–20. doi:10.1177/0021934708325377. PMID 21117275. S2CID 26320847.
• Besigiroha, Linda (2010). "Independent women? Feminist discourse in music videos". In Gymnich, Marion; Ruhl, Kathrin; Scheunemann, Klaus (eds.). Gendered (Re)Visions: Constructions of Gender in Audiovisual Media. Göttingen, Germany: Bonn University Press (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht). pp. 227–252. ISBN 9783899716627.
• Railton, Diane; Watson, Paul (2005). "Naughty girls and red-blooded women: Representations of female heterosexuality in music video". Feminist Media Studies. 5 (1): 51–63. doi:10.1080/14680770500058207. S2CID 144307744.
• Railton, Diane; Watson, Paul (2011). Music Video and the Politics of Representation. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 88–90. ISBN 9780748633234.

• "Can't Hold Us Down" music video on YouTube