Format Digital download Length 3:06 | Recorded 2012 Label RCA | |
 | ||
Genre Dance-pop
disco
electro
funk
R&B Writer(s) Christina Aguilera
Lucas Secon
Olivia Waithe | ||
"Red Hot Kinda Love" is a song by American recording artist Christina Aguilera from her seventh studio album, Lotus (2012). The song was written by Aguilera, Lucas Secon and Olivia Waithe, with production done by Secon. It is a multi-genre song, combining dance, disco, hip hop, Latin and pop. The track makes use of two samples: "The Whole Wide World Ain't Nothin' But a Party" performed by Mark Radice and "54-46 That's My Number" performed by Toots & the Maytals. Lyrically, the song talks about Aguilera's attempts to impress the man she is flirting with and she will not go home without him. Its structure received comparisons to songs performed by Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue. The track was received positively by critics, the majority of whom praised the fun and playful production. Upon the release of Lotus, the song debuted at number five on the South Korean international singles chart, selling 20,433 copies, and remained on the chart for a further four weeks.
Contents
Background and recording
After her sixth studio album Bionic (2010) was met with low sales figures, Aguilera divorced from husband Jordan Bratman, starred in her first feature film entitled Burlesque and recorded its accompanying soundtrack, became a coach on NBC's The Voice and featured on Maroon 5's song "Moves Like Jagger" (2011), which spent four weeks atop the US Billboard Hot 100 and sold 4.9 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Following these events, she announced plans to record a new album, declaring that quality was more important than quantity and that she wanted to find "personal" songs to record. Aguilera stated that the album would be a "culmination of everything I've experienced up until this point ... I've been through a lot since the release of my last album, being on ('The Voice'), having had a divorce ... This is all sort of a free rebirth for me." She continued to say that "I'm embracing many different things, but it's all feel-good, super-expressive [and] super-vulnerable." Concluding her statement, Aguilera said that the album would be about "self-expression and freedom" because of the challenges she has faced over the past couple of years and wanting to go back to her roots.
Speaking about her new material on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2012, Aguilera revealed that the album was taking a while to record because "I don't like to just get songs from producers. I like them to come from a personal place ... I'm very excited. It's fun, exciting, introspective, it's going to be great". "Red Hot Kinda Love" was written by Aguilera, Lucas Secon and Olivia Waithe; Secon served as the producer. In addition to his role as producer, Secon served as the programmer and arranger. He also recorded the track with Pete Hofmann. Aguilera's vocals were recorded by Oscar Ramirez, and edited by Hofmann. Aguilera and Waithe, credited with her professional name Livvi Franc, provided background vocals for "Red Hot Kinda Love". The track contains two samples: "The Whole Wide World Ain't Nothin' But a Party" performed by Mark Radice and "54-46 That's My Number" performed by Toots & the Maytals.
Composition
"Red Hot Kinda Love" was written by Aguilera, Lucas Secon and Olivia Waithe, with production done by Secon. An up-tempo song, it combines a variety of genres, including dance and disco, "subtle" tones of Latin, hip hop, and pop. It also features elements of dancehall. The track, which lasts for a duration of 3:06, is a "smoky, sultry" song. It features an "old-school hip-hop loop" and vocal samples, as well as "dirty bass" which creates an "underground" feel. On "Red Hot Kinda Love", Aguilera keeps her use of melisma to a minimum which allows for a "relaxed and playful" vocal performance. Lyrically, the song talks about Aguilera's attempts to impress the man she is flirting with. She has "fallen hook, line and sinker for him" and will not take no for an answer. Chris Younie for 4Music wrote that his favorite lyric in the song is "Baby I'm burning up, you got that red hot kinda love", which the song's hook is built around. According to Sal Cinquemani for Slant Magazine, it features "a catchy pre-chorus, and an even catchier chorus." Andrew Hampp for Billboard compared the song's structure to those performed by Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue which they have "specialized in for years."
Critical reception
"Red Hot Kinda Love" garnered very positive reviews from most music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine for Allmusic was complimentary of the pop song, writing that it is "giddy" and "delirious". Chris Younie for 4Music wrote that Aguilera is "ramping up the romance and sexual energy" on "Red Hot Kinda Love", which will make the listener need to take a cold shower. He also wrote that the listener should expect to hear "lots of 'oooh', 'aah', and 'la la la' in her usual Mariah Carey-shrilling manner." Sam Hine for Popjustice described the song as "a welcome blast of upbeat pop following the rather serious start to the album. There are lots of good "oooh" "lalala" hooky bits that all fit together and make a for an enjoyable listen." Andrew Hampp for Billboard described it as the "standout song on Lotus" which sees her "at her most relaxed and playful." He also noted that Secon's production takes "precedence" on the song. Annie Zaleski for The A.V. Club called it a "dancehall-tinged, vibrant party jam," while Sarah Rodman for The Boston Globe named it a "kooky horn-and-yodel fest". Robert Copsey for Digital Spy described the song as "care-free" and "a bit cheeky." Sarah Godfrey for The Washington Post praised Aguilera for sounding more like herself on the "frenzied" track. Jim Farber for Daily News wrote that "Red Hot Kinda Love" contains "a can't-miss gimmick of a chorus". He also wrote that Aguilera "hits the clubs in horny revenge."
Caomhan Keane for Entertainment.ie described "Red Hot Kinda Love" as Lotus' "highlight," writing that the song revisits the bouncy melodies of "I Hate Boys" and "My Girls" from Bionic. Glenn Gamboa for Newsday simply wrote that the song is "fun", while Melinda Newman for HitFix described "Red Hot Kinda Love" as having an "exuberant" and "playful" vibe, which she likened to Deee-Lite's song "Groove Is in the Heart". Mike Wass for Idolator praised Aguilera for having fun on the song and not letting her "I'm back, bitches! agenda" take over. Wass continued to write that "Red Hot Kinda Love" is Lotus' answer to her Back to Basics (2006) album track, "Ain't No Other Man". However, Mesfin Fekadu for The Huffington Post criticized "Red Hot Kinda Love", along with "Around the World" and "Make the World Move", as she felt that Aguilera failed to capture the "fun" which they are supposed to embody. The song was placed at number 73 on PopCrush's "Top 100 Songs of 2012", who described it as a "perfectly effervescent morsel of cotton-candy pop."
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Lotus, RCA Records.
Charts
Upon the release of Lotus, "Red Hot Kinda Love" debuted on the South Korean international singles chart at number five during the week of November 11–17, 2012, due to digital download sales of 20,433. The following week it fell to number nine, with sales of 15,525. In its third week, the song sold 10,467 copies, charting at number 21, and sold 6,062 copies in its fourth, falling twenty places to number 41. "Red Hot Kinda Love" sold 3,436 copies in its fifth week, falling to number 93.