You Lost Me

Background and release

In August 2008, Australian recording artist Sia confirmed that she would work on several ballads for Aguilera's then-upcoming album. Aguilera commented about the collaboration, "I'm definitely a fan of Sia's. I was thrilled she also wanted to work together and, in turn, was a fan of mine". In an interview for Billboard, Sia said, "She [Aguilera] was just excited to get to work with the artists she loves. There's this misconception that she's a middle-America kind of person. But she's a little hipster. You go back to her house and sit by the fire with some wine, and what's playing over the sound system? The Knife and Arthur Russell. She doesn't listen to pop music".

In the standard edition of Bionic, the couple co-wrote three tracks, including "You Lost Me". The song was described as "the heart of the album" by Aguilera. According to the Herald Sun, Aguilera wanted to collaborated more with Furler for the album. "You Lost Me" was announced to be released as the third single in the US and the second internationally from Bionic, while "I Hate Boys" would be the second single in Australia. The single's cover artwork was revealed three days later via her official website. RCA Records officially released the song to US contemporary hit radio on June 27, 2010. A radio remix version of the track was digitally released on 7digital stores worldwide in July 2010. Two digital EPs containing remixes of the song were also distributed by RCA Records later that year.

Composition

"You Lost Me" was written by Aguilera, Furler and its producer, Samuel Dixon. The song is a ballad lasts for a duration of 4:17 (four minutes and 17 seconds). Written in the key of A minor, "You Lost Me" has a tempo of 50 beats per minute. Aguilera's vocal range spans from E♭₃ to E₅. The verses are sung by Aguilera using melisma. The song's instrumentation comes from piano and strings. Hinshaw Drew of The Village Voice labelled it the "un-bionic moment on the record".

Lyrically, "You Lost Me" talks about a "cheating" man, who has left Aguilera's world "infected". Amar Toor from AOL Radio thought that its lyrical content "perfectly captures one of the most difficult experiences young lovers have to go through". The song begins with a "somber orchestral" piano opening, followed by the lines "I am done, smoking gun/ We've lost it all, the love is gone" sung by Aguilera. During the chorus, she sings, "I feel like our world's been infected/ And somehow you left me neglected". Toward the ending, Aguilera's "painful" and "catharsis" voice "crescendos dramatically". According to Jon Pareles from The New York Times, Aguilera "barely" holds back her tears in the song. The Village Voice critic Drew Hinshaw thought that Aguilera is "less vexed by what he did than what he lost".

Critical reception

"You Lost Me" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly noted Furler's efforts on the "lovely" ballads "You Lost Me", "All I Need", and "I Am" had turned Aguilera into a "smoky, almost Fiona Apple-esque torch singer". Elysa Gardner of USA Today highlighted the song as one of the album's standout ballads. According to Genevieve Koski from The A.V. Club, "You Lost Me" is the kind of ballad Aguilera "is best suited to". Mesfin Fekadu of Northwest Herald thought that the "emotional" song shows off "the diva's powerful voice", while Drew Hinshaw from The Village Voice deemed "You Lost Me" as the most vulnerable song from Bionic.

Michael Cragg, writing for musicOMH, wrote that the ballads co-written by Furler make Bionic "the first Aguilera album where the ballads aren't ruined by her tendency to cover all the notes on the scale". Her further compared "You Lost Me" to Aguilera's previous hit "Beautiful" (2002). Digital Spy editor Robert Cospey gave the song three stars out of five, praising her vocals yet thinking that the song "somehow lacks the sincerity" as she displayed on "Hurt" and "Oh Mother". On a negative side, Sam Lansky from MTV Buzzworthy deemed "You Lost Me" a "weepy" song.

Chart performance

In the United States, "You Lost Me" debuted and peaked on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number 20 on June 26, 2010, becoming Aguilera's first US single not to chart within the main Billboard Hot 100. The song also peaked at number 28 on the Adult Contemporary, where it remained for four weeks. It was a success on the Hot Dance Club Play, peaking atop the chart. In the United Kingdom, "You Lost Me" became Aguilera's lowest-charting single in the country, only peaking at number 153 on the UK Singles Chart. The single also charted at number 78 in Slovakia, and number 79 in the Netherlands. The song was more commercially successful in Belgium, where it charted at number 19 on the Wallonian Ultratop chart. In Israel, it became a top-ten hit on the Media Forest chart.

Music video

The music video for "You Lost Me" was directed by Anthony Mandler. According to Aguilera, the video "strips back the theatrics". She also revealed that it used over 200 pounds of charcoal. During the making of the video, Aguilera said, "It was really important that I interpret the simplicity of the raw emotion that takes place within the song itself and not any sort of theatrics involved". On July 22, 2010, the music video was released on Aguilera's VEVO channel. Two days before the release, a sneak peek of the music video was revealed. According to Billboard writer Monica Herrera, the clip contrasts with the music video for the lead single of Bionic "Not Myself Tonight", while Chris Ryan for MTV Buzzworthy thought that it goes "back to basics".

The video features Aguilera with "strawberry-blonde" hair. It begins with a close-up of a gun barrel. Then, she slowly walks through a "deserted" bedroom and lies down in the room, which is filled with charcoal, while crying. She is seen with mascara streaming down her cheeks. As the scene moves on, Aguilera is fighting against a shirtless man, who is considered her lover. The clip ends as Aguilera takes off her shirt in an "Inception-like dreamworld". Critical response to "You Lost Me" video was positive: Latina writer Mariela Rosario and UK magazine OK! noted that the clip was a comeback by Aguilera following the video for Bionic lead single "Not Myself Tonight". Monica Hererra from Billboard also thought that it represents "a kind of return to form for Aguilera". Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Brad Wete thought that the video for "You Lost Me" "has some quality material". Similarly, MTV Buzzworthy's Chris Ryan complimented it as one of Aguilera's best videos ever.

Live performances and covers

Aguilera performed "You Lost Me" for the first time at the season finale of the ninth season of American Idol on May 26, 2010. Following the rendition of Aguilera's songs "Beautiful" and "Fighter" by the top six female contestants, Aguilera appeared onstage as the stage went dark. Wearing a "demure black ensemble", her hair was pulled back in her curls. On June 8, 2010, Aguilera performed the song again with several of her tracks, "Fighter", "Bionic", "Not Myself Tonight", and "Beautiful". According to James Dinh from MTV News, the performance of "You Lost Me" "brought a subtle and gentle ambience" to the show, and it was not aired on television.

During the Late Show with David Letterman aired on June 10, 2010, the singer performed "You Lost Me" with "1950's-inspired hair", red lipstick, "diamante leggings" and a white "glitter style cut-out blouse" with "red sparkly stilettos". A day later, she appeared on The Early Show to promote her then-upcoming album Bionic, performing "Not Myself Tonight", "Fighter", "You Lost Me", and a medley of "Genie in a Bottle" and "What a Girl Wants". Aguilera performed the song again as part of her performance on VH1 Storytellers, aired on June 13, 2010.

On November 12, 2010, Canadian-Cypriot-Portuguese singer Nikki Ponte covered the song on the third week of the third season of The X Factor (Greece). American singer Marcus Canty performed "You Lost Me" on the first season of The X Factor (US) on November 23, 2011. The track was recorded in a studio by Ewelina Lisowska, a semifinalist from the second season of the Polish version for The X Factor. "You Lost Me" was also performed by Spanish singer Alberto Bellido Marquez during the auditions of the third season of The X Factor in Germany on September 7, 2012, and Ukrainian The X Factor contestant Vladyslav Kurasov on January 19, 2013.

In 2014 Maltese child singer, Veronica Rotin, covered this song on her debut album, Veronica Rotin.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Bionic album liner notes.