Castle Walls
Song by T.I. featuring Christina Aguilera
"Castle Walls" | |
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Song by T.I. featuring Christina Aguilera | |
from the album No Mercy | |
Recorded | 2010 |
Genre | |
Length | 5 : 29 |
Label | |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) | Alex da Kid |
Licensed audio | |
"Castle Walls (feat. Christina Aguilera)" on YouTube | |
" Castle Walls " is a song by American rapper T.I. featuring American singer Christina Aguilera , from the former's seventh studio album No Mercy (2010). Alex da Kid produced the song and co-wrote it along with Skylar Grey and T.I. The song was initially produced for Diddy 's album Last Train to Paris , but Diddy felt that "Castle Walls" would be better suited to T.I.; Aguilera was later chosen as the featured artist on the song. A hip hop and electro number, "Castle Walls" received mixed response from music critics , some of whom picked it as a highlight from No Mercy , and some others criticized the song's lyrics. Despite not being released as a single , the track still managed to appear on record charts of several nations, including on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles , where it peaked at number five.
Background
Originally, "Castle Walls" belonged to Diddy , who had commissioned the song for his fifth album Last Train to Paris with his group Dirty Money . But Diddy told T.I. , "Yeah, this is my record, but you know what, I think this is a better fit for you. I think you should rock out on this one. I think this speaks volumes to where you are, what you going through, what you living and how you feel." [1] Consequently, Christina Aguilera was chosen as the featured guest on the song, which appeared on T.I.'s album No Mercy . Alex da Kid , producer of the song, said about the collaboration, "I love it. I think it's amazing. It's my sound, just kind of an evolution of that. I think it'll cater to a lot of different people." [2] T.I. told RapFix Live about the track's inspiration:
I live the life that most would die for, but there's a lot of things that come with this life. People don't take that into consideration. There are a lot of things in this life that I would trade in a minute just for a slice of normalcy [...] I just listed a few things that they probably never viewed from that particular perspective. Because I think people need to see things another way; they need to see it other than just celebrity. [1]
In November 2010, Alex da Kid announced that "Castle Walls" would be released as a single from No Mercy . [2] [3] However, the song was not released. A 30-second snippet of the song featuring Aguilera's part was released onto YouTube later that month. [4]
Composition
"Castle Walls" lasts for a duration of 5:29 (five minutes and twenty nine seconds) [5] and is a hip hop and electro song. [3] The song features a Europop keyboard in its arrangement. [6] Nathan Rabin from The A.V. Club wrote that the lyrics of "Castle Walls" "offer similarly incisive and only occasionally self-pitying commentary on the tragedy and triumph of being young, black, rich, famous, and a repeat felon." [7] The song begins with the chorus , in which Aguilera sings, "Everyone thinks that I have it all / But it's so empty living behind these castle walls (These castle walls) / If I should tumble if I should fall/ Would anyone hear me screaming behind these castle walls? / There's no one here at all, behind these castle walls." [2] [8] After the chorus, T.I. raps the verse "See with the Phantoms and Ferraris in the driveway / But you see it came in exchange of a sane man's sanity / Your vision jaded by the Grammys on the mantlepiece / Just switch your camera lenses, you will see the agony" over a "warbling" electronic background and hip hop beats. [8] [9] Towards the song's conclusion, there is a "sad" string arrangement and an electronica -influenced "triumphantly striding beat." [8] An editor from HipHopDX compared "Castle Walls" to " Love the Way You Lie " by Eminem featuring Rihanna , which was also produced by da Kid. [10]
Reception
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Christina_Aguilera_at_the_premiere_of_Burlesque_%282010%29.jpg/170px-Christina_Aguilera_at_the_premiere_of_Burlesque_%282010%29.jpg)
"Castle Walls" received mixed reviews from music critics . Becky Bain from Idolator called "Castle Walls" a "bright spot" for both T.I. and Aguilera "after the not-so-great years both artists have had." [11] Steve Jones, an editor from USA Today , praised Aguilera's appearance on the track and picked it as one of the highlights on No Mercy . [12] Likewise, Slava Kupersein of HipHopDX and The Boston Globe ' s Ken Capobianco labelled "Castle Walls" a standout from No Mercy and applauded Aguilera's vocals. [13] [14] Chase McMullen from One Thirty BPM thought that the song "epitomizes the album nearly perfectly", but opined that Justin Timberlake should be the guest vocalist rather than Aguilera. [15] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly simply deemed the track "mournful, lonely" and described the chorus on the song as "melancholy". [16]
David Amidon writing for PopMatters wrote a mixed review, calling "Castle Walls" "heartfelt [...] but it also feels like a hip-hop version of late-period Phil Collins , a sort of end so inoffensive and far removed from the life force of hip-hop as to appear a sick joke." [17] Critic Jody Rosen from Rolling Stone was displeased with the lyrics of the song, deeming it "an icky bit of self-pity from a rich and famous man." [18] Sean Fennessey of The Washington Post named it an "unfortunately regal perspective", [19] while Pitchfork Media 's Tom Breihan called it "downright insulting." [6] Prefix Magazine's Dave Park described "Castle Walls" as "cloying" and opined that the track bore an "embarrassing resemblance" to Britney Spears ' song " Lucky " (2001). [20]
Despite not being released as an official single, "Castle Walls" still managed to enter the record charts of several countries. The track was a success in South Korea, where it debuted at number six on the Gaon International Singles Chart during the week of 5 December 2010. [21] In the United States, the song reached number five on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and number 84 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs . [22] [23] On the Canadian Hot 100 chart, it peaked at number 99. [24] "Castle Walls" also entered the charts of three European countries: number 27 in Czech Republic, number 31 in Slovakia, and number 51 in Sweden. [25] [26] [27]
Usage in media
In the sixth season of T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle the song was used in the final episode titled "100", in a crucial scene featuring T.I. [28]
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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References
- 1 2 Rodriguez, Jayson (9 December 2010). "Exclusive: T.I. Reveals Diddy Gave Him 'Castle Walls' " . MTV News . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- 1 2 3 Dinh, James (22 November 2010). "T.I., Christina Aguilera Collabo Is 'Amazing,' Alex Da Kid Says" . VH1 . Archived from the original on 8 December 2010.
- 1 2 "Alex Da Kid Builds Castle Walls for T.I. and Christina Aguilera" . Rap-Up . 23 November 2010 . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- ↑ "New Music: T.I. f/ Christina Aguilera – 'Castle Walls' " . Rap-Up . 24 November 2010 . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- ↑ "No Mercy (Deluxe Edition)" . iTunes Store (US) . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- 1 2 Breihan, Tom (10 December 2010). "T.I.: No Mercy" . Pitchfork Media . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- ↑ Rabin, Nathan (14 December 2010). "T.I.: No Mercy • Music Review" . The A.V. Club . Retrieved 17 July 2014 .
- 1 2 3 Stern, Bradley. "T.I. Builds "Castle Walls" with Christina Aguilera" . MuuMuse . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- ↑ Cheung, Nadine (29 November 2012). "T.I., 'Castle Walls' feat. Christina Aguilera - New Song" . AOL Radio . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- ↑ "T.I. f. Christina Aguilera – Castle Walls [ Prod. Alex da Kid ] " . HipHopDX . 1 December 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014 . Retrieved 17 July 2014 .
- ↑ Bain, Becky (29 November 2010). "Christina Aguilera Soars On T.I.'s 'Castle Walls' " . Idolator . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- ↑ Jones, Steve; Gundersen, Edna; Gardner, Elysa; Mansfield, Brian (7 December 2010). "Listen Up: T.I., Daft Punk, Natasha Bedingfield, more" . USA Today . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- ↑ Kuperstein, Slava (7 December 2010). "T.I. – No Mercy" . HipHopDX. Archived from the original on 23 August 2014 . Retrieved 16 July 2014 .
- ↑ Capobianco, Ken (6 December 2010). "T.I. 'No Mercy' Review" . The Boston Globe . Retrieved 16 July 2014 .
- ↑ McMullen, Chase (14 December 2010). "Album Review: T.I. – No Mercy" . One Thirty BPM . Retrieved 17 July 2014 .
- ↑ Greenblatt, Leah (30 November 2010). "New T.I. track feat. Christina Aguilera, 'Castle Walls': Hear it here" . Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- ↑ Amidon, David (3 January 2011). "T.I.: No Mercy – Review" . PopMatters . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- ↑ Rosen, Jody (7 December 2010). "No Mercy" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved 16 July 2014 .
- ↑ Fennessey, Sean (7 December 2010). "Album review: T.I., 'No Mercy' " . The Washington Post .
- ↑ Park, Dave. "Album Review: T.I. – No Mercy" . Prefix Magazine . Retrieved 16 July 2014 .
- 1 2 "South Korean International Singles Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Chart . Archived from the original on 19 July 2014 . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- 1 2 "Nelly chart history: Bubbling Under Hot 100" . Billboard . Archived from the original on 22 October 2015 . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- 1 2 "T.I. Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)" . Billboard . Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- 1 2 "T.I. Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)" . Billboard . Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- 1 2 " ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201120 into search . Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- 1 2 "SNS IFPI" . IFPI Slovakia . Retrieved 15 July 2014 .
- 1 2 " T.I. – Castle Walls" . Singles Top 100 . Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- ↑ "NO MORE HUSTLE! 'T.I. & TINY: THE FAMILY HUSTLE' SERIES FINALE RECAP" . HipHopMyWay . May 30, 2017. Archived from the original on 2020-09-02 . Retrieved September 2, 2020 .
- ↑ T.I. & Christina Aguilera — Castle Walls . TopHit . Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ↑ "DEUTSCHE BLACK CHART − JAHRESCHARTS 2011" . Deutsche Black Charts . Archived from the original on June 14, 2020 . Retrieved June 14, 2020 .
- ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video" . Polish Airplay New . Retrieved 30 March 2017 .
- ↑ " Russia Airplay Chart for 2011-05-30 ." TopHit . Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ↑ " Ukraine Airplay Chart for 2011-09-12 ." TopHit . Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ↑ "Rap Digital Song Sales – The week of December 25, 2010" . Billboard . Archived from the original on 2020-09-11 . Retrieved September 11, 2020 .
- ↑ "Archive: Top 100 of 2011" . NRJ Lebanon . Archived from the original on 2013-02-08 . Retrieved October 21, 2020 .
- ↑ "Top Radio Hits Russia Annual Chart 2011" (in Russian). TopHit . Archived from the original on 10 March 2023 . Retrieved 14 March 2023 .
- ↑ "Top Radio Hits Ukraine Annual Chart 2011" (in Russian). TopHit . Archived from the original on 16 March 2023 . Retrieved 24 March 2023 .
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