"No Es Que Te Extrañe" () is a song recorded by American singer

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

for her ninth studio album, '' Aguilera''. It was written by Aguilera,

Edgar Barrera Édgar Barrera aka Edge is a Mexican songwriter, Record producer, producer, and musician based in Miami, Florida. He has won a total of 20 Latin Grammys and 1 Grammy Award including "Producer of The Year" in 2021. He has written and produced son ...

, Pablo Preciado, Yasmil Marrufo,

Rafa Arcaute Rafael Arcaute, known as Rafa Arcaute, is an Argentine songwriter, record producer and recording engineer. He has worked with several Latin American artists including Luis Alberto Spinetta, Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas, Calle 13, Aterciopela ...

and

Federico Vindver Federico Vindver (born 18 August 1982) is an Argentine record producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer based in Los Angeles, California. Vindver has worked with several artists including, Kanye West, Coldplay, Justin Bieber, Ed ...

, and produced by the latter two. It was co-produced by Afo Verde, and vocal production was handled by

Jean Rodríguez Jean Carlos Rodríguez López-Cepero (born December 10, 1980), also known as Jean, is a Puerto Rican singer, the younger brother of Luis Fonsi. Rodríguez has released a handful of solo albums and mixtapes, hitting number one on ''Billboard'' L ...

. The song was released by

Sony Music Latin Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC (often referred to as Sony Music Latin) is a record label owned by Sony Music. The label focuses on artists of Latin music. History In 1979, CBS Records (now Columbia Records) ended its partnership with C ...

on September 30, 2022, as the album's fifth single. Inspired by the

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

she and her mother experienced from her father in her early years, Aguilera sings about forgiving her father and setting herself free from her past. The song received positive reviews, with praise focusing on Aguilera's vocals and the song's lyrical topic. A music video depicting Aguilera's childhood was released alongside the song.

Background and composition

"No Es Que Te Extrañe" was created during Aguilera's recording session for the album in early 2021. The song is a

pasillo Pasillo ( en, little step, hallway or aisle) is a Colombian, genre of music extremely popular in the territories that composed the 19th century Viceroyalty of New Granada: Born in the Colombian Andes during the independence wars, it spread to oth ...

, a genre which originates from

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, and is considered the national style of music in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, where Aguilera's father is from. It is written in the key of

D Major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

, with a moderately fast tempo of 184

beats-per-minute In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

. The song is split into two acts: the first act is a tender ballad featuring only Aguilera's vocals and an acoustic guitar, while the second act juxtaposes the first, which features a heavy Latin beat and heightened energy. Lyrically, Aguilera sings about getting closure for the

she and her mother dealt with in her early years from her estranged father, Fausto. She revealed that she "wrote 'No Es Que Te Extrañe' to "come full circle, accept, forgive and be set free." Aguilera revealed that the song is about "feeling closure in a peaceful way", and understanding that someone who hurt you "might have a story as well".

Release and music video

Aguilera first teased "No Es Que Te Extrañe" on her social media, announcing the album's final part, ''La Luz''. The song premiered on September 30, 2022, and was released commercially for digital download and on streaming platforms worldwide alongside its music video. The video was co-directed by Mike Ho and Aguilera and produced by Colin Randall. It portrays Aguilera's childhood, witnessing her father's abuse to her mother. The video parallels Aguilera's childhood with her father's, with Aguilera understanding that he may have gone through a similar situation. The video closes with the spoken word "Intro (La Luz)".

Critical reception

"No Es Que Te Extrañe" received positive reviews from music critics, who praised Aguilera's vocals and the song's lyrics. In the official write-up for the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

website, Bianca Gracie called "No Es Que Te Extrañe" a "somber" track that "found the artist healing her childhood trauma". Chuck Taylor – writing for ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' — complimented the song for demonstrating that Aguilera has got the goods to rise above what so many lesser acts depend on for celebrity.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Neil Z. Yeung considered the song "an unexpected moment of high drama that was written about finding closure and forgiveness", and praised it for its "cinematic" quality. Nick Butler from ''Sputnikmusic'' simply called it "great." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' editor Kelefa Sanneh positively viewed the track's theme as "fearless". Jeff Benjamin, writer of ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'', defines the song "one of the most stunning songs of her career so far", appreciating the "melancholy" arrangement, prizing the choice to draw from pasillo and the use of

requinto guitar A requinto guitar is a smaller version of a classical guitar, with a scale length between 52-54cm. It is tuned a fourth higher than a standard classical guitar, to A2-D3-G3-C4-E4-A4. They often, but not always, have a cutout to reach the higher ...

, in which Aguilera "speaks to distant memories and finds peace with someone with whom she has a complex history". Music critic Odi O'Malley believed "No Es Que Te Extrañe" "starts like a ypicalballad and then becomes more passionate, more evidently Latin". The track was listed as one of the best Latin songs of 2022 by

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

's experts.

Accolades

Track listing

''La Luz'' digital single # "Intro (La Luz)" – 0:40 # "No Es Que Te Extrañe" – 4:43

Credits and personnel

* Writing – Christina Aguilera, Edgar Barrera, Federico Vindver, Jean Rodriguez, Pablo Preciado, Rafa Arcaute, Yasmil Marrufo * Producing – Rafa Arcaute, Federico Vindver * Mixing – Mike Seaberg *

Recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

– Felipe Trujillo, Ray Charles Brown, Jr. * Mastering – Jaycen Joshua * Vocals – Christina Aguilera *

Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

arranging and conducting – Davide Rosi, Roland Gajate

Charts

Release history

Notes

References

{{Christina Aguilera songs 2022 singles 2022 songs Christina Aguilera songs Spanish-language songs Songs written by Christina Aguilera Sony Music Latin singles 2020s ballads Songs about fathers Pop ballads