Demi Lovato and Christina Aguilera performed their new duet on the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday. The song, “Fall in Line” has been dubbed a “female empowerment anthem” by news sites like TV Line. The third single form Aguilera’s eighth studio album Liberation, the song was described by Aguilera as dedicated “To anyone who’s ever felt silenced and repressed, the truth seekers and bold thinkers… may you liberate your voice and break the mold, never back down, and never fall in line.”
Aguilera’s first single was another ballad, the song “Twice.” The second was the Kanye West-produced “Accelerate” which features 2 Chainz and Ty Dolla $ign. This fall, Aguilera will embark on a North American tour for the first time in a decade.
Lovato, who has spoken out on a number of things over the years, like mental health to LGBT rights, backed uo that sentiment, tweeting “I hope you love this song as much as I do. It’s such an honor to lend my voice to this anthem for women with one of the most inspiring individuals I’ve ever met.”
Lovato told People magazine that she ” grew up listening to Christina Aguilera. She was one of my idols growing up. She still is.” The admiration is evident on Lovato’s new album, which continues to send the signer in a new, more authentic direction. Lovato says Aguilera was one of the inspirations for Tell Me You Love Me. “I think [Stripped] was her breakout album that really transformed her into the icon that she is today. So that inspired me… she really inspired this album. I was even inspired by the black and white artwork!”
Lovato was only about seven years old when Aguilera burst on the scene with the song “Genie in a Bottle.” She said Aguilera quickly became one of her childhood idols. Both singers were Disney products who later shoved-off the Disney mantle as hard as possible.
The message of the song unmistakably references their Disney days. On May 15, the two both tweeted photographs of themselves as kid performers, side by side singing. The caption was composed of lyrics from “Fall in Line”: “Little girls / Listen closely /‘cause no one told me / But you deserve to know / That in this world / You are not beholden / You do not owe them / Your body and your soul.”
Aguilera took note of the work Lovato was doing as an activist and performer. In October of 2017, she posted on Facebook in support of Lovato’s album, saying “Congratulations @ddlovato on your new album #tellmeyouloveme! You are killing it girl, Xo Xtina.”
Their duet is a heavy ballad that has plenty of room for vocal dramatics, so it is right in their wheelhouse. The song’s lyrics also hint at other songs by Lovato and Aguilera: “I got a mind to show my strength/I got a right to speak my mine/I got a fire in my veins,” is a reference to Lovato’s “Confident” and “Skyscraper” and at the same time is a reminder of Aguilera’s hit, “Beautiful.During their performance at the Billboard Music Awards, the two women ended the performance with a strong embrace, with both of their foreheads touching.
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