Critical Reception
Most critics reserved high-praise for the single, while commenting on its highly-sexualized lyrics. Billboard magazine called the single "right raunchy", but praised it, saying that "Few popular vocalists could pull off such a laudable feat," and that it has such an "irresistible tempo that radio will have no choice but to sweeten airwaves with 'Candyman.'"
Bill with About.com found that "listeners may want to be alerted to the sexual content," but concluded "Aguilera continues to demonstrate she is one of the top female artists in the business", saying: "It's big, bold and brassy just like Christina Aguilera herself. "Candyman" takes us back to 40's USO shows featuring the Andrews Sisters and a crowd ready to jitterbug. Primarily due to possessing some of the strongest vocal chops in the music business, Christina Aguilera pulls it all off with no hint of karaoke or parody", "The entire song amounts to a sexual double entendre. As stated elsewhere on the album Back to Basics, she is "still dirrty." The "Candyman" of the title is identified as "a one stop shop who makes my cherry pop!". "Fortunately, the energy in the song is so focused on dancing and hooks that the sexual content comes off sounding more like a wink than a wallow".
Yahoo! Music called the song "a good-time 1940s big band romp", and gave it eight out of ten stars. A review from blogcritics sad: "This song, inspired by The Andrew Sisters’ “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” screams “play me” to even the most formulatic radio stations. She sings: "There's nothing more dangerous than a boy with charm/ He's a one stop shop, makes the panties drop/ He's a sweet talkin' sugar coated candy man/A sweet talkin' sugar coated candy man." "The lyrics are cheesy and simple, but that’s the whole point to the song!" "It’s one of those brainless songs that you can’t get out of your head no matter what. It will even appear in your dreams if you try to forget about it".
"Candyman" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at 2008 Grammy Awards.
Read more about this topic: Candyman (Christina Aguilera Song)
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