Army of Me (Christina Aguilera song)

Did You Know?

• Aguilera performed "Army of Me" at the 40th American Music Awards as part of a medley with "Lotus Intro" and "Let There Be Love."
• American recording artist Anastacia covered the song for her 2015 compilation album Ultimate Collection, releasing it as the album's second single on October 23, 2015.
• Anastacia's version of the song is a subdued piano and string-driven rendition, debuted on Terry Wogan's BBC Radio 2 weekend show Weekend Wogan.

Background and recording

The song was recorded at Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood, California, and Radley Studios in Los Angeles, California, with Justin Stanley engineering. Aguilera co-wrote "Army of Me" with Jamie Hartman, David Glass, and Phil Bentley; production was handled by Tracklacers, with Hartman co-producing. Aguilera's vocals were recorded by Oscar Ramirez at The Red Lips Room in Beverly Hills, California. Steve Daly and John Keep handled programming, while Hartman composed the strings. In a Billboard interview, Aguilera explained that her role on The Voice introduced her to a younger audience unfamiliar with her past work, including "Fighter." She called "Army of Me" a "Fighter 2.0," saying she wanted to give a new generation their own version of that empowering song. In a 2012 interview with The Advocate, Aguilera stated the track is about people who are misunderstood or do not fit the norm, and that it embraces LGBTQ themes.

Composition and lyrics

"Army of Me" is an up-tempo dance-pop and Eurodance song lasting three minutes and twenty-six seconds. Its instrumentation includes a pounding drum beat and rocky guitars. The lyrics present Aguilera as a fighter addressing an ex-boyfriend, with lines such as "So how does it feel to know that I beat you?/ That I can defeat you?" Though heartbroken by the breakup, she asserts she is not broken. The chorus includes the lines "One of me is wiser/ One of me is stronger/ One of me's a fighter/ And there's a thousand faces of me/ We're gonna rise up for every time you broke me/ You're gonna face an army of me," which echo themes from "Fighter" without sampling it.

Critical reception

Critical response to "Army of Me" was mixed. Diane Anderson-Minshall of Pride Media called it a great LGBT anthem. Andrew Hampp of Billboard and Chris Younie of 4Music both thought it could have been a single; Younie wrote that it captivates from the start and has a euphoric energy. Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe described it as a "Gloria Gaynor-meets-Depeche Mode dance of anger." Mike Wass of Idolator considered it a quality but filler track, noting its similarity to "Fighter." Annie Zaleski of The A.V. Club called Aguilera a "playful" and "sassy techno diva" on the song. Kitty Empire of The Observer noted similarities to "Fighter" and cited the Björk song of the same name as an influence. Robert Copsey of Digital Spy said it was nothing new but had urgency. Matthew Horton of Virgin Media wrote that Aguilera sounds like she is declaring war. Michael Gallucci of PopCrush criticized it as a Cher-like disco song with overworked vocals. Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly found the lyrics defensive and bitter.