Castle Walls

"Castle Walls" is a song by American singers T.I. and Christina Aguilera, from T.I.'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.

For the song by Styx, see The Grand Illusion.

"Castle Walls"
Song by T.I. featuring Christina Aguilera
from the album No Mercy
Recorded2010
Genre
Length5:29
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Alex da Kid

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
Christina Aguilera (pictured in 2010) was featured on "Castle Walls"

"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]

Charts
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References
  1. Rodriguez, Jayson (9 December 2010). "Exclusive: T.I. Reveals Diddy Gave Him 'Castle Walls'". MTV News. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  2. 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.
  3. "Alex Da Kid Builds Castle Walls for T.I. and Christina Aguilera". Rap-Up. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  4. "New Music: T.I. f/ Christina Aguilera – 'Castle Walls'". Rap-Up. 24 November 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  5. "No Mercy (Deluxe Edition)". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  6. Breihan, Tom (10 December 2010). "T.I.: No Mercy". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  7. Rabin, Nathan (14 December 2010). "T.I.: No Mercy  • Music Review". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  8. Stern, Bradley. "T.I. Builds "Castle Walls" with Christina Aguilera". MuuMuse. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  9. Cheung, Nadine (29 November 2012). "T.I., 'Castle Walls' feat. Christina Aguilera - New Song". AOL Radio. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  10. "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.
  11. Bain, Becky (29 November 2010). "Christina Aguilera Soars On T.I.'s 'Castle Walls'". Idolator. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  12. 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.
  13. Kuperstein, Slava (7 December 2010). "T.I. – No Mercy". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on 23 August 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  14. Capobianco, Ken (6 December 2010). "T.I. 'No Mercy' Review". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  15. McMullen, Chase (14 December 2010). "Album Review: T.I. – No Mercy". One Thirty BPM. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  16. Greenblatt, Leah (30 November 2010). "New T.I. track feat. Christina Aguilera, 'Castle Walls': Hear it here". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  17. Amidon, David (3 January 2011). "T.I.: No Mercy – Review". PopMatters. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  18. Rosen, Jody (7 December 2010). "No Mercy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  19. Fennessey, Sean (7 December 2010). "Album review: T.I., 'No Mercy'". The Washington Post.
  20. Park, Dave. "Album Review: T.I. – No Mercy". Prefix Magazine. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  21. "South Korean International Singles Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  22. "Nelly chart history: Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  23. "T.I. Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  24. "T.I. Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  25. "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.
  26. "SNS IFPI". IFPI Slovakia. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  27. "Swedishcharts.com – T.I. – Castle Walls". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  28. T.I. & Christina Aguilera — Castle Walls. Tophit. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  29. "DEUTSCHE BLACK CHART − JAHRESCHARTS 2011". Deutsche Black Charts. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  30. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay New. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  31. "Russia Airplay Chart for 2011-05-30." Tophit. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  32. "Ukraine Airplay Chart for 2011-04-04." Tophit. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  33. "Russian Top Year-End Radio Hits (2011)". Tophit. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  34. "Ukrainian Top Year-End Radio Hits (2011)". Tophit. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
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