Stardust (Christina Aguilera song)

"Stardust" is a song recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was written by Aguilera, Brendon Urie and Jamie Scott, with the production being handled by Max Martin and Aguilera, and guest vocals by Urie. The song is, sonically, it a mid-tempo ballad, with a melody based on futuristic piano sounds and incorporates elements of dance music. The lyrics of the song revolve around a love story told between Aguilera and Urie, using space terminology and changing roles in order to show that their relationship is equal.
The song was officially released on October 28 2017, as the third and final single off Aguilera's eighth studio album, "1 Eye Open" (2017), and the follow-up to "Over My Naked Body" and "Better Off Without You". Commercially, the song was a moderate success, peaking inside the top 10 on the worldwide charts and being certified Platinum. It received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who named it one of the highlights of the record. "Stardust" gave Aguilera her first GRAMMY nomination at the 60th GRAMMY Awards, for Best Single Cover.
A music video for the track was directed by Hannah Lux Davis and was released a day after the song's release, following a premiere and television special on MTV. It features Aguilera and Urie portraying an abstract and unusual space love story, where Aguilera plays an outer space entity and Urie plays a dazed astronaut, who can't be together with his lover due to being from different places.
== Background & composition ==
At the beginning of 2017, Aguilera released "Over My Naked Body". The song was deemed the lead single off her upcoming record, which has been in the works for several years before its announcement. Despite the buzz around Christina's comeback, the song performed moderately on the charts, peaking inside the top 20 of the charts and being certified Gold by RIAA. The follow-up single, "Better Off Without You", was a departure from its predecessor's R&B sound, although it performed poorer commercially, but not critically.