Back to Basics is the third full-length original studio English-language album from American pop singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera. The album was released August 15, 2006 in the United States and Canada, August 14, 2006 in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe, on August 9, 2006 in Japan and Italy, and on August 12 in Australia. It was leaked to the internet over two weeks before the actual release date. The album features what Aguilera describes as "a throwback to the 20s, 30s, and 40s-style jazz, blues, and feel-good soul music, but with a modern twist."

Christina Aguilera has transformed her image and musical style with every album. With the new Back to Basics album, her musical style has changed from the urban and light rock sounds of Stripped to a soulful and jazz-inspired album. Aguilera has described her newest album as an urban soul record combining elements of 1920s, '30s and '40s blues and jazz with modern day influences. According to the album's page at billboard.com, the album will also be released as a double LP. The album's title was confirmed in the March issue of Rolling Stone magazine, and Aguilera was featured in a cover story of ELLE UK magazine confirming her work with producers Mark Ronson and P. Diddy. The record finds her working with hip-hop producers DJ Premier, Kwamé and Ronson for the first time. It will also find her working with Linda Perry, who worked with Aguilera on Stripped (2002). In February 2006 at MTV's TRL Awards, she previewed three unmastered tracks from the upcoming album including the first single, "Ain't No Other Man", the album's intro, "Back to Basics", as well as "Candyman".

The first single from the album is "Ain't No Other Man", which was also previewed on the show and climbed into the top ten at #6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 after its release (it leaked onto radio and the internet on June 1, causing Sony BMG to release the song as a single several days early). The video for the first single was shot in Los Angeles in early May, and premiered on June 21 on MTV. "Ain't No Other Man" is accompanied by sampled horn blasts, percussion, and hip-hop styled, old-school beats, courtesy of DJ Premier. Also in May 2006 Pepsi released a commercial in which Aguilera performs the song "Here to Stay" alongside Lebanese singer Elissa (who sings her then-current single "Bastanak"). In another Pepsi commercial, Aguilera appears with Korean pop singer Rain, where they sing Rain's "Go Forward." She will also be in a side project, doing a duet with Diddy on "Tell Me", which as stated in MTV's TRL to be Diddy's second single, to be released off of Press Play, his latest album.

Back to Basics is a double-disc album. The first disc is a throwback album with elements of old blues and jazz with a modern day twist. The first disc is also more "beat-driven" (as Aguilera stated on the "Back to Basics" CD enhanced video). The second disc is songs Aguilera did with Linda Perry. "There are no samples - It's all live music", Aguilera said of the second disc. The album includes a continuation of Stripped's "Dirrty", with a song called, "Still Dirrty"; Nas was originally meant to be featured on the track, but is not on the final version of the song. DJ Premier explained how different that version is to its 2002 predecessor; "It's more jazz-sampled with these horn blasts". Aguilera also premiered two new full tracks from the album, "Slow Down Baby" and "Candyman" on the New York Radio station Z-100. The interlude "F.U.S.S." stands for "Fuck U Scott Storch". (Scott Storch is a producer who produced and co-wrote a number of songs for Aguilera's Stripped.) These include "Walk Away", "Can't Hold Us Down", "Infatuation", "Fighter", "Loving Me 4 Me" and "Underappreciated". Scott Storch wasn't asked to be present on Back to Basics which led to a breakdown of their relationship after he complained in interviews. The last track on the second disc is a documentary that shows a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the album.

Hurt has been confirmed as the second single to be taken from "Back To Basics" by Christina's record label, RCA.

Debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, Back to Basics became Christina's second Number 1 album of her career. It also gave her her best sales week with over nearly 346,000 copies sold, an increase of about 4% over Stripped's opening week. Around the world, the album has already sold well.

Two weeks before the official U.S. release of Back to Basics, iTunes made the album available for pre-order. It immediately shot up the online music store's Top Albums list, peaking at number 1 on the day of the release.

Aguilera's album reached number 1 in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Austria, Wales, and Ireland in the same week. The album has a first week sales of 346,000 copies in the US.

The song Candyman has proven popular as it has peaked at number 63 in the Top 100 download on iTunes, even though the song will not be the second single.