This is the 3rd single off of her 3rd studio album Back To Basics. This uptempo, Andrews Sisters-homaging record has always been on the table as a possible single. It was supposed to be the 1st and then even the 2nd single after "Ain't No Other Man" was chosen, however, "Hurt" was picked as the 2nd single.
Unlike the previous 2 singles which had a handful of remixes, only one has been accepted by Christina's label. And this mix was by Offer Nissim.
Offer recently reworked "Hurt" as a private mix which went on to be featured on his double disc mix CD Forever Tel Aviv. Offer was then chosen to do a mix on an official basis. As of right now, only his mix was accepted.
No unofficial mixes have been done that were noteworthy as the high BPM and lack of an official or filtered acapella have really not allowed for much to be done. Given the BPM situation (the album version clocks in at 172 BPM), doing a house mix in the 125 to 132 BPM range is very difficult to do because of the intense vocal stretch. A slowdown mix a la those few that Junior and Thunderpuss did would work, however in this case, the slowdown part could work as a slow part because the vocals would sound fine if the BPM was halved and made to be 86. Speeding it up from 86 is just not a possibility without the vocals sounding chipmunknish, especially with all that vibrato. The only other option for using slowed down vocals would be doing a dub.
Offer chose the last option and did a dub mix with only select vocals. Much in the same vein as his stunning dub of Beyonce's "Deja Vu" last year, he uses only a few actual lines of vocal. It's mostly Christina's high notes and vocalizing. He takes Christina's old school track and transforms it into a Mediterranean masterpiece. If the few phrases and loops of vocals from the original had been left out, this could pass as one of the mixes Offer has done of other Mediterranean divas such as Fairuz, Ofra Haza and Rita. Speaking of Rita, the synth hook and bass elements sound very similar to the mix Offer did a couple of years ago of her take on "Jerusalem Of Gold." It works rather well. The multiple portions that are beatless could be difficult for some to program, but the energy is never lacking.
Overall, this is a great mix. Offer really delivered something amazing, as usual. This is one of Offer's few official mixes for a mainstream artist. Hopefully this could be the first of many more to come.
