To portray a new persona, Aguilera adopted her new alter ego Baby Jane and made several changes to her public appearance, inspired by classic Hollywood actresses.

Back to Basics achieved similar success internationally, reaching the top of the charts in over fifteen countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

[5] "(...) It was an education and an inspiration that I would continue exploring—and eventually translate into an album of dedication I made with DJ Premier, called Back to Basics, paying homage and utmost respect to some of the greatest musicians and artists of all time.

[8] For the first disc, Aguilera collaborated with hip hop producers including DJ Premier, Rich Harrison, Kwamé, and Mark Ronson for the first time.

[15] In response, Aguilera wanted her album to draw inspirations from Premier's song "Jazz Thing" and noted that their collaboration became his first time "venturing into the 'pop' world".

[17] Producer Scott Storch, who contributed to Aguilera's previous studio album Stripped, was asked to return for the production of Back to Basics.

[19] However, he refused the offer when Aguilera declined to pay airfare for him and his entourage to fly out to Los Angeles, which led to a breakdown of their relationship.

[21] Aguilera also recorded a song about oral sex titled "Fuck You, Suck You" during a studio session with Linda Perry.

[30] It features horn samples and gospel choirs, making it sound like "a dusty old vinyl album", according to Jenny Eliscu from Rolling Stone.

[36] The second disc of Back to Basics opens with "Enter the Circus", described as a "carnival-creepy orchestration that sounds like Danny Elfman soundtracking Cabaret" by Tampa Bay Times,[37] and followed by the soft rock-inspired "Welcome".

Aguilera expresses excitement toward old-school music on "Back in the Day", where she names classic artists including Etta James, Marvin Gaye, Coltrane and Aretha Franklin.

[41] In the lyrics of "Slow Down Baby", Aguilera tells a "lusty" man to leave her alone as she sings: "If you knew anything you'd realize I'm wearing a ring".

[45] She also changed her public appearance as she removed her piercings,[46] and dyed her hair platinum blonde,[47] inspired by classic Hollywood movie stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard and Greta Garbo.

[49] Aguilera and von Unwerth moved to Forty Deuce in Hollywood to take images inspired by 1920s burlesque clubs on the last day of the session.

[49] The album's cover artwork was revealed in late June 2006, featuring Aguilera with bright red lipstick and curly blonde hair dressed in white and lounging on a bed.

[48][49] Greg Kot from The Baltimore Sun labelled the cover artwork as "a classy retro look, a sign that [Aguilera] is ready for her close-up as the leading lady of the teen brat pack that emerged in the late '90s".

[52] Aguilera began her promotion of Back to Basics with a live performance of "Ain't No Other Man" at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards on June 8, 2006.

[53] On July 20, Aguilera held a forty-minute concert at Camden Palace Theatre in London, where she performed five songs from her then-upcoming album and two previous singles.

[56][57] Aguilera also sang "Ain't No Other Man", "Hurt" and "Steppin' Out with My Baby" with Tony Bennett on Saturday Night Live on November 11, 2006.

[61] On February 10, 2007, Aguilera sang "Makes Me Wanna Pray" and "Candyman" at the Clive Davis' Pre-Grammy Awards Party.

[69] The first track from the album to be made available to the public was "Ain't No Other Man", which was released as the lead single to contemporary hit radio in the United States on June 6, 2006.

[71] Shot in multiple territories around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, and India,[72] the sixty-second advertisement premiered worldwide on July 14, 2006.

[73] Alongside the commercial, "Here to Stay" was made available for digital download on mobile phones as a promotional record to then-upcoming Back to Basics.

[76] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic appreciated the album's production, commenting that the project was "all the more impressive" coming after the "near career suicide of Stripped".

[27] Lucy Davies from BBC Music said that Aguilera has a "stunning voice", but stated that she could be more varied by cutting out some of the "y-e-e-eeeh, woah yeh's" on the second album.

[35] Paul Flynn from The Observer provided a mixed review, saying that the beginning of the album was "all craft and very little heart"; however, he found the collaborations between her and Perry to be "deeply cinematic".

[80] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine criticized Aguilera for using a sexual image to overshadow her vocals, but commented that Back to Basics was more "cohesive" than Stripped.

[81] Various publications published articles about Back to Basics to celebrate its tenth anniversary of release, including Idolator and Fuse.

"[83] PopMatters editor Kimberley Hill praised Back to Basics as "an ambitious blend of early 20th century gospel music, country blues, Philadelphian soul, 1970s funk, and mid-2000s hip-hop/R&B", and also called it "a menagerie of sounds, instrumentation, motifs, tempos, and themes".

[97] It charted for thirty-three weeks within the top seventy-five,[98] and was eventually certified platinum in the country by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).