Though initially planned, four dates for New Zealand and Australia were cancelled due to Aguilera's pregnancy with her first child, Max Liron Bratman, born January 12, 2008.

The European leg of the Back to Basics Tour gained a large amount of commercial gross, with two sold-out shows in Dublin and Birmingham.

And then we go into sort of a juke joint feel where we kind of you know, slash that with going to church [...] And then we open it up to a circus element (scene), so there's a – so there's quite a journey that goes on, on stage for my audience and as a performer.

[14] Following a video introduction of "Intro (Back to Basics)", Aguilera appeared onstage and performed "Ain't No Other Man" with eight back-up dancers dressed in sharp white suits.

[15] Subsequently, she performed "Back in the Day" as images of classic jazz and soul artists including John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye, and Louis Armstrong appeared on the backdrop.

[17] The second act, Duke Joint, began with an erotic video interlude of "I Got Trouble", featuring scenes of Aguilera touching herself on bed and bathing in an old fashioned bathtub.

[21] Duke Joint ended with Aguilera performing "Oh Mother" alone as images of a man repeatedly punching a woman as blood dripped from her face shown on the backdrop.

[15] For the performance of "Dirrty", which incorporated elements from "Cell Block Tango" from the Broadway musical Chicago and the classic march "Entrance of the Gladiators" by Julius Fučík, Aguilera rode a carousel horse.

[22] Next was the performance of "Candyman", in which Aguilera and the female dancers dressed in sailor styled suits and paid tribute to The Andrews Sisters, recreating a World War II theme.

[21][23] For the next number, "Nasty Naughty Boy", Aguilera expressed her S&M fantasy as she took a random male audience member onstage and attached him to the Wheel of Death.

Jim Farber from the New York Daily News praised the show's accompaniment with a "horn-punctuated" band, the background visuals and the choreography, but called out Aguilera for her oversinging.

[30] An editor of the South China Morning Post, Paul Kay, provided a positive review toward the tour, applauding its synopsis and Aguilera's voice.

[29] Likewise, The Miami Student's Nicole Smith opined that "she really does prove that she is a fighter, through domestic violence, deceit and the basic wear and tear of fame".

[18] An editor from Manchester Evening News opined that the concert had "unusually-genuine message of empowerment" and compared its setlist to Britney Spears's The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004).

[32] In a journal for The Press of Atlantic City, Regina Schaffer noted the similarities between the show and Madonna's Confessions Tour (2006) and was not impressed towards the makeovers of Aguilera's previous singles, such as "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" and "What a Girl Wants".

[21] On a more positive side, Cameron Adams from the Herald Sun and Cathy Garcia from The Korea Times praised Aguilera's vocals on the Back to Basics Tour.

[33][34] Barry Walters from Rolling Stone wrote that, "Whereas Madonna pioneered her brand of bustier feminism with knowing finesse, Aguilera and pals opt for strip-club bombast, even when belting pro-female anthems.

[15] Joey Guerra, on a review for the Houston Chronicle, praised Aguilera for being "no mere copycat" but "[taking] essential pieces from other performers, other sounds, other eras and blends them into her own sexy style", further concluding that the artist "claims her pop throne".

[16] Daily Trojan's Michael Cooper labelled the tour "an almost-perfect pop concert" and commended on the show's "eye-catching" background and Aguilera's costumes.

[36] Dave Simpson of The Guardian gave the tour a two out of five stars rating, calling the song selection for the setlist "equally confusing" and opined that the tour was "delivered in a similar Mariah Carey tinnitus-inducing wail and the subject matter, generally, is that X-Tina is fantastic, is tough, is a victim and still enjoys sex – though hopefully not at the same time".