"I Turn to You" is a song written by American songwriter Diane Warren and first recorded by R&B quartet All-4-One from the soundtrack album to the film Space Jam (1996).
The ballad, produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, received little recognition until American pop singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera recorded it for her self-titled debut album.
Nevertheless, the song became a success in the United States, peaking at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and entered the charts of multiple countries across the world.
On November 12, 1996, Atlantic Records released the accompanying soundtrack for the film Space Jam.
[4] The soundtrack includes "I Turn to You", a song written by Diane Warren and recorded by boy band All-4-One.
"[18] Despite writing that Aguilera "does deliver on the glorious mid-section," Chuck Taylor of Billboard felt that the track "is about as clichéd as ballad gets," sounding "more like a leftover from the stack rather than the kind of glorious anthem Warren is capable of," calling it a remake of Whitney Houston's "Count On Me".
[19] Music critic Kenneth Partridge complimented the song, calling it "sweet" and "inspirational", and noted that "Christina turns in a winning vocal performance".
[11] Nikki Tranter of PopMatters called it "a nice little song ruined by that horrid pop beat threatening to destroy cheesy love songs for all time," writing that "the beat alone drags Christina's Etta James potential back down to Mariah Carey quality.
"[21] Julene Snyder of Sonic.net considered "I Turn to You" a "tear-jerker designed to incite concertgoers to link arms and sing along, even while some of us cringe at the over-the-top vocal histrionics.
"[22] In retrospect, Billboard's Chris Malone called the song "an expertly written ballad".
[50] In 1999, Aguilera began recording her first Spanish album in Miami with Cuban-American producer Rudy Pérez.
[51] He composed Spanish versions of five songs from Aguilera's debut album, including "I Turn to You", which became "Por Siempre Tú".
Diane Warren and Ron Fair executively produced the track, while Aguilera, Pérez and Wendy Pendersen provided background vocals.
[53] Her decision to record in Spanish scored points with the Spanish-speaking audience, said Haz Montana, program director at the Los Angeles Latin-music station KSSE-FM.
[55] Sean Piccoli of Sun-Sentinel described Diane Warren's song as, "one of those Wind Beneath My Wings lifter-uppers that she cranks out for the likes of Celine Dion and Faith Hill," and noted that "Aguilera, like Warren's other interpreters, is faithfully cringe-inducing and overdramatic.
Piccoli's thoughts on the Mi Reflejo album were summed up as, "For anyone who thinks Taco Bell is authentic Mexican, this is Latin pop.
[58] Aguilera performed the Spanish version on the "Caracas Pop Festival" in 2001 as well as on her Mi Reflejo Tour.
[3] In 2020, American Idol contestant and winner 'Just Sam' performed the song as a dedication to her grandmother, part of the season's Mother's Day Tribute after becoming top 7 in the competition.
In a 2013 interview, American recording artist Lady Gaga stated that she was inspired by Aguilera's version of the track, saying, "When I was 15, I was singing 'I Turn to You' at the top of my lungs trying to hit all her notes.