Today’s From The Vault pick is pulled from 2006 and sees  Hip-Hop legend Diddy and Pop royal Christina Aguilera team for the tantalising ‘Tell Me.’ 

The second single from Diddy’s ‘Press Play’ LP, the track was produced by Just Blaze and was instantly singled out as a highlight on the album by the press as well as fans.

Initially the song was a demo for the group that would become Danity Kane, but Diddy decided to use it on his own album. For Aguilera, it was a return to a more modern sound as she was deep into her ‘Back To Basics’ era, which saw her go all retro on the masses.

Though it had been coined for chart glory, it didn’t match the success of its predecessor, the Nicole Scherzinger-assisted ‘Come To Me.’ ‘Tell Me’ only managed to reach the Top 50 in the US and wasn’t even released everywhere in Europe. Still it got to #8 in the UK.

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Shot by Erik White, the first part of the video referenced the infamous ‘Maxell blown away’ commercial, while the second saw Diddy, Xtina and dancers “do that thing” on LED sets. Very 00’s – in the best way.

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Say what folk will about Diddy, there’s no denying that he consistently cooks up quality music and collaborations, whether successful on the charts or not. As for Xtina, she remains one of the best vocalists of today’s age, even a decade after this song was released.

All we’re waiting for now is new music.

Your thoughts?