Reflection (song)

"Reflection" is a song written and produced by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel for the soundtrack of Disney's 1998 animated film Mulan. In the film, the song is performed by Filipina singer and actress Lea Salonga as Fa Mulan. An accompanying music video for "Reflection" was included as a bonus to the Disney Gold Classic Collection DVD release of the film in 1998.

A single version of the song was recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera and became her debut single. She was 17 at the time it was released. The single's commercial success funded Aguilera's debut album from RCA, in addition to gaining her credibility amongst established writers and producers. Releases of the single were limited, which resulted in the track charting only on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, at number nineteen. An accompanying music video for the song was included on the DVD release of Mulan. Aguilera has performed the track on four televised performances, including at the CBS This Morning show, which saw her gain the attention of songwriter Diane Warren.

Use in Mulan
In the film Mulan, the song is recorded by Filipina singer and actress Lea Salonga as Fa Mulan. "Reflection", which lasts for 2:27 (two minutes and twenty seven seconds), was written and produced by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel, in the key of A major. The track begins with the lyrics "Look at me, I will never pass for a perfect bride, or a perfect daughter", with Salonga's vocal range spanning from the low-note of G♯3 to the high-note of D5 in a moderately slow tempo of 92 beats per minute. Irving Tan from Sputnikmusic labelled "Reflection" a "decent" song.

The song is performed after Mulan returns home following a humiliating and failed attempt to impress her matchmaker. The lyrical content expresses the way Mulan feels about wanting to show the world who she really is instead of pretending to be who she is not, but is afraid to disappoint her family by doing so. This scene takes place at Mulan's home in its surrounding gardens and ends in her family temple, where she removes her makeup to reveal her true appearance

Christina Aguilera single release
Aguilera approached record label RCA, then having financial difficulties, and was told to contact Disney. After being given the opportunity to record "Reflection", it was reported she had gained a record deal with RCA Records. After she was asked to hit a musical note required for "Reflection", she thought that the song could be the gateway into an album deal. Aguilera spent hours recording a cover of Whitney Houston's "Run to You", which included the note she was asked to hit. After successfully hitting the note, which she called "the note that changed my life", she was given the opportunity to record the song. Due to the success around the recording of "Reflection", RCA wished for Aguilera to record and release an album by September 1998 to maintain the "hype" surrounding her at that time. The label laid the foundation for the album immediately and started presenting Aguilera with tracks for her debut album, which they later decided would have a January 1999 release.

Aguilera's version of "Reflection" was released to adult contemporary radio on June 15, 1998. The song was released as a CD single in Japan on September 18, 1999. In 2000, Aguilera recorded the Spanish version of "Reflection" titled "Mi Reflejo" which was adapted by Rudy Pérez for the album of the same name.

Reception
Beth Johnson of Entertainment Weekly noted Aguilera has a "who-am-I musings" persona in the song, while Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commented that the "Matthew Wilder and David Zippel's full-fledged songs [on Mulan] are flat and unmemorable." "Reflection" peaked at number 19 on the Adult Contemporary chart. After the success of the track, Aguilera's record label RCA decided to fund her debut album (costing over one million dollars), and eventually funded more than they had predicted initially.

Live performances
Aguilera performed the song on television four times, first on the CBS This Morning, and then on the Donny & Marie show; neither of these performances were directed at her demographic of teen viewers. Whilst watching the show on This Morning, Aguilera gained the attention of songwriter Diane Warren, who was astonished by such a young performer being as "polished" as she was. Warren later stated that she had seen the potential in Aguilera. The singer also performed "Reflection" on MuchMusic's Intimate and Interactive on May 17, 2000. An ABC special in 2000, featuring a performance of the song, was recorded and released in a DVD titled My Reflection.

Track listing

 * CD single
 * 1) "Reflection" – 3:34

Other languages
Edyta Górniak recorded a Polish version of the song titled Lustro (Mirror) to promote the movie. Anabela Pires, European Portuguese singing voice of Mulan, along with the whole European Portuguese movie cast, won a prize for the best foreign version, while, who provided Mulan's singing voice in the Mainland Mandarin Chinese version, was hailed as one of the "10 best versions of the world" by Disney director of production.

Since its first release, some local TV stations and studios have been dubbing the movie in their local languages, creating some unofficial dubs. Namely: Arabic (TV dub), Armenian, Karachay-Balkar and Tagalog.

Other versions
The group Mannheim Steamroller covered the song on their 1999 album, Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse. Michael Crawford covered this song in The Disney Album. His rendition replaces the word "girl" with "man" in order to avoid gender confusion. Singer and American Idol winner Jordin Sparks performed the song on the Dedication Week of the sixth season of the show, with the performance she moved forward to the next round. Jackie Evancho also covered the song on her fourth studio album, Songs from the Silver Screen. In La Voz... Argentina (the Argentinian version of The Voice), the Spanish version of the song was covered by Sofia Rangone.