text: glam ( song ) " glam " is a song by american recording artist christina aguilera , taken from her sixth studio album bionic ( 2010 ) . the song was written by aguilera , claude kelly and c. " tricky " stewart , with production was handled by stewart . the song talks about getting glam and sexy before a night out . according to aguilera and kelly , " glam " was a throwback to madonna 's " vogue " ( 1990 ) . at first , the track was planned to be the lead single from bionic , however " not myself tonight " was released instead . " glam " received mixed reviews from music critics , with some praised it as one of the best uptempo tracks on the album , while others named it dull and criticized that the song was not as good as " vogue " . upon the release of bionic , " glam " peaked at number two on the south korean international download chart and number 42 on the main south korean download chart . background and composition in january 5 , 2010 , aguilera announced that " glam " would be released as the lead single from bionic during an interview with marie claire magazine . she described the song as a " tentative " and " poppy " throwback to madonna 's " vogue " ( 1990 ) . on an interview with vibe , co - writer claude kelly described the song as " a party anthem but at the same time has underlying messages " . on march 23 , 2010 , after a 24 - hour countdown on her official website ended , it was revealed that " not myself tonight " would be released as the first single from the album , instead of " glam " . recorded at the boom boom room in burbank , california , " glam " was written by aguilera , claude kelly and christopher stewart , while the production was handled by tricky stewart . the song is preceded by a word - spoken interlude titled " love & glamour " . " glam " was described by mtv news as " a poppy , hip - hop inflected throwback to madonna 's ' vogue . ' " . entertainment weekly writer leah greenblatt called it a " finger - snappy ' 90s flashbacks " . lyrically , it talks about high fashion , getting glam and sexy before a night out . at a part of the song , she dispenses fashion tips and sings , " don 't let the clothes wear you ! " . critical reception " glam " received mixed reviews from music critics . allison stewart from the washington post named it " a great moment on the album " . mesfin fekadu from boston.com website agreed , calling it " one of the disc 's best uptempo tracks " . usa today editor elysa gardner gave the song a positive review , writing that " [ aguilera ] chants deadpan before letting loose a creamy belt that evokes an earthier version of whitney houston in her prime " . uk newspaper the scotsman wrote that the song " is her blatant bid to produce a vogue for our times " , while eric henderson from slant magazine labelled " glam " as a " top - heavy cocktail that mixes one part ' vogue ' with two parts ' technologic ' " . brad from muumuse named it " dud " , while michael cragg from musicomh called it " dated " . omar of popmatters wrote a negative review , stating " christina isn 't afraid to shake , thrust , and hustle , as she professes on ' glam ' , an obvious homage to ' vogue ' that isn 't nearly as catchy or sultry as it thinks it is . " jordan richardson from blogcritics agreed , writing that " the track is a frustrating and uncomfortable ode to madonna 's ' vogue , ' but aguilera fails in recreating any of the of the track she 's trying to emulate " . credits and personnel recording locations recording – the boom boom room , burbank , california vocal recording – the red lips room , beverly hills , california personnel credits adapted from the liner notes of bionic , rca records . chart performance upon the release of the album bionic , " glam " debuted at number 62 on the south korean gaon digital chart on the chart issue dated june 13 – 19 , 2010 . it additionally entered the gaon international digital chart at number 3 . " glam " was the 35th best - selling international single on the gaon chart in 2010 , with 354 , 259 digital copies sold .