the interest in Aguilera began to grow, at which point her record label decided it was time to release a second single. The label and Aguilera disputed over which track should be released, with Aguilera recalling: "You know, some people do want me to stay in the pop scene, [but] I want to grow from there. I always want to continue growing and getting to that level of, 'Oh, she's a real singer, a real ballad-singer, she can do it'." However, the announcement then came that "What a Girl Wants" would be released as the follow-up single, with Aguilera saying "The next single will be 'What a Girl Wants', but a totally cool remix of it". The single was not chosen by Aguilera, but instead her record label RCA and label executive Ron Fair. Aguilera herself had little control over the entire project, and a marketing strategy foresaw that Aguilera would have better success as a "teen idol" so in an effort to maintain her persona, music was chosen and recorded under the basis that she would become the next pop phenomenon. Writing and recording Shelly Peiken was the writer behind "What a Girl Wants". One day the pair were working with a cassette tape, experimenting with vocals and hooks, after which she decided that the work-in-progress had potential and she would return to it at a later date. "What a Girl Wants" was the first track recorded for Christina Aguilera in June 1998. Fair liked the song and after the decision was made to release it as the second single the label called for a second recording of the track, changing the original key in addition to editing rhythmic changes. The second recording came in September 1999 after the success of her debut single "Genie in a Bottle", with Aguilera's label wanting to produce a similar tone. Peiken stated that "What a Girl Wants" and "Bitch" — another song co-written by her — were both inspired by the songwriter's relationship with her husband. Peiken went on to add: "They've got a common thread because they're from the same soul." Composition "What a Girl Wants" is a teen pop-R&B track with some similarities to her debut single "Genie in a Bottle". Written in the key of C major, the track begins with the lyrics "What a girl wants, what a girl needs, whatever makes me happy sets you free" and