X-tina out of the bottle
We all remember Christina Aguilira back in the day, when she was still a genie in a bottle in the height of Bubblegum Pop royalty along with Britney, Pink and Mandy. The little blonde in sneakers and tank tops, with an interesting voice corrupted by tin-can production, super sweet, young with a sexy innocence and absolutely awful at music. And then, to universal shock, she changed. She got a few piercing, dyed her hair and became raunchy. Our first good look at the new Christina was on the cover of ‘Lady Marmalade,’ that Missy Elliot produced for Baz Lurman’s Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Christina gave an earth shattering vocal performance as she strutted around a burlesque French dressing room with giant hair and diamonds on her lashes.
She then released her second album, ‘Stripped.’ Like many of her peers at the time, Christina was unhappy with the music and image her record company had fitted her into, and Stripped was her attempt to portray her real, skanky self. The result was couple of beautifully produced video clips, a collection of power rock songs and symphony ballads, and what seemed like the real debut of the big and rich voice that can out-Whitney Whitney. She doesn't even have to try to vocally impress. Stripped was received well, commercially and critically. She explored her own, difficult childhood, growing up and dealing with the musical mannequin factory. There was some controversy concerning her new, dirtier image, but it died down when Christina, like many of her pop peers, swapped her leather straps in for a more vintage wardrobe and a more vintage sound. X-tina, as she was now calling herself, released her third album, Back to Basics in 2006. It’s a feel good, racy tribute to 30s and 40s jazz and soul, with a contemporary twist of hip-hop beats. ‘Candyman’ has X-tina in Marilyn Monroe curls and pencil skirts belting out provocative lines in old fashioned milk bars. The rest of the tracks are more soul and R&B inspired, and a perfect vessel for the little girl with the big voice. Her image has matured, as have her singing techniques, and it looks like the genie is finally out of the bottle.
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