Christina Aguilera

[monkeystar88]

People have this belief you can’t be a Britney and Christina fan. I’m not an active Christina fan but I did love her work. A very controversial figure is Christina Aguilera. I was a big fan of the first half of her career. I first noticed her when I heard I Turn To You(#3 Billboard Hot 100) but Dirrty really pulled me in. Stripped was the first Christina album I bought. Gosh was this such a huge record. She boldly stood against her label and made her album. Every song was bold and powerful. Do you remember her VMA outfit? She bravely challenged society’s views on female ***uality. Dirrty was Christina unleashed embracing her ***uality unabashedly. Never one to back down or mince words she also released the underdog anthem Can’t Hold Us Down which was a direct response to her and Eminem’s beef. Who else had the guts to challenge not only America but Americas hottest rapper Eminem. She clearly had no problem sticking up for herself and rallied up the ladies to deliver this message. Also during this time she was digging more into her Latin heritage which was publicly displayed in a brave darker hair do. She also embraced a grittier raw aesthetic to reflect the record. Of course there was Beautiful. The powerful anti bully statement of all statements with a touching unexpected music video to challenge not only society’s views on female ***uality but lgbtq stereotypes and other taboo subjects. She started to use her voice to do more than sing. She also released The Voice Within which was huge and very anti radio but perhaps just a song for the world. All the releases saw immense success and it was clear that Christina was bringing her vision to the table. During this time she delivered a stunning performance of Its A Man’s World. You could right a whole report on Stripped alone but I’d highlight Get Mine, I’m Okay and Keep on Singing My Song. 
Back to Basics was Christina in love, enjoying life and deeply in touch with her identity. We all know the hits the love bomb Ain’t No Other Man really proved that she had those performance chops. She embraced a more feminine conservative image. Hurt was a stirring raw letter to her estranged father bringing light to the plights of children of violent homes.  The second half of Back To Basics was where the magic was. An experiment and throwback it was incredible from Enter The Circus to The Right Man it was incredible no skip music. Save Me From Myself was a delicate tender display of vulnerability and Mercy on Me was a revelation of the soul. The Right Man was a haunting beautiful ballad to her husband of the time. Who else in the world could throw it back sonically and visually and attain success? She was going against the grain again and the world loved it.  
Next was a look back and peak at the future. Keeps Getting Better saw Christina embrace the future and she reimagined some of her classics in some very dark electronic renditions. Listen to the underrated Dynamite. 
One of my favs Bionic! This is the one time in her career where maybe she gave back a little power to the label…not sure but I loved it. She was embracing her naughty side. Woohoo, Prima Donna, Not Myself Tonight and Vanity defined one side of the album while Lift Me Up, Birds of Prey, I am, Stronger than Ever and Monday Morning felt like gems but like a different album. The Not Myself Tonight video was a fun homage to high fashion and I just loved the leather gag look. I wish we had gotten a full proper album promo.
it’s important to note that this album performed great but not amazing and that Perez Hilton claimed he worked with Lady Gaga to actively sabotage Christina which is alleged but if true saw success. This was her modern album. 
then we got Burlesque with Cher. I believe it was profitable. 
the voice. 
while on the show Christina decides to release a fun pop album and decides to not fight trends but embrace them most notablely with Max Martin. They gave us the delicious ferocious Your Body. I thoroughly enjoyed each song from this album. I’d highlight Blank Page, Let There Be Love, Just a Fool, Shut Up and Light Up the Sky. The Your Body video was so creative and how iconic was that scene and the glitter. 
notable is her “problematic” behavior but she often says that if women are direct or assert their power they are labeled a B. 
I stopped listening to her after Lotus but those were my fav moments. What are some of yours? 

[princessmimi]

I love her early albums the best.

She really fell off not only success-wise but creatively after Bionic.

 

Her first album is still one of my all time favorite debut albums.

I love almost every song on it.

[monkeystar88]

3 minutes ago, princessmimi said:

I love her early albums the best.

She really fell off not only success-wise but creatively after Bionic.

 

Her first album is still one of my all time favorite debut albums.

I love almost every song on it.

I do love the non single tracks like Somebody’s Somebody

[humstarr]

Love Xtina. You can love both. 

[Gutterguppy]

Growing up, it never dawned on me to dislike her just because I was more of a fan of Britney. I loved her Stripped album (I still have my CD) and enjoyed the B2B era, but after Bionic is where I stopped keeping up with her music. I find that she's too much of a chameleon, artistically, which makes it hard for me to pinpoint her sound anymore.