Christina has never sounded so animated on a track. The best of the mainstream club-bangers is the incredibly campy “Vanity” (A track co-written and co-produced by songwriters Ester Dean and Claude Kelly). It’s whooshing, grating production and taunting melody make it seem as if she’s trying to bite at the heels of Katy Perry and Ke$ha.
“I Hate Boys” is a bratty, juvenile kiss-off that is the biggest stylistic misstep for Christina. Also despite being written by Ester Dean who penned Rihanna’s “Rude Boy”, the song’s melody sounds even older and is devoid of a strong hook. The production sounds unfinished and about 10 years old. This has never been the case with Christina’s leadoff singles. “Not Myself Tonight” isn’t a horrible song, it’s just completely and utterly unmemorable. Nicki Minaj, an ode to Christina’s lady parts, is fun, but the production is too sparse and predictable. Polow Da don’s tracks don’t fare much better. “Prima Donna” is slinky, urban, club fodder salvaged only by a confident hood delivery from Xtina, whose singing eerily sounds more and more like Michael Jackson by the bridge of the track. "Glam", touted as a modern "Vogue", is a cute, but innocuous gay-friendly track that brings to mind “Paris is Burning” and “Sex and the City”. The clunky Spanish translations, which seem to have been lifted directly from an online search engine, cause the track to sink even further. The Spanglish “Desnudate” sounds as if J.Lo, Pitbull, and Gloria Estefan went on an all night coke binge and decided to log some studio time in the process. Tricky Stewart never really replicates his production magic on his hits like “Umbrella” or “Single Ladies”.
The mainstream songs dominate the 18 track standard edition of the album and are unfortunately the weakest offerings from the "Bionic" sessions. In the end she is seemingly much more interesting doing “indie” impersonations than she is making radio ready pop. Now Christina Aguilera must chose between either being an “indie” darling or being Christina Aguilera the radio star. Before she seemed to be making the choice between being a serious singer or a pop star. The end result is an album that finds Christina caught between two worlds. Xtina’s pal Linda Perry, "Single Ladies" beatsmith Tricky Stewart, Pussycat producer Polow Da Don (a producer suggested by her label), hit songwriters Claude Kelly ( Britney Spears' "Circus") and Ester Dean ( Rihanna’s "Rude Boy") all clocked some time in Aguilera’s home studio as well.Įarly indications show Christina Aguilera’s new album "Bionic" is on course to hit the no.1 spot this week… Of course the requisite mainstream hit makers were added to the roster for potential chart hits. The campaign for the collaboration-heavy “Bi-on-ic” began in the blogosphere with the declaration “Aguilera goes indie.” Ladytron, Le Tigre, Goldfrapp, M.I.A., Santigold, Dave "Switch" Taylor, John Hill and Sia all stepped up to the plate when an apprehensive Aguilera (convinced by her husband) reached out to them. Her ability to be so many things has caused critics to chastise her for not having her own unique presence. She’s always been difficult to categorize. It’s a curse and a blessing for Christina that she can sound like anyone and sing almost anything. Power pop, pop rock, R&B, Hip-hop, Dance, and even a little Alt-Rock have been found in some form on her albums. Her albums contain raunchy sexed-up tracks that appeal to sexually blossoming young adults and stately ballads that appeal to their post-menopausal mothers. She has a sexual aesthetic similar to a young Madonna’s, fashion sense like Cher’s, and raw vocal power comparable to a younger Whitney Houston’s. By EQ guest blogger and pop artist – JaviĬhristina Aguilera has been a polemic figure since her breakthrough hit "Genie in a Bottle".
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