Christina Aguilera: A Second Look

I’m actually starting to like Christina Aguilera, which is surprising, since I thought she was only a flash in the pan who would quickly go the way of Tiffany. When Christina first released her self-entitled, debut album during the heyday of the boy-band, teen-pop deluge, I considered her a poor man’s Britney Spears. This seemed validated as Christina disappeared and all the attention was on Britney Spears who had the spotlight for the next three years as she periodically released albums. Christina did release a Christmas album during this time, but Britney was the uncontested, Queen of Pop.

I thought it was over for Christina and then she returned with full force on “Stripped,” breaking away from her teen-pop image and becoming a full-fledge artist equipped with an amazing, high-octane voice. Britney Spears tried this on her last album, “ Britney,“ but failed. Britney released the lame single “I’m A Slave 4 U” which didn’t fare well on the charts, followed by even a worse song, “I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman,” a horrible ballad. For her third single, Britney returned to her pop sound with “Overprotected,” but by that time, the sound was getting old.

Christina’s first single, “Dirrty,” is a hard, stomping dance song with Redman. When I first heard it on the radio, I didn’t immediately switch the station, instead I listened to it thinking it was a decent song and was surprised to learn it was Christina Aguilera. It wasn’t until the second single, “Beautiful,” that she truly caught my attention. It’s a powerful, uplifting ballad that deals with adult themes of self-worth and loneliness. Christina continued her onslaught with her third single, “Fighter,” a rocking, dance song. With each of these singles, she’s released an entertaining video that only adds to her dominance. To top it off, she’s now touring with Justin Timberlake, Britney’s ex-boyfriend. If Christina continues down the route of great songs, she’ll be around for a long time.

By Clint Romag