It’s been three years since Christina Aguilera’s debut album hit the charts. It debuted at number one with the help of her extremely catchy single Genie In A Bottle. There was something different about this blonde popstar though, she not only had the dance moves and poppy music videos, she also had an incredible voice. The following year Christina released a Spanish-language album as well as a Christmas one.

This paragraph is me ranting about her image, skip to the next one if you want.
I bought both and I came to two conclusions. The Spanish album, Mi Reflejo, made me incredibly happy because the album is practically flawless. Her voice was controlled and every song was so wonderfully executed. When I bought her Christmas album and heard it though, all my optimism was washed away. Her vocals were over the top, the image was different…it was a different Christina. As the next year came and went, we saw the transformation. The Lady Marmalade video showed us that Christina was not afraid to dress up like a wh*re and we soon found out that she dressed like that outside of “work”. I loved the song, though lol. The giggly cute classy blonde became this slutty girl with no style. I won’t go into that whole thing, but overall, her change in image is very disappointing.

In late August, Christina’s first single from her much anticipated sophomore album was leaked onto the internet. Being a Christina geek, I was one of those to hear it first lol. I didn’t like it very much at first…there was too much going on in the song and she was singing about getting off. Two listens later, Dirrty became my favorite song. Up until I saw the video, I pictured her in a club dancing and having a good time. The song was meant to be a fun song (like Pink’s Get The Party Started), but with a dirty twist. I won’t go into the video because that is a whole other epinion right there. There is a rap version to Dirrty and even though Redman’s rap isn’t bad, I prefer the non-rap one better.

Okay on to the rest of the album. Christina opens up about pretty much everything here. Her family, her past, herself…everything is here for us to see. There are way too many tracks to talk about on here so I will try to narrow it down to the ones that represent the album the most. Infatuation would have been a filler track on the album, but her interlude to it makes it stand out. The song is an autobiographical story about her and her first love, her back-up dancer Jorge. The song has a Latin feel to it and she throws in a couple Spanish words in the mix. I think the song is supposed to be her next single but there are talks that they might just go with Beautiful instead. Speaking of Beautiful, it is the single most hyped song on the album. The Linda Perry penned ballad is a song about loving yourself. Christina’s vocals are different here so she kind of sounds like P!nk a few times. The song is short, pretty, and to the point, but why all the hype?

The “girl power” type song on the album is the awesome Can’t Hold Us Down. This song features Lil Kim and it is said to be a song influenced by Eminem’s comments about her. It’s not as fast as you may think it is…it’s more like mid-tempo but wow, what a great song. It’s about double standards that we take advantage of (about men and women). I thought that this song would be the main fast song, but then I got to Fighter and that theory went right out the window. Fighter starts off with a little slow intro and then goes into this awesome rock/pop song that had me screaming. This should have been the first single hands down.

I think this album is amazing and I can’t believe it’s finally here, but there are a couple songs that I felt were a tad overhyped. Impossible is her collaboration with Alicia Keys and the song doesn’t do much for me. I was expecting a wonderful neo-soul track fit for Christina, but I got a pretty good R&B track instead. I don’t mind the song, I was just expecting something better. A lot of Christina fans were raving about Loving Me 4 Me; the message behind it is nice…she sings about her man and that the main thing she loves about him is that he loves her for who she is. It has a Jill Scott-type of vice and it actually works for her. Christina's voice is very soothing.

Personally, Walk Away is one of Christina’s best songs because it’s so haunting. The song is almost 6 minutes long, but the time goes by so fast that the song seems to end too soon lol. In the song, she sings about wanting to get away from her guy because he is not good for her, but she can’t. The best line I feel is And everywhere I turn I keep going back / To the one thing I need to walk away from. The song is so jazzy…her vocals flow perfectly throughout the song. Her voice drips with emotion and so much feelings. Wow. The Voice Within is an inspirational song with a beautiful vocal arrangement. The song is about looking inside yourself whenever no one is there to back you up. Glen Ballard’s production is great because he lets her voice shine through without overdoing the music.

I want your body
Not your heart
This is the theme to Get Mine Get Yours a sexy mid-tempo song about one-night stands. In the song, she tells a guy that she wants him to take her and to make love to her…just don’t fall in love. My favorite part is when she tells him not to get jealous when she sees him with another guy because they are “commitment free”. The song is sexual, but not over the top at all. I’m Okay is the single most personal song on the album. She sings about the domestic violence she went through when she was a child. It sounds as if she’s crying in a few parts of the song. She seems to be letting this all out for the first time and her voice gives the impression that she’s shy and nervous about it. She sings slowly, but you almost want her to take her time…so she’ll feel comfortable: Daddy you don’t understand the damage you have done / For you it’s just a memory but for me it still lives on

The album ends with the autobiographical “gospel choir backing” Keep On Singin’ My Song. At first the song seems kind of pointless, but once you get to the bridge, you see what she is trying to do. She is building up the song and the choir seems to be getting ready for action. The song summarizes the whole album’s main message and I don’t think I’ve ever seem anyone actually do that before lol. It is just short of 6 minutes and 30 seconds, so if you want to get the gist of the album’s theme, download this song, then buy the album :)

Overall Grade: A++

I love Christina and I think this album shows that she is an artist with lots to say. Overall, the album was eclectic musically. She showed us that she can manage almost any genre and make it seem like her own. I particularly like how she pulled off the Hole-ish Make Over. Don’t think the album is anything like Dirrty though, she goes beyond that…the album is personal and I’m sure you non-fans will see her in a different light.




Recommended: Yes