Face it: she was the smart man's Britney. While, yeah, Brit Brit could (past tense) shake her ass, Christina Aguilera can still fucking blast her pipes. Yes, Britney kissed Madonna (actually, so did Christina). Britney did the circus (so did Christina, um, 2 years earlier). Britney went crazy (Christina's still talking in full sentences!)
No one can deny that Christina Aguilera's got talent. She was the youngest person to make Rolling Stones' list of greatest singers - ever (the only person under 30). Celine Dion called her "probably the best vocalist in the world," and Mariah Carey said, "she showed up uninvited at one of my parties." (?)
It all started with the Disney Dream Machine (still open and currently working on a model called Aves Cyrus? But that's another blog post). Mickey Mouse saw a good investment in Aguilera. She was stuck in a latex outfit when she was 19 and almost forced to (over)sing that catchy, age-inappropriate "Genie in a Bottle," (video of her performing in Argentina TV show in 2000) which critics have described nicely as "wise-beyond-its-years." Disclaimer: I love that song! But Xtina hated singing it, she told us that the song failed to capture her vocal strengths. Ironic, considering the lyrics... "you gotta make a big impression, you gotta like what you do."
Regardless, she went on to win her first Grammy for best new artist (beating out Britney Spears, omg!). She won again for "Lady Marmalade," beating out herself (also nominated for "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" a ridiculous duet with Ricky Martin). She won again for "Beautiful" (the award was presented to her by Hilary Duff). Linda Perry wrote the song, so she was stuck with the difficult task of choosing which pop protege to hand it down to. Britney or Christina? Um. Can you even picture a Britney version? Where is that leaked demo! The song is bold and brave and well... beautiful. And a proven pop culture "hit." Was covered on Glee, and it didn't need a whole episode around it.
Christina kept stripping for us. In "Hurt," she sings about her relationship with her estranged father, watching her shine from the stands. She also co-directed the video, inspiring Britney ("Circus" two years later), Lindsay ("Confessions of a Broken Heart") and yes, Gaga (video narrative) along the way. In the most recent cover story, OUT writer wrote: "Gaga talks about art and sings about cell phone reception and disco sticks. Aguilera isn’t given to public pronouncements outside her narrow area of expertise and sings about vulnerability and expectation, loss and strength, abuse and acceptance."
Christina is not only talking to OUT, but to Billboard (about her album), to Oprah (about being a sexy mom), to Latina (about her dad), to German GQ (poses naked) and I think Venus Zine,probably about Sia, who wrote the "heart" of her new double-album, Bionic. She talks about her creative process, about growing comfortable with her "pop roots," doing a fun record but in a more sophisticated, mature way:
Yess, Chrissy is the voice!
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