Over the past few years, it has certainly felt like something has been brewing in team Xtina’s camp. There was the Morocco gig in 2016 which saw her break the record for the most attend concert of all time (a live audience of 250 thousand people), the Whitney Houston tribute in 2017 at the AMA’s (Houston when alive said it was only Christina that was vocally fit to sing her song ‘I Run to You’) and then 2018’s arrival of the album ‘Liberation’ – an LP lauded by critics in acclaim being described as “Aguilera at her most artistically emancipated”.
2019 saw the music industry powerhouse complete a world tour, launch a wildly popular Vegas residency, win the Disney Legends award at the D23 Expo, lend a track to The Adams family picture, perform at the AmfAR gala & American Music Awards and be invited to both London & Paris fashion weeks as a special guest of honour.
Christina Aguilera is one of the world’s most successful entertainers of all time – so it begs the question of what do you do next once you’ve done it all?
Having only just returned to touring after a decade long hiatus, 2020 marks the 20th anniversary of Aguilera’s critically acclaimed Spanish album – ‘Mi Reflejo’. The delivery of a sophomore effort would be a great way to tour the South American markets and keep building on the momentum. What should follow after this is the next English album and a global campaign from RCA that can give Aguilera the biggest album of her career to date.
When speaking to the British broadsheet The Times last year, Aguilera spoke with a serious tone about what it was like growing up as a child working in the music business. She spoke at length of how she recorded her first album at just 14 years old, and how she was able to navigate the darker side of celebrity – in a way so many of her contemporaries failed.
What has been interesting to note, is that in recent interviews it is impossible for Aguilera to escape what has become the enviable Britney Spears question. Christina and Britney first worked together on the television show The MMC in the mid-nineties as young teenagers – this has become legendary in pop culture.
Spears and the state of her legal affairs have been of constant fascination to the pop culture zeitgeist in recent years, with the hashtag “Free Britney” trending regularly across social media throughout last year. Paparazzi pictures have again emerged of a confused looking Spears appearing in and out of courthouses and treatment centers – nearly 15 years after the infamous head-shaving incident. However, things do look like they are on a better path with an exhibition of her paintings due to go on display and rumours of a new album being recorded.
The reality is, we the public still don’t know if Spears is okay, from the control of her money to how much say she has in the day to day running of her personal life. It seems the media is obsessed with coming to Aguilera about Spears as she could be the gatekeeper to finally getting some answers about what is actually going on – there is a demand hear these two women speak. As for what a Christina / Britney record would sound like? From power ballad to Foo Fighters infused bop, disco, to club banger – the possibilities seem endless, and the audience for this song is huge. All we need from the record is to hear something is genuine and real, and if executed correctly, has the potential to be a defining pop culture moment of the decade. We seem to be the closest we’ve been to getting this record in years, and it could put both their respected careers back front and centre of public attention. A duet could be the perfect single to set up for an album that can command global attention and add another hit to Aguilera’s already legendary catalogue. We are waiting for the Rock album!
The thing about Aguilera is – take away all the over the top pompous costume, bondage and camp theatrics of her stage show, underneath it all, Xtina is still capable of one of the most electrifying, unique, and distinctive vocal performances in the business. If she dropped an album tomorrow, we know it would be a great body of work – but how do we translate that into clearing up at the Grammys? It’s all about timing, and it feels like it’s coming round to that time again.
Its time any doubts on this music icon’s status be put to rest. As she has made clear since the start of her career, she is a fighter if nothing else. Here’s looking forward to the continued success in this new decade, as always – strictly on her terms.
Christina Aguilera returns to Vegas on February 26th through till March 7th at The Zappos Theatre at Planet Hollywood. Find out more and book tickets.
Her latest single ‘Fall On Me’ is available to stream on all major platforms now.
