Christina Aguilera could never be labeled a trendsetter. More, a trend appreciator. She certainly doesn’t break any boundaries and prefers to attract headlines by putting on weight or piercing several parts of her body. She does, however, have a magnificent set of pipes (“mutant”, as they say in her first feature film Burlesque) and can whip out a bloody catchy pop song if she wants to.
Her latest album, Lotus, sees her lagging behind in the urban/pop/dance scene populated by the likes of J. Lo and Nicky Minaj. Once you get past the hideous cover art, you will find several upbeat club tracks just perfect for the dance floor – in particular Army Of Me, Your Body and Let There Be Love (absolutely no correlation to the Beatles classic, may it be noted). The other, more urban influenced tracks like Cease Fire unfortunately translate more like Rihanna b-sides. Don’t you be gettin’ too gangsta on our asses, Xtina.
But it wouldn’t be a Christina Aguilera album without some lung-busting power ballads – the highlight being Blank Page, where Aguilera invites a love to fill the pages of her, well, blank page. No-one ever said she was original, either. Duets with country star and The Voice co-stars Blake Shelton and Ceelo Green also make an appearance, although they are nothing to write home about.
There is no doubt Lotus will provide Aguilera with a few more notches on her belt of hits, but it is a little disappointing that she continues to recognise the pop trends just a little late. She also continues to sing about self-determination and not caring what anyone thinks while simultaneously forgetting to dress herself for the camera, so clearly someone’s thinking and caring about their audience. Not that there’s plenty of fans who’d disapprove.
BY JEN WILSON
Best track: Let There Be Love
If You Like These, You’ll Like: Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Nicky Minaj
In A Word: Typical
