Sorry, I'm late to the "Your Body" music video discussion, assuming there was any. Here's my two-cents on the video and Christina's sitcha-ation at the moment:
First of all I think that a lot of people are taking notice of her return to music, a lot more than I had thought would notice or care to. I think The Voice has done of a good job of keeping her name present in the pop culture vernacular so I think that's a good thing. The issue that I've always had with Christina Aguilera (among some others) is the way she presents herself personality-wise. On The Voice she treads the line of smugness pretty successfully, and I think a lot of people see her as a bit snobbish, cold, unappealing. Her personality is obviously the opposite of endearing and she seems to insist on putting on a face that almost always comes off as calculated, and reeking of vanity.
The music video for "Your Body" reminded me of that "swagger" she plays up when she's singing about something even remotely sexual or enticing. The sideways glances, mouth half-open, slightly raised brow with pursed lips and clenched cheeks. It's actually quite insufferable to watch. God knows I love the woman for that golden voice and the songs under her belt that have honestly changed my life growing up, but her particular brand of smugness that she insists on putting on during music videos or performances come off as so so so so fake to me. And I know that every mannerism she uses is so calculated because no person can just have those kinds of expressions be candid. There's just no way. I think she's obsessed with that sensation of being a buxom bombshell and having the world clammer over her looks that she plays it up. It could be done pseudo-sarcastically but she does it too much and often for me to believe it. Christina Aguilera is just straight-up unlikable. It makes it hard for people to root for her success when that icy demeanor becomes a saboteur. I feel like if she made an effort to let go of some of that control and let herself be herself in front of the world then it would serve her better.
Besides that criticism (sorry if it's a bit long-winded), the "Your Body" video is still a bit of a hot mess. Yes she looked pretty in many of those shots but I stopped giving a shit about "pretty" once Lady Gaga made bleeding to death on stage cool. The whole video was resting on her looking bubbly and cute while being surrounded by confetti and loud colors but that all goes back to the fact that she never is cute to me. It's always a presentation in pretty for her and it's embarrassing to watch. Also the ending made no sense, but that's fine. I went out last night and within the span of 3 hours that I was there, "Your Body" got played 3 times. I think it'll have a steady climb to massive popularity if she plays her cards right but we'll see. At this point I'm ready for single #2 and I'm hoping that the song will be a valued addition to her portfolio and not just an example in "catching up."
What kind of thorough reading? I agree with some of these points.
#slayed