She also gave the community she visited yesterday free tickets to see her show
queen
Gotta fill those seats somehow.
She also gave the community she visited yesterday free tickets to see her show
queen
i am is shit and I constantly pretend that it never happened.
Christina Aguilera has described LOTUS as her rebirth; leaving her past behind, and a charge forward with 808s and synthesizers at the helm. Ive always considered a new album of hers as a rebirth of sorts though. No album of hers is the same, and that serves her in a good and a bad. The good, of course, is that you can always expect something fresh (or at the very least unfamiliar) each time. The bad, of course, is that a fan doesnt quite know what to expect, and whether its fresh or just new, the fan still wants the album to at least REMIND of why he or she is a fan in the first place. In my case, its her energetic vocal. Come On Over is the mascot track under her name from my point of view, and it perfectly demonstrates the way her vocals travel and build. It falls largely in her middle register, where her voice is most comfortable, and is allowed to demonstrate all its power without any strain. It also lets her alternate between her soft and hard vocal, and the instrumental is airy enough to give her ad libbing room to show that she has strong intonation. More songs like that, I think, are what I hope for with each Christina record. Back to Basics gave me an equally fabulous example of this perfect middle, which was Candyman. (which is probably the greatest song of her career, but thats another matter). After that, however, Ive had a hard time finding another example.
The reason Im speaking so much about this is because its important that pop fans understand what Christina fans are looking for. Its important because I want pop fans to know that we havent GOTTEN what weve been looking for in a very long time. And finally, its important because I want pop fans to know that weve FINALLY gotten it with Lotus.
Christina is reborn yet again, this time with an eye for radio pop. In every track, Christina takes on a pop trope that was popularized by another pop star, but never perfected. I take it as sort of an Arcade Mode in a fighting game: the main character takes on one person at a time, until she reaches the end, claiming the prize. Outside of the Intro, every song reminds me of someone else, and Im then reminded that with Christinas voice and eye for intonation, many of those other people might need to pack it up and go home.
1) LOTUS INTRO The Tan Knight Rises
This is her most flawless album intro because it leaves nothing to the imagination. Rise Up, Lotus rise, this is the beginning, she coos. Its her sonic rebirth and she conceals her monster vocal behind a silk sheet; still fragile, shes not ready to let it out just yet. And then, toward the last third, for just a bit, you hear her thundering run and riff, and it suddenly hits you: Holy shit, its Christina Aguilera. Where the HELL have you been? Its a well-paced introduction with an unambiguous storyline. As someone whos suffered through oversaturated interludes and tangents, this is a fresh take from Christina. It also happens to be one of the best segments of Lotus. And we've only just begun. RATING: 9.7/10
2) ARMY OF ME Level One: Kelly Clarkson
Nobodys popularized mid-tempo power ballads in modern pop as much as Kelly Clarkson, and Army of Me reminded me so much of that pop style. The verses are held back, with lyrics that exist only as a bridge to a powerful chorus. Christinas lower register is something Im definitely not a fan of, which is why going into it I wasnt really feeling this. Once the chorus hits though, Im reminded of some epic fusion of Eye of The Tiger and something Diana Ross would deliver. An amazing chorus with a beautiful chord progression that stands as one of her strongest yet. RATING: 9.3/10
3) RED HOT KINDA LOVE Level Two: Gwen Stefani
This bubbly ride is a style thats touched on a bit on Bionic, but you wont find something like this on there. Its consistently boppy, with nods to the esoteric, flirty styles of Gwen with the bubbly production of a song that could easily belong on Arular. The lyrics are smart and simple (the yin and yang of perfect pop), with an instrumental that gets you on your feet. One of the strongest songs on the album by far. RATING: 9.7/10
4) MAKE THE WORLD MOVE - A double-teaming for the ages
Remember when I said I was looking for a perfect mid-register vocal? Here it is darlings. And Make The World Move is a short and sweet swoon of a song thats as charming as it is catchy. The hammered in chord progression that hits you over and over again (right as the time is now hits) is pop euphoria, and the message is clean, silly, but untouchable. The bizarre howling in the chorus is a welcome addition, though unnecessary. And the bridge is pure urban Spice Girls tea. So far Lotus is hitting me hard in every major category, and this funk-pop riot is a track I plan to go back and listen to for years to come. RATING: 9.9/10
5) YOUR BODY An uneven first single finds a home on Lotus
Your Body is a mid-tempo song that quenched Xtina fans thirst for a bit when it released, but it reminded us that while Christina has the flavor and the style to deliver huge pop smashes, she doesnt quite reach that goal with Your Body. The song sounds a bit dated, especially compared to most of other songs on Lotus, but its existence is much more validated when bunched up with the radio pop tunes in Lotuss first half. The line I think you already know my name in the bridge buildup is absolutely fierce though, and the way the instrumentals stray before hitting the final chorus with her thundering riff layered on top is a great pop moment. This single was a big reminder of the fact that Christinas voice is a perfect fit for dance tracks, and while I wanted more at the time, Im satisfied here knowing that I got what I wanted, and I can finally enjoy Your Body for what it is, and not for what it isnt. RATING: 8.5/10
6) LET THERE BE LOVE Level Three: David Guettas Army of Modest Stars: Kelly, Jennifer, SIA
Let There Be Love is what made me realize how much Christina has been missing from the pop game. When this Guetta style hit radio and clubs I knew that Christinas voice was a perfect fit for these types of songs. When Love Takes Over and Time Of Your Life are great gems with powerful vocals layered on sledge-hammering dance beats, and while Rowland and Hudson are great vocalists, nobody energizes a song like Christina Aguilera. Her voice is pure momentum on this track, and it shows how comfortable her voice is staying glued on a high note or yell. I hope that Guetta and crew notice this song, because Christinas voice is a perfect fit for these. Let There Be Love is a well-paced song with stellar production and, of course, an even more stellar vocal. Its also Lotuss unofficial mascot track. RATING: 10/10
7) SING FOR ME A ballad thats less than the sum of its parts
Its ironic to say it, but Christina ballads never did it for me. I always felt that her enunciations were too muddled for ballads, and honestly they always come off as an excuse for her to shove as many riffs and runs into a line as possible. I much prefer her on a dance track. But I wanted to give them a shot this time because, hey, its a rebirth right? Sing For Me is the most quintessentially uneven song on this album, and its because some absolutely brilliant (dare I say iconic?) moments on this song are filtered out by an overwhelming sense of awkwardness, both in some of the lyrics and the vocal delivery. The whole concept of the song means well, but the lyrical imagery leaves too little to the imagination. Picturing her heart spilling out of her mouth when she opens it, again, means well metaphorically, but the writing is a bit too archaic and misdirected for me to take seriously. I cant listen to this song without being in absolute awe at certain moments (right as the second half of the verse kicks in, for example), but also without cringing a bit at the forwardness of these lyrics. The final third of the song sounds like something out of Whitneys playbook, which is absolutely stellar. It has some truly soaring moments but the dim moments also need to be taken into account here. RATING: 7.9/10
8) BLANK PAGE Level Four: Adele
Blank Page is a heartstring-tugging ballad that has a beautifully glacial production that lets Christinas voice take center stage. Whereas Sing For Me reminded me of why Christina ballads dont do it for me, Blank Page takes a page (no pun intended) from the best balladeer of modern pop. Im reminded of the deprived productions on Adeles 21, and the modestly deep lyrics on Blank Page sound like something Adele would write on a good day. There is a lot of sweetness in the chorus lyrics, and her raw vocal shines on certain riffs and ad libs here. The post-chorus hook is of course pure and angelic, and this is an example of what I said earlier about Christina editing herself. Knowing when to hold back, to stall, to minimize. There are things sister had a hard time understanding throughout her career, and Blank Page demonstrates her maturity as a vocalist (the irony is that Sing For Me is very much old Christina, but somehow the fact that Blank Page plays right after it made me feel like its an evolution). In the end, this is a brilliant song with a brilliant vocal. This, second only to Hurt, is the most powerful ballad of Christina Aguileras career, Beautiful notwithstanding. RATING: 9.8/10
9) CEASE FIRE Level Five: Rihanna (part one)
Cease Fire begins with a jarring riff that doesnt do much for me, but the smart lyrics and pacing more than make up for it. This mid- to low-tempo song reminds me of a ballad Rihanna would release, and probably be very proud of. The almost reggae-esque delivery in the chorus is very familiar here too. Whats so interesting is that I always felt that Rihanna was inspired by Christina MUCH more than she, or anyone else, would likely admit to. The way she tosses a note out like a brick would sound amazing if she could sing as well as Christina, but generally their vocal styles have quite a few similarities. Cease Fire shows this in spades, and the build in the bridge is one of the most energetic and triumphant moments of Miss Aguileras career. Its powerful in all the right ways, and smart in all the right ways. This is a song that will grow on me immensely over time, for sure. RATING: 9.5/10
10) AROUND THE WORLD Level Six: Rihanna (part two)
A song that Talk That Talk wish it had, Around The World is another reminder that Rihanna holds the pop niche that would have otherwise been retained by Christina if she committed to radio all this time. The blatant propositioning, in this case humping across the skies and seas, almost comes off as cookie-cutter for Christina. Were used to getting a track like this on every Christina album, but with the existence of a Rihanna and a Nicki Minaj, this song is simply another member of the pack. The song is fabulously fierce though, and invoking lyrics from her past songs is a clever way to brand it as a signature Christina sound. Christina practically pioneered the hard-hitting proposition in modern pop. This could just be her way of taking it back. RATING: 8.5/10
11) CIRCLES Level Seven: Nicki Minaj and Alanis Morrisette?
First of all, lets just make sure we cover the fact that this song is ridiculous. From the blatant imagery of fingering someone while they spin as some sort of new fuck you fetish, to the Minaj-y verses that make about as much sense as Minaj herself, its obvious that this song will either hit it off with the listener really well or really badly. The slowed introduction is unfortunately cringe-worthy, and while the verses feel passively modern and familiar, nothing quite hits me until the chorus smashes in. Suddenly Im reminded of old 90s alternative pop-rock, like an Alanis/Nirvana/Natalie Imbruglia hybrid thats pure nostalgia. The chorus is short but brilliant, and the bridge is adorably forward as well. The song is uneven but that chorus gets stamped into your brain so effortlessly that I have to give it props. Christinas fuck you songs are always polarizing, but this one manages to slip by. RATING: 8.6/10
12) BEST OF ME Lotus hits the snooze button
Best of Me is the worst song on the album, and its because of this scattered production that reminds me of Christinas career lows. When a song doesnt quite know where its going, or when the songs biggest hook is a muffled, repetitive mess, its obviously not a recipe for success. Usually pop albums slow down a bit by the beginning of the last third, and thats evident here. Her soft middle register is one Im not a fan of at all, and her intonation in the verses, coupled with the unattractive chord progression, is an immediate turn-off. The scattered vocal layering in the chorus doesnt help it either. I do like that it invokes portions of the Lotus Intro in the last fourth, which brings things almost full circle, but of all the songs to invoke such a brilliant introduction, Best of Me is not it. Maybe this will grow on me, I dont know. RATING: 6/10
13) JUST A FOOL Christina shines in the greatest collaboration of her career
This song is a triumph in male-female collaborations that finally gives Nobody Wants to be Lonely a run for its money. Just A Fool is such a gorgeously raw and mature song to take on too, and I love the chemistry between Christina and Blake here. I love that her voice is so raw and BIG when shes singing solo, but with his masculine drawl draped over her, she soothes her own voice out, and makes it more vulnerable and damaged. Its an impeccable arrangement. While the song itself is very much a standard low-tempo country track, its their raw talents that transcend it into one of the best collaborations of the post-2010 era. All thats left to say about this is that it may be the strongest track on Lotus, and one of the strongest tracks that shes ever made, period. RATING: 10/10
14) LIGHT UP THE SKY - Final level: Katy Perry
This takes a page straight from Katy Perrys playbook, except Light Up The Sky is a very well-written power ballad that only shines brighter because Christinas amazing vocals. The second verse is especially transcendent, and it almost sounds like if Sing For Me was finely tuned and relieved of the over-bearing qualities that dragged it down. The chorus is pretty standard, while it doesnt necessarily go anywhere it has a solid to good chord progression thats quite memorable. This goes without saying however, Light Up The Sky is one of the shining exemplars of Christinas talent, and while the song isnt really the strongest on Lotus, its a bonus track that very well could have been switched out for Sing For Me or Best Of Me and made the standard album even stronger. RATING: 8.9/10
15) EMPTY WORDS The funny thing about a bonus track is its just a bonus track
Empty Words could have easily not existed and I wouldnt have fretted, but I suppose thats the definition of a bonus track. While the chorus is memorable enough and the lyrical construction is relatively smart, the overall execution is just about sub-par. This definitely could have benefited from some stronger production or a more powerful bridge, but I cant complain. The string of I dont care what you have to say songs on Lotus is especially prominent, and while that theme is a comfortable staple in all Christina albums, its especially poignant here because the album is so tightly-wound and concise, so if the theme isnt of interest to the listener, the whole album suffers because of it. Empty Words is precisely the moment for me when that theme starts getting tired. RATING: 7/10
16) SHUT UP A big fuck you to dramatic album closers
One cant go on and on about a song like this, so Ill just say a little bit. Its a typical Christina fuck you song in the verses, and the chorus is pure ironic bliss. The bridge is a hilarious stall of a moment, and the whole thing really does feel like ironic closing credits for a movie that was otherwise fairly serious. Maybe that was her intention here, pop albums can either end with an epic dramatic closer (The Edge of Glory), or a tongue-in-cheek reminder of why pop exists in the first place (Teeth). The difference between a closer like Just A Fool and a closer like Shut Up is of course stark, and theyre both a reminder that the woman at the helm is indeed quite hard to define. And given the disparity in content with each of her albums, she knows that shes hard to define too. RATING: 8/10
FINAL COMMENTS:
If Christina Aguileras debut album was her equivalent to The Fame by Lady Gaga, then all three of her follow-up albums would be her equivalent to Born This Way. All three of them stray far away from her original jumping off point, in three blazingly different directions, with three very different results. They are polarizing, a bit archaic, perhaps long-winded, and definitely controversial. While Stripped comes close, none of those three albums COMPLETELY defines her without her debut singles coming into play. In Christinas case, she never got to release a Fame Monster. Wheres the perfect middle? Wheres the category that sits perfectly between the initial runs of Genie and the disparate experiments in Cruz, Mercy On Me and I Am? The answer is finally here. Like The Fame Monster, LOTUS defines her in the most efficient, cohesive way possible. She does vengeance songs, she does dance songs, she does ballads, and she does tongue-in-cheek. Shes a jack of all trades and finally we have an album that covers all four categories without much of a hitch, and can stand most fittingly with her pop star job title. Christina Aguilera is finally a pop star with a true pop album. Here, here.
Gotta fill those seats somehow.
Yep. Dangerously in Love is amazing. Crazy in Love and Dangerously in love slay me. But even aside from that, I've never met a better debut album full of hits and potential hits, with a minimum of filler.
Nobody but Bey
10) AROUND THE WORLD Level Six: Rihanna (part two)
A song that Talk That Talk wish it had, Around The World is another reminder that Rihanna holds the pop niche that would have otherwise been retained by Christina if she committed to radio all this time. The blatant propositioning, in this case humping across the skies and seas, almost comes off as cookie-cutter for Christina. Were used to getting a track like this on every Christina album, but with the existence of a Rihanna and a Nicki Minaj, this song is simply another member of the pack. The song is fabulously fierce though, and invoking lyrics from her past songs is a clever way to brand it as a signature Christina sound. Christina practically pioneered the hard-hitting proposition in modern pop. This could just be her way of taking it back. RATING: 8.5/10
11) CIRCLES Level Seven: Nicki Minaj and Alanis Morrisette?
First of all, lets just make sure we cover the fact that this song is ridiculous. From the blatant imagery of fingering someone while they spin as some sort of new fuck you fetish, to the Minaj-y verses that make about as much sense as Minaj herself, its obvious that this song will either hit it off with the listener really well or really badly. The slowed introduction is unfortunately cringe-worthy, and while the verses feel passively modern and familiar, nothing quite hits me until the chorus smashes in. Suddenly Im reminded of old 90s alternative pop-rock, like an Alanis/Nirvana/Natalie Imbruglia hybrid thats pure nostalgia. The chorus is short but brilliant, and the bridge is adorably forward as well. The song is uneven but that chorus gets stamped into your brain so effortlessly that I have to give it props. Christinas fuck you songs are always polarizing, but this one manages to slip by. RATING: 8.6/10
12) BEST OF ME Lotus hits the snooze button
Best of Me is the worst song on the album, and its because of this scattered production that reminds me of Christinas career lows. When a song doesnt quite know where its going, or when the songs biggest hook is a muffled, repetitive mess, its obviously not a recipe for success. Usually pop albums slow down a bit by the beginning of the last third, and thats evident here. Her soft middle register is one Im not a fan of at all, and her intonation in the verses, coupled with the unattractive chord progression, is an immediate turn-off. The scattered vocal layering in the chorus doesnt help it either. I do like that it invokes portions of the Lotus Intro in the last fourth, which brings things almost full circle, but of all the songs to invoke such a brilliant introduction, Best of Me is not it. Maybe this will grow on me, I dont know. RATING: 6/10
you get worse and worse every day
you guys have some weird taste in men these guys look like a strong gust can blow them away
what kind of LQ avatar MESS
This is some beautiful work, Scribe. I read your first part, too, which was equally as fascinating. My favorite parts of your review are where you dip and dive between the genres, and other artists to contrast them with Xtina. You also have a pretty clear grasp on the Queen's legacy.
I'm glad you have come to love 'Cease Fire' as much as me. I love those poetic breaks that come off as if she is chanting... or rapping even. Oh, and that duet with Blake is just a brilliant song. Did anyone expect that to be one of the better songs? I sure didn't.
Excellent review, Scribe. This is some Platinum level work, that clearly stands above what most others have done for their faves~
Thank you sis. You and Roy are my only real audience with that giant wall of text, lol. Glad you like
If only we had MORE Xtina material to review sometimes ;___;
You're forgetting
I'm confident I'll never stoop your level-- sporting an alicia keys avatar.
i'll just wait for her album to come out so you can stan her for a week
i'll just wait for her album to come out so you can stan her for a week
O. M. F. G.
the past couple pages have displayed dehydration of unfathomable levels
a mess
Trying for another Wooden Star?
I'm not the one repping the basic, flavor of the month boy band
IKR Taylor should be winning. Fuck Mariah tbh.
I'm not the one repping the basic, flavor of the month boy band
Yeah but you reppin' T-Swizzle over Mooriah.
How much more basic can that get tbh.
Yesss
The Beyhive is going to have a lot of fun next year
Yaaaaas stan for the Queen <3
AlsoNot your favorite Lotus track being my least favorite, LMAO. This is why Beyonce is the bridge that strings our love together <3
why dont we agree on anything except TV shows
Congratulations Shitty Brown, I finally like a song you're on. I can already tell I will be jamming heavily to Nobody's Business.
Hew is he?<snip>
Qween.
Hew is he?
What has Lana done to me sis Aguila?
I'm actually stanning for someone.
What has Lana done to me sis Aguila?
I'm actually stanning for someone.
Her Pepsi cola has quenched your thirst.
YAS Pupi! Accept Allahna into your life!
I AM SCREAMING
SHE LEGITIMATELY LOOKS LIKE A WITCH HERE
HELLA GHOULISH INDEED
I AM SCREAMING
SHE LEGITIMATELY LOOKS LIKE A WITCH HERE
HELLA GHOULISH INDEED
I AM SCREAMING
SHE LEGITIMATELY LOOKS LIKE A WITCH HERE
HELLA GHOULISH INDEED