So apparently I like Christina Aguilera. Not super surprising since her sounds can sometimes sound a little JT, sometimes a little Janelle Monae, but I never listened to this album when it came out. Not every song is great, and it being a double album there ended up being a lot of fluff to get through, there are definitely a few songs on here I would listen to again one-off. 3.4/5
Christina is probably the first pop girlie I stanned, and I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for her earlier stuff. Her voice is undeniable and when she finds the right track, it works like magic. Unfortunately, she’s always been kind of spotty and never really seemed to find her sound. Going from basic pop star to “dirrrty” R&B to throwback to Gaga wannabe is a direction that I don’t think totally lands. So I don’t think I’ve played this all the way through although I recall a solid chunk of it. There’s gold, but some of it doesn’t work at all- did Xtina really need to make a 5 minute track thanking her fans, especially when she uses phone calls from them as the beat? But embracing her soul and jazz-influenced roots is a good fit for her, she should have leaned into this instead of whatever Bionic is. If she trimmed the track list or at least turned some of it into bonus tracks, we’d really be cooking. B-
Not terrible, but also nothing I'm all that interested in. I did find it interesting that Linda Perry produced and co-wrote the whole second disk. However, it's too long. The singles are pretty bangin, but it isn't enough to save this for me. 2.49/5