Tag Archives: Back to Basics

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Song of the Day #6,610: ‘I Got Trouble’ – Christina Aguilera

Continuing my look at the albums of 2006…

If I were making my list of favorite 2006 albums in 2006, I’m certain Christina Aguilera’s Back to Basics would have made the cut. I was very impressed by this album at the time, particularly because I had zero appreciation for Aguilera prior to its release.

I haven’t listened to it much in the last 20 years, not because it doesn’t hold up but because it fell off the way so many things do as new interests arise. Playing it this week, I was reminded how much I enjoy it.

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Song of the Day #1,780: ‘Intro (Back to Basics)’ – Christina Aguilera

aguileraChristina Aguilera’s best moment on record came with 2006’s double album, Back to Basics. It’s been all downhill since then.

It’s as if she reached a crossroads at that point and inexplicably turned down the completely wrong path. After recording her best batch of songs and receiving a level of critical acclaim that had eluded her for years, she decided to turn away from the neo-soul revival that fit her like a glove and toward watered down electronic pop.

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Song of the Day #1,111: ‘Hurt’ – Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera is the artist who was most in need of image rehabilitation before the debut of The Voice.

In the previous year or so she’d made headlines for splitting with her husband, flubbing the lyrics of the national anthem at the Super Bowl and tripping onstage at the Grammys. And her most recent album, Bionic, was a high-profile flop.

On The Voice, she didn’t really do herself any favors. Her teasing banter with her co-hosts, Adam Levine in particular, was often more awkward than funny and at times she seemed to have a bit of a cruel streak.

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Song of the Day #413: ‘Save Me From Myself’ – Christina Aguilera

aguileraI’m fascinated by Christina Aguilera.

OK, that’s overstating things. Truth is, I haven’t spent much time at all thinking about Christina Aguilera, but when I do pause to ponder her career I find it quite intriguing.

She released her self-titled debut 10 years ago as a Mickey Mouse Club graduate following in the footsteps of the mightily popular Britney Spears. That album, as processed and packaged as a can of Spam, did little to differentiate her from Spears. I remember sharing the popular opinion that she was a wannabe hoping to catch a bit of the teen pop wave Britney had started.

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Song of the Day #54: ‘Mercy On Me’ – Christina Aguilera

Here’s a song that I’m tempted to refer to as a guilty pleasure based on who’s performing it, but that wouldn’t be accurate. Far from guilt-worthy, this is an extremely well-written and well-performed song that’s close in spirit to the work of some of my favorites.

I don’t really know what to make of Christina Aguilera. When she hit the scene as a kind of response to and capitalization on the Britney Spears phenomenon, I dismissed her as another pop tart with looks in place of talent. But the truth is she was a victim of her marketing. She’s got a voice better than any of the mega-stars out there, and puts the showier artists like Madonna to shame.

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