Popstar in Bloom: Christina Aguilera "Lotus" Review

"Rise up, Lotus, Rise, this is the beginning" Christina Aguilera coos on the opening track of fifth album Lotus. She may have licked her wounds after the disaster that was Bionic in 2010 but Lotus sees one of pop's signature voices claw back into the fray.

The Goldfrapp-lite opening intro mentioned above sees Christina whisper over a wobbly R&B meets electronica beat. It's a kooky and slightly drawn out opener but it hints that she might be about to head into the futuristic sonic textures Bionic promised but didn't deliver. In reality it's a misnomer with the album zooming into an uptempo but straightforward pop vein for a solid six tracks.

Surprisingly, it gels fairly well early on. Zippy, zesty danceable rhythms highlight Christina's pipes as well as any mournful ballad when done properly. Army Of Me, as she's pointed out,  is a fairly obvious nod to Fighter and it's "You won't stop me message". It's not quite as impressive but it's a solid slab of fist-pumping pop. Red Hot Kinda Love is a cheeky but enjoyable sex jam that feels more flirty and knowing than some of her previous attempts at proclaiming her sexuality. Make The World Move is an awkward collage of soul pop and electro flourishes as Aguilera's co-judge on The Voice, Cee-Lo pops up for a warm and fuzzy ode to just getting along with everyone. It's a tad cheesy but the bouncy production and ebullient chorus make it an adequate slice of pop candy.

Next is current single, Your Body one of Aguilera's strongest pop moments in quite some time albeit one that is failing to smash on the charts. The first of two cuts co-written by hyper-successful Max Martin (Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Basically Every Big Popstar of the Last 10 Years), it's followed by the straight-up dance pop of Let There Be Love, which is a tad generic but comes equipped with a hook so big it's hard to dislike and it gives Christina plenty of moments to ad-lib and holler with the best of them.

Then comes a ballad-y chunk. The Sia penned Blank Page is truly lovely, a sister track to Beautiful that could do big things as a single. Sadly, Cease Fire and Sing For Me fall flat, letting Aguilera's own vocals become grating and misplaced when they should be soaring and uplifting.

Next up is a Rihanna "I like a bit of sex, me" style romp in Around the World which has a fun, down and dirty vibe but feels a tad slight. Circles is a bitter but oddly enjoyable flip of the bird to detractors. It's not very strong melodically but it's a rare moment of genuine personality on an album that seems to drain much of Aguilera's famed bolshiness. Best of Me is another decent if not stellar ballad that has a nice sense of melancholy to it. 

A real surprise is the duet with her other Voice judge Blake Shelton on Just A Fool. Yes it's a country-pop extravaganza that's blatantly squared at US radio but it's actually a decent duet and one of the strongest songs musically on the whole release. It's one of the few songs that Aguilera nails both in terms of emotional delivery and vocal hysterics too.

The addition of the bonus tracks on the deluxe edition (The standard release for the album in many European territories) will get the hopes of fans who know that her previous album hid some gems on it's deluxe side. Sadly, they're a mixed bag. Light Up The Sky is sweet but unmemorable, another mid-tempo track too concerned with schmaltz then letting Aguilera shine vocally. Empty Words is something of a hidden gem with some nicely drawn lyrics and a big, belt-y hook that wouldn't have been out of place on the main edition of the album. Shut Up is the sequel to Circles with a bleeped but still feisty hook telling imitators, haters and people of that nature to "Shut the f**k up". It's not her strongest song but it is an enjoyable slice of bratty pop. There's also a decent, if not dazzling remix of Your Body by Martin Carrix to enjoy too.

Decent but not dazzling, could in fact be applied to the majority of Lotus. It's certainly not a stinker and hits enough sweet spots over it's lean run time to please fans and suggest that there's life in Christina as a big pop star. Sadly, it never quite delivers the knockout moment you know she needs to really succeed. 

Lotus is out now on RCA.

Christina Aguilera Debuts Video for "Your Body": Twirls Hair, Offs Unsuspecting Males

There is a veritable glut of big pop singles, albums and videos flying our way at the moment all looking to grab a chunk of the 4th quarter pie as people buy more music than usual. We've had two new tunes from Ke$ha and Rihanna alone this week and now big-voiced pop icon turned TV judge Christina Aguilera unveils the next phase of her comeback with the video for her current single Your Body

Of all the new pop numbers I've heard in the last few months Your Body is my personal favourite. The Max Martin penned cut is the poppiest thing we've heard from Xtina in forever but it also has a bold, sexy feel that allows her to go to town with the vocal gymnastics while still serving up her most radio friendly hook in eons (looks like Moves Like Jagger rubbed off on her then).

Christina has been teasing clips from the Melina Matsoukas directed video all week (Melina famously worked with Beyonce, Gaga and Rihanna incl. many key Riri clips such as We Found Love) and just in the time for the weekend is Xtina's eye-popping new visual.

The plot (ahem) is basically: Christina lives in a trailer, consults an internet psychic, twirls her dip-dyed tresses alot (ALOT) and goes on a weird killing spree of random hot men who die in an explosion of pink, a splatter of blue paint and an explosion of pink glitter respectively.  Peep the video below:

The whole thing is as camp as 12 hour marathon of RuPaul's Drag Race and Christina herself is oozing plenty of drag-queen glamour, coming off like the love-child of RuPaul and Honey Boo Boo at times. It's all very knowing and over the top and in alot of ways is so bullish and brash that it feels very Christina Aguilera.

That tongue in cheek quality doesn't help mask the fact that it's a video about going around killing people as a form of empowerment, and if the genders reversed everybody would likely cry foul. Still, Xtina has always taken what she considered objectification and turned it on it's head as a form of expression. It's a mixed message and probably not a very clever one but again, feels in line with the view of female empowerment she's always had.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to dip-dye my tresses and twirl around a trailer park. It is the weekend after all.

Your Body is on iTunes now. Christina's new album Lotus is released on the 9th of November in Ireland, the 12th in the UK and on the 13th in the US.

Britney Brings The Heat on Femme Fatale: A Review

Well to say I was excited about this an album would be a huge huge huge huge understatement. Despite many a flaw, from not singing live to questionable interest in her own music I'm constantly drawn into the perfect pop of Miss Britney Spears. 

Sure some of it is driven by the heady Britney obsession of my teen years but it also helps that Britney has been serving up genuinely edgy pop cuts for the past decade. Blackout was the zenith, a swirling mash of thump-y beats, groaned vocals and a sense of danger that was enthralling. Follow up Circus sold better and attempted to re-establish Britney as a down to earth and healthy popstar but it wasn't as cohesive or thrilling.

Thankfully Femme Fatale stands somewhere between the two. It takes it's thumping, club ready cues from Blackout with a sprinkle of the brighter Britney sheen of Circus. It's a perfect mix of brave ideas and glossy, radio ready melodies. The cliche of modern pop albums is that "Every song could be a single" and generally speaking it's rarely true. But Femme Fatale is such a slick and polished affair that with the right push any song from this album could enjoy a healthy chart lifespan.

Britney sounds great, even if her voice is processed, analysed and torn apart by Dr. Luke, Max Martin and all involved. But that's part of the point. Britney has always been pop's most robust robot, her vocals and personality spliced, diced and delivered by a ruthlessly efficient. That in truth makes her out of step with today's current crop who display more agency, more control over their image and are reaping the chart rewards. Spears is struggling to compete right now. The first 2 singles not having the staying power needed to build buzz on an album truly deserving attention. 

Still even the most casual pop fan will find plenty of moments to raise a smile on Femme Fatale. It's jumpy, thrilling and addictive and it just may be Britney's best album yet.

Track by Track

Hold It Against Me : Hasn't quite hit the chart home run all on Camp Britney clearly thought it would but this is still a stone cold Britney classic for me. Icy, pumping and melodic it's all that is right with pop in 2011.

'Till The World Ends: I've gone back and forth on this single. It's anthemic, likeable and lodges in your head for days on end. But it's a bit too anonymous for an artist like Britney whose strangled cat warbling is imprinted on to everything she does in the best possible way. Mind you if this is Britney at her less than stellar it's still a damn sight better than most popstars.

Inside Out : If this isn't a huge smash single than something is NOT RIGHT. Melancholic, downbeat but still possessing a sleek, dirty groove this is a gem. The chorus is undeniably impressive but those verses are clearly the real winner. Britney's syncopated delivery is on the button and this is a song that manages to both be slinky and seductive and still chug along at a mechanical pace. Brilliant.

I Wanna Go: Sort what 3 should have sounded like, this upbeat and cheeky number again has single stamped all over it. The jumpy beat, the infectious whistle and the vaugely raunchy lyrics make this a satisfying slice of Club Thumper Britney fun.

How I Roll: The quirkiest track on the entire album. Bloodshy and Avant prove their genius here on a jagged of robot electro pop. This one clicks and whirrs itself along in a very minimal but it's sleek melody is gold and although it's not as immediate as other songs on the set, it's also a real grower and one of the strongest.

(Drop Dead) Beautiful: A pleasing update on pure pop Britney. There's very little that's new about this one but it's so snappily written and dripping in sass that it's kept me coming back for more with every listen. It's hard to not love a song that contains the line "Yeah your body looks so sick/I think I caught the flu"

Seal It With A Kiss: Another ode to the early Britney with a naughty update. The lyrics may have Britney lining up illcit liasons over a dubstep pop beat but the melody is as light as air. She coos her way through this one and you'll find this is one of Femme Fatale's most earworm-y tracks.

Big Fat Bass: This should have been the album's stinker but Will.I.Am has rolled out something of a corker here. A house music piano riff, a huge huge beat and some brilliantly distorted vocals give this tune a menacing sound that offsets the vocal back and forth of Will and Britney perfectly.

Trouble For Me: UK producer du jour Fraser T Smith competes with the big guns to great effect on this tune. A grime inspired beat flickers underneath one of Britney's strongest vocals. This is a glittering gem and could be a fine single.

Trip To Your Heart: Britney's does her take on Madonna's Get Together (which she already tried on Circus bonus track Trouble) and it is pretty great. Sure the main hook is a tad cheesy but the trance-lite production and bubbly vocals make this hard to resist.

Gasoline: As close as this album gets to filler. Not a bad tune but stumbles in comparison to some of the corkers on display here.

Criminal: What. a. TUNE. Imagine if you will Madonna's Papa Don't Preach, Miles Away and Love Profusion in a Britney blender you're halfway there. This is lovely, rippling with melancholy but also with it's tongue firmly in cheek. It's completely not what you expect from Britney but brilliant for that very reason. If there's any justice in the pop world this will be a huge huge smash single.

There are numerous bonus tracks floating around too but we'll get to them later. Long story short: you need to get your hands on Femme Fatale right this minute.

Britney & Born This Way: 1 Month on Planet Pop

Holy crap. You wait a month (as in don't blog for a month) to blog about a huge pop tune and then two come along at once. This isn't an attempt to pit Britney's "Hold It Against Me" against Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" in some kind of do or die battle BUT two big artists, two big songs.. why not do one quick blog post? Here is your cheat sheet to the new tunes from both Britney and Lady Gaga

HOLD IT AGAINST ME

Who? Britney "Enigmatic or just crazy?" Spears 

The Team : Pop heavy hitters and hit makers who owned 2010: Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Bonnie McKee

The Song: A relentless club pop stormer that's about as subtle as a bag of glow sticks being ground up in a blender by a gaggle of pilled up drag queens. The underpinning beat is stompy and obtrusive but the vocal gives it a sense of desperation. The first time Britney croaks (and she sort of does, it sounds like they've let her voice sound a bit raspy for some reason) "if we could escape the crowd somehow" it's a weird moment of isolation and dread amid a song that takes a cheesy chat up line as it's main chorus. It combines a slightly disjointed Xenomania style structure with an out of the blue would be dubstep breakdown and a whizzing climax. It is in a word: A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

Sounds like:  Britney's Unusual You + Ke$ha's Take It Off + Magnetic Man's I Need Air with a smidge of Rusko for good measure

How has it fared?  Insanely good at first. With minimal promotion it broke US airplay records while shifting over 400,000 downloads all in one week and flew to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It was instantly a top 10 smash in most major territories also. It has started to slide but this is a single that is still in the middle of it's chart run. With the immediate iTunes release this track has garnered a decent chart performance but we'll see how the video and possible promotion from Miss Spears allows this one to shape up over the next few weeks.

The Video : Directed by Jonas Akerlund (squeal) and already the subject of fourteen seperate online teasers to be released daily until the official premiere next week. Sounds like it'll be a chaotic affair, heavy on the dancing according to dance-commander Brian Friedman. Exciting.

Do Say: "It's good for dancing isn't it? It's bit like a rave, a bit like that moment you come off something and feel a bit weird and a bit like that time you ended up at dubstep night and spent the night wobbling around"

Don't Say: "I preferred If U Seek Amy"

BORN THIS WAY

Who : Lady "Why would I take a nap, when there's so much WORK TO BE DONE?" Gaga

The Team : Gaga, Fernando Garibay and DJ White Shadow

The Song : Well to say this has arrived with a bit of hype is an understatement. Gaga has declared this her anthem for a generation, a song about loving yourself blah blah blah. Basically she talked it up way too much. After talk of a deeper heavier side to the music the resulting confection that is Born This Way is a tad dissapointing.  

Picture if you will Madonna, Kylie, Gaga and a desire to name check as many minorities as possible combined with a rattling cheesy dance pop beat and you have Born This Way. It's not that's a bad tune. It's actually tremendous fun. Infectious, catchy and feel good it's a pure pop blast that stands well amongst the current batch of chart ready electro inspired numbers. It's well crafted with a strong melody but you can't help but feel the urge to throw the kitchen sink of production at the track makes it too layered. Compared to how Telephone mastered the wall of pop noise alongside an airtight melody Born This Way sounds like a track in desperate need of a pruning. If you can get past the hype though (and let's face it, that's not easy now) this a great little pop tune.

Sounds like: Well, Express Yourself obviously. But also Kylie's Better Than Today. and also quite like Mandy Moore album track from years back You Remind Me. Seriously.

How has it fared: Well it was released Friday, topped the iTunes chart in 23 countries (it just debuted on the UK chart at number 3), broke that radio play record Britney had up until a few weeks ago and looks set to go to number 1 in more than a few places by next week. and there's a small matter of a Grammy's performance tonight, which as I write Gaga has just arrived to in a coffin. And a giant egg. Subtle.

The video: Directed by Jonas Akerlund (Squeal AGAIN), set in New York with talk of Gaga giving birth, trannies and we're sure more than a few jaw dropping outfit choices. Let's just pray it's 100 hours long like some of her previous efforts.

Do Say: "This song is good fun isn't it? and isn't it nice that she just wants us to be loved? Pass the cocktails, this makes me want to dance"

Don't Say : "UGH IT'S SO CONTRIVED, IT'S LIKE A MARKETING EXERCISE MORE THAN A SONG" Really?

To be honest I'm really enjoying both songs for different reasons but the fact that both artists are releasing new albums in the next few months is cause for much excitement. Britney's Femme Fatale feels like it might be a collection of brilliantly produced pop masterpieces with a slightly souless sheen while Born This Way will offer soaring melodies with a side order of cheese that might begin to grate. But who knows? As Gaga arriving to an award show in an egg shows you really can't predict the pop world sometimes. 

Usher's Finest Pop Moment to date? Maybe?

Not content with a return to chart success this year with OMG and the album Raymond Vs. Raymond, Usher is readying a new single alongside a new EP release (and re-issue of the album) later in the year. DJ Got Us Falling In Love Again (bit of a mouthful that title!) features Pitbull and is another piece of Max Martin backed pop goodness. The single sleeve is wierd though. Like a crappy fan photo taken of Usher at a gig. Wierd.

A tad generic it may be, it's also one of the catchiest, uplifting tracks Usher has done in ages and easily one of his poppiest moments to date. Not only that but Team Usher aren't wasting any time in getting this out to the masses. Within days of the songs online premiere it's now on sale on iTunes in the US and here a move which doesn't always happen. It's paying off with the track already sitting comfortably inside the Billboard Hot 100 and and the track making a dent on the lower reaches of the chart on this side the water.

It might not sound like much but after years of following a system of extended airplay before releasing a song it's interesting to see labels put a song out almost immediately. The initial sales may be not be as high but less people are likely to source an illegal download while waiting for the song to come their way.

AND to top it all off I was in a taxi on my way out to "the club"the other night when this came on the radio, OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS SONG I squealed.. and what did the taxi driver do? Turn it up! Amazing.

 

The track is on iTunes now. A re-release of the album alongside the seperate EP release  is planned for the Autumn. The original album Raymond Vs Raymond which includes the single OMG feat. Will.I.Am is out now.