The 25 Days of Christina – Day 12

I promised myself I wasn’t going to bring this up because it makes me frown, therefore speeds up the aging process. But when Christina Aguilera was accused of copying another pop star after performing at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards and then later with her video for Not Myself Tonight I became furious and frustrated to put it lightly.

I felt bad for Christina. Not because I was worried that she was upset by the media reports and blogger attacks, but because she deserved a warm welcome back to the spotlight while she put the final touches on her fourth album Bionic and first movie Burlesque. She is one of the most celebrated vocalists of my time and instead of receiving a hug with open arms, she was shunned.

Every single artist who has overcome the barriers in life to achieve their dream deserves a standing ovation. I don’t believe musicians should be pitted against each other in order to gain a few more web hits or Twitter followers. No finger print is identical and the same goes for a song. Instead of wasting time on looking for similarities and making nasty accusations of plagiarism, look for the differences and accept them! The state of music has become sad. It’s all about competition and peak positions instead of the actual joy of music.

Christina has always had a very unique and independent artistic vision. For her loyal fans, this was already known. It was her music video for Fighter directed by Floria Sigismondi that solidified this view. Moths, goths, and human pin cushions mixed with a rock n’ roll sound we had never heard from Christina before! From Dirrty to Beautiful to Fighter, Christina had displayed three completely different contrasts with three singles all from the same album (Stripped) while keeping her inspirational and empowering messages of equality, unity and love wrapped around each lyric.

I never thought I’d have to journey back in Christina’s videography to defend accusations of her copying another artist.

In my opinion, her body of work that extends over a decade back speaks for itself.

Update: Here’s a great description of the video’s beautiful symbolism taken from Wikipedia:

The music video, directed by Floria Sigismondi, is known for being one of Aguilera’s most unusual. In it, she is wearing a black velvet kimono, with a pale complexion, and long black hair, resembling that of someone who follows gothic fashion. Three pins are lodged in her back, making her hunch. Initially, she is trapped in a glass box, and her kimono is billowing like a balloon. Three gothic ballerinas eat fruit and then collapse. Aguilera then breaks free from the box by pounding on it until it breaks. Aguilera tosses aside her kimono after furiously removing the pins on her back and throwing them away. A tattered, white, moth-covered dress is revealed, symbolising her metaphoric evolution from a larva to a pupa. In addition, her hair becomes white, and moths fly on to her. Near the end, Aguilera wears an Elvira-type spider dress, again proclaiming that she is a fighter. At the very end of the video, she kicks the TV camera. This video shows the metamorphosis of Aguilera’s slow, yet steady progression of her inner-strength, from being heartbroken, to becoming unbreakable.

The 25 Days of Christina – Day 8

On January 22 of this year Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief was the most widely distributed charity telethon in history.

The telethon was to raise funds for seven non-profit organizations doing relief work in Haiti after an earthquake claimed the lives of about 200,000 people.

Christina Aguilera performed a stripped down version of Lift Me Up accompanied by Beautiful writer Linda Perry on piano.

This was the very first time the world heard new material from Aguilera’s newest record Bionic (her first in 4 years). The song sent chills up and down my arms as I watched with Mom and Dad. A beautiful ballad that brought a serene sense of optimism to an unfathomable tragedy. The song did a fantastic job at emphasizing the word “hope” in the telethon’s title.

Everybody needs somebody.

Let us not forget. Help is still needed in Haiti. Visit the American Red Cross to make a donation.

The 25 Days of Christina – Day 1

Anyone who knows me, knows I’m Christina Aguilera’s biggest fan. Anyone who doesn’t know me, knows I’m Christina Aguilera’s biggest fan. So it was only natural that I begin a special series of blogs entitled The 25 Days of Christina in honour of my Queen’s very first lead role in a motion picture. For the next 25 days I will be taking to the blog once a day with a reason why I love Christina and why you should take note of the greatest vocalist of my generation. Think of it as an Aguilera Advent calendar! Shall we open up door number 1?

Xtina stars in the musical film Burlesque co-starring Cher and directed by Steven Antin (his sister, Robin, birthed The Pussycat Dolls). Here’s the plot taken from the film’s official press release:

Ali Rose (Christina Aguilera) is a small-town girl with a big voice who escapes hardship and an uncertain future to follow her dreams to Los Angeles. After stumbling upon The Burlesque Lounge, a majestic but ailing theater that is home to an inspired musical revue, Ali lands a job as a cocktail waitress from Tess (Cher), the club’s proprietor and headliner. Burlesque’s outrageous costumes and bold choreography enrapture the young ingenue, who vows to perform there one day.

Soon enough, Ali builds a friendship with a featured dancer named Georgia (Julianne Hough), finds an enemy in a troubled, jealous performer named Nikki (Kristen Bell), and garners the affection of a bartender and fellow musician, Jack (Cam Gigandet). With the help of a sharp-witted stage manager, Sean (Stanley Tucci), and gender-bending host, Alexis (Alan Cumming), Ali makes her way from the bar to the stage. Her spectacular voice restores The Burlesque Lounge to its former glory, though not before a charismatic entrepreneur Marcus Gerber (Eric Dane) arrives with an enticing proposal.

I am so delighted that Christina has finally decided to try her hand at film. I remember reading an old interview where she talked about the piles of scripts she had received but passed on each one. She was waiting for the perfect script, the perfect role, the perfect timing. She’s a perfectionist and has always put her heart and soul into every project she’s taken on, whether it was traveling back in time to the 30′s, 40′s and 50′s with her third album Back to Basics or jumping to the future with her latest body of work, Bionic. Burlesque contains the recipe for the perfect feel good flick just in time for the holidays. Get your ass up and show me how you Burlesque on November 24.

Oh, happy day! My Queen, Christina Aguilera, released her new music video for You Lost Me this morning. The power ballad is the second single off Bionic and is sure to pull millions of heart strings. In the video, directed by Anthony Mandler, Aguilera plays a scorned lover dealing with her partner’s cheating ways. She has traded in her platinum locks for a more subdued strawberry blonde and is covered up in a past the knee dress! I really loved the bold colours and subtle special effects used in the clip (especially the smoking gun and animated pastel tears). It’s clear that my girl hasn’t allowed the current over the top theatrics of the music video industry drown out the raw beauty of the song. I do, however, have a slight criticism. Instead of letting her newly acquired acting skills do the emotional talking, Christina took a more literal approach by using the colour black to convey pain (black dress) and white to represent peace (white dress). It seemed a tad “paint by numbers” to me. That being said, Christina Aguilera will always own the throne in my books and I cannot wait to see what else she has up her sleeve. She will never lose me, that’s for sure! Swoon! ★★★

Nate Knows … Where Bionic boys need to be this Saturday, July 17. Sony Music is finally throwing my Queen Christina Aguilera an official CD release party at BYZANTIUM (499 Church Street). I love that the party is happening now because it has given the hard core fans some time to memorize every lyric and performance choreography (not that I have) for the big night. Not a huge fan of her new material (GASP!)? That’s fine. DJ Cajjmere Wray will be spinning her classics as well. RSVP HERE and I’ll see you on the dance floor.