Christina Aguilera is said to be on the cusp of a comeback.
As reported, a producer working with the vocal supernova revealed that her new album is due this year.
The as-yet-untitled set will serve as the follow-up to 2018’s critically acclaimed ‘Liberation’ and also will be her first body of work since signing on to Roc Nation management.
Recent times have seen Xtina tease both English and Latin albums, so it’s not immediately clear what format her return will take on.
However, what’s for sure is that we’re all sorts of excited.
So, with the countdown officially on, join us below as we unpack That Grape Juice Top 5: Things We Want From Christina Aguilera’s New Album Era…
More Uptempos
Xtina has proven herself one of modern music’s most versatile chanteuses – showing her capabilities across genres such as Pop, R&B, Jazz, and more.
And while she’s blessed us with a steady flow of uptempos in recent years (#JusticeForYOURBODY), those gratingly have been the tracks that have gone the most neglected when it comes to single choices and general push.
For a woman who has packed dancefloors with bodacious bops such as ‘Dirrty’ and garnered praise from the fiercest critics with hard-hitters such as ‘Fighter,’ it’d be great to see her pick up the BPM again.
Especially after the year the world has had.
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More Music Videos
Content flow is undeniably the way forward in today’s music industry.
Gratingly, Christina’s last few album cycles have suffered from the dreaded “two videos and move on” melee that seems rife for established acts that aren’t necessarily selling like yesteryear.
Yours truly will always point to indie workhorses like the Dawn Richard’s and Tinashe’s of the world who pour out constant visual content to feed their projects – budget or no budget.
As such, we want to see a two-tone approach. So big videos alongside simplistic online geared content, savvy lyric videos, and the like.
In recent times, gems such as ‘Unless It’s With You,’ ‘Twice,’ and ‘Just A Fool’ could have all benefited from this.
Just keep the visuals coming regardless of the charts.
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Vision
Often lists like the one you’re reading now can nitpick at all that’s gone awry in times of past.
Bucking that trend, we give props to Christina for more often than not having a vision when it comes to her album output.
We’d love to see this continue with the follow-up to the stellar ‘Liberation’ (which itself was a wise image and sonic pivot for her).
Over the years, we’ve seen Xtina serve up everything from the risqué to the throwback to the slick ‘n current. All in a cohesive and believable manner.
Rather than make the mistake of churning out a jukebox album of randomness (like so many others), we’re hopeful she follows her own lead and fleshes out another full-bodied project.
We’ll always anticipate her next musical metamorphosis.
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Collaborations
Xtina has always had a knack for smart creative pairings. Whether that be nabbing a Nicki Minaj verse on ‘WooHoo’ way before everyone else, seeing Sia‘s magic (again ahead of others), or assembling an eclectic list of collaborators on her last album outing (GoldLink, Shenseea, Lewis Hamilton).
While we’d like to see such practice continue, we’d also welcome her cashing-in on her “Christina Aguilera” status. By that we mean go BIG. Call up the Cardi B‘s, Megan Thee Stallion‘s, Ed Sheeran‘s, and co.
In today’s streaming climate, she’ll thank herself (and us) for doing so.
P.S Let’s not forget that elusive Pink collab too.
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Visibility
Maintaining omnipresence in the mediascape assists the optics of “success.” Especially in today’s age. Just ask the Dua Lipa’s of the world – who are just as perceivably successful for their chart placements as they are for churning out an endless stream of videos and booking any and every stage to sell their music.
Frustratingly, with veterans such as Xtina, there tends to be an aversion to pounding the promotional pavement in this way. Almost a “been there, done that” mindset, with the sole focus of entire music projects being to plug a residency or tour.
In many ways, we get it. That is where most established acts make their moolah. So, in the absence of scene-leading sales, they limit the “free” promo and adopt more of a “come see me on the road if you want to see me at all” approach.
Yet, we can’t help but think of acts such as Madonna who manage to do it all. Album campaigns like those mounted for latter-day offerings ‘Music,’ ‘Hard Candy,’ and ‘Rebel Heart’ all clearly understood the assignment and the end result. An aggressive push for one component directly benefited the other. A mindset and manner of movement that sees Madge remain one of the biggest touring acts into her 60s.
It’s a textbook template Xtina could benefit from adopting for her next musical adventure.
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Do you agree with our points? What are…