Our Miss Aguilera has been pretty quiet musically over the past year or so and has probably received more press attention from her shocking outfits (let’s face it Christina love, the chaps and thong combination was never going to catch on, were they?) than for her music. However, everything is set to change with the release of her latest album, Stripped.

The fact that Christina is a better singer than Britney Spears has never been questioned, but until now, Christina has never achieved the same kind of success as her arch rival. As Britney’s popularity continues to plummet and she proves to the world that she is unable to function without a man in her life, Christina provides a much stronger role model- an independent woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind and stay true to her own beliefs (well, quite how genuine this really is remains to be seen, but for now, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt).

From the moment this album begins it becomes clear that this is a deeply personal and honest album. The opening track, Stripped Intro, works very well at introducing the feel of the album. It is a montage of quotes about Christina which merges into her singing “Sorry you can’t define me, sorry I break the mould, sorry that I speak my mind, sorry don’t do what I’m told, Sorry if I don’t fake it, sorry I come too real, I will never hide what I really feel” Which leads into…

***Can’t hold us down***

The first proper track on the album is a great RnB style song featuring Lil Kim about the double standards that we have about sex and gender. How if a man two-times a girl then he is regarded as a stud, but if a woman does the same then she’s labelled a whore. A very bold and powerful opening statement for the album, encouraging women to stand up for themselves and not allow themselves to be controlled by men.

***Walk Away***

A stunning Alicia Keys style ballad which Christina’s vocals sound amazing on. She has such a powerful voice which has just the right amount of seductiveness and vulnerability to make her captivating to listen to. This song tells us about a destructive relationship- knowing that something is bad for you and that you should find a way out, but knowing that that isn’t what you want. The simple piano introduction builds to an intense and powerful climax and Christina manages to convey the emotion of what she is singing passionately and effectively.

***Fighter***

Ah, the obligatory song about the ex boyfriend. Yes, our Chrissy’s been treated like dirt, and she’s not taking it lying down! Unlike Ms Spears, Christina ain’t gonna let a bloke make her give up (well, I can’t blame you that much Britney, Justin is gorgeous!)- in fact, she’s going to thank him for making her a stronger person. Personally, I think that this is such a great attitude to have- to be able to look at all the bad experiences in your life and see the good that’s come out of them- I really wish I could do that! A really upbeat song and you can’t help but wonder how much of it is directed at all those people who’ve slagged off her image in the past.

Primor Amor Interlude-
A nice lead in to the next track with sexy Spanish whispering from Christina.

***Infatuation***

This song has a real Spanish feel to it, with lots of sexy guitar melodies. It describes an infatuation with an exotic latin guy, and the conflict Christina feels between her mother’s warnings and her own feelings.

Love embrace Interlude

***Loving Me For Me***

A really relaxed, natural sounding song about being so comfortable with someone that you don’t need to put on any kind of act, you can really just be yourself. This song has such a laid back feel to it which really suits the lyrics well.

***Impossible***

This song was written for Christina by Alicia Keys, who also features in this song playing the piano and providing backing vocals. This is a soul-tinged ballad in which Christina sings about how she finds it difficult to love her boyfriend when he never tells her how he’s feeling. I’m sure a lot of women out there can relate to this one! This is a stunning song and the distinctive Alicia Keys style really allows Christina to really display her vocal talents and she actually sounds quite a lot like Alicia, which I would certainly regard as a good thing!

***Underappreciated***

This is one of my least favourite songs on the album. Basically, it’s about feeling undervalued in a relationship (ooh, bet you couldn’t have figured that one out) and it sounds like a Britney song to me. It lacks any kind of memorable tune and Christina has a tendency to shout in places which begins to irritate after a while.

***Beautiful***

The second single to be released from the album, and one which conveys a great message of inner beauty and self-belief. Christina has been criticised a lot for not providing a good role model for young girls, but in my opinion this song gives a much more positive message than most pop music in the charts at the moment. Her singing here is fantastic and the song itself is a gorgeous ballad with a great melody.
“You are beautiful, no matter what they say. Words can’t bring you down.”

***Make-Over***

This has to be the worst song on the album. She is running a severe risk of being sued for plagiarism because the verse sounds almost exactly like Overload by the Sugababes, but then the chorus descends into shouting and screaming. I’m not exactly sure what she was trying to accomplish here, but the background music is more rock style, so maybe she was trying to do some kind of metal style vocals? Whatever she was aiming for, she missed by miles.

***Cruz***

Yet another ballad, and it sounds almost as if it should be the soundtrack to a Disney film- it’s got that schmaltz factor in buckets.

***Soar***

Another Alicia Keys style song about loving yourself despite what everyone might say. This has a pretty funky piano accompaniment and gospel singers aplenty- two things which make a song in my humble opinion!

***Get Mine, Get Yours***

A song about casual sex. “I want your body, not your heart.” So there goes my ‘good role model’ argument. But come on, we’ve all felt like that at times so I’m sure most people can relate to this! Anyway, this is a funky track that begs you to get up and dance- just try and resist! If it didn’t encourage promiscuity I’m sure this would have been released as a single- it’s definitely one of my favourites on the album! (Though what that says about me I’m not too sure! Oh well…)

***Dirrty***

Another song that is guaranteed to fill the dancefloor- not quite as funky as the last one but still pretty good to grind to! A great hip-hop style song featuring Redman and even though Christina’s shouty vocals have returned, I still love this song!

Stripped Pt. 2

***The Voice Within***

This is my favourite song on the album- a gorgeous ballad which begins with Christina singing over a soft piano accompaniment and builds into a song of epic proportions. Yet again it’s a song about being true to yourself and is another one that wouldn’t sound out of place on that Disney soundtrack (cheesy key changes aplenty) but I love it so much I can’t really hold that against it! And those gospel singers have certainly earnt their money’s worth- they’re back on this song too!

***I’m OK***

A song about how domestic violence has impacted on Christina’s life. She reminisces about her violent father “Bruises fade Father, but the pain remains the same.” This isn’t the kind of feel-good, sing-a-long song that fills the rest of the album and, to be honest, I normally skip it. It’s the kind of thing you listen to once, it has it’s impact, and then you don’t really have much desire to hear it again. Christina adopts a far more vulnerable, little girl voice here, sounding as if she’s about to cry (think Madonna and Oh Father) and the soft guitar and violin accompaniment suits it perfectly.

***Keep Singing My Song***

Not the most memorable song but it works well as a good album closer, summing up the feel of the album.

"I woke up this morning with a smile on my face
Nobody's gonna bring me down today
Been feeling like nothings been going my way lately
So I decided right here and now that my outlooks gotta change"

I should probably make it clear that I have never been a Christina Aguilera fan- in fact, I have done more than my fair share of bitching about her- but I love this album. It was given to me as a Christmas present by a relative that I don’t know very well (hence them having no idea that what I actually wanted was a Tori Amos album) and when I actually bothered to listen to it, it was so completely different to what I expected and it’s hardly budged from my CD player since! Christina really is a great vocalist, managing to leap between different styles of singing and convey very different emotions. Despite one or two duff tracks, the album works really well as a whole, with the interludes ensuring that each track flows seamlessly into the next and, with 16 songs, you can’t complain that you’re not getting value for money! Whatever your opinion is of Christina, give this album a go and drop all your previous ideas about her- you’ll be pleasantly surprised.