Sound CheckChristina Aguilera’s best and worst albums
On Nov. 9 "The Voice" judge Christina Aguilera dropped her newest album "Lotus" and so far, the reviews haven't been too kind to the 31-year-old singer.
The Canadian Press reports that even though Aguilera has "one of contemporary music's best voices" her new record "is somewhat disappointing — not because it isn't good, but because it isn't great."
See more: Aguilera's "Lotus" is overall average
Giving "Lotus" a 2.5/5 star rating, The New York Daily News' Jim Farber highlights a few songs packed with emotion, writing, "Only two of the disc's 11 tracks attempt a genuine expression of vulnerability. Just one, 'Blank Page,' finds her looking inside and taking some blame. It's a pretty song, if one that blatantly rides Adele's coattails."
He also wrote, "Not only does 'Page' employ the same piano/voice arrangement as that star's 'Someone Like You,' Aguilera apes the precise length of Adele's notes."
Receiving a C- grade from Entertainment Weekly, reviewer Melissa Maerz notes, "'Lotus' should have been Aguilera's mainstream pop comeback…Too bad most of these tracks digitally smother her voice, draining all the emotion until she just sounds bitter. It's unclear whom she's mad at here. But somehow 'Lotus' makes you want to root for the other guy."
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Since "Lotus" was supposed to be "Aguilera's mainstream pop comeback" let's take a look at how a few of her past albums have performed and where she lost her way.
1. BEST: "Christina Aguilera"
Released in 1999, Aguilera's self-titled debut album helped her beat out rival Britney Spears at the 42nd Grammy Awards for Best New Artist, spent 97 weeks on Billboard's 200-album chart and peaked at No.1. Also, let's not forget the awesome singles like "Genie in a Bottle," "What a Girl Wants" and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)," which all went to No. 1 on the Hot 100. The album has also gone on to sell over 17 million copies worldwide.
2. BEST: "Stripped"
Debuting at No.2 on the Billboard 200 album chart in 2002, "Stripped" featured some of Aguilera's most personal songs like "I'm OK" where she let fans into the world of her abusive childhood. It also housed singles like the Grammy Award-winning track "Beautiful."
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3. WORST: "Back To Basics"
Although "Back To Basics" went to No.1 on multiple charts including the Hot 100 and Canadian Albums chart in 2006, it only spent two weeks on the respective countdowns and earned reviews from Rolling Stone like:
"When it works, 'Back to Basics' raises the hope that Xtina fans everywhere might go digging through crates of vinyl LPs to track down the artists she references. When it fails — as on the incongruous schmaltzfest 'Hurt' and the done-me-wrong song 'F.U.S.S.,' the collection is overindulgent and self-important, proving that twenty-two songs is about ten too many for Aguilera."
4. WORST: "Bionic"
Probably her most disappointing album, Aguilera's "Bionic" has sold a mere 310,000 copies to date and was named on Entertainment Weekly's list of "Worst Albums of 2010" along with Bret Michaels' "Custom Built" and Lil Wayne's "Rebirth."
