CHRISTINA AGUILERA - Stripped Review

For the last year, people have been wondering if Christina Aguilera has gone crazy. It all started around the time she participated in the remake of Patti LaBelle’s "Lady Marmalade" for the Moulin Rouge soundtrack with Pink, Mya, and Lil’ Kim. She sported a bozo wig, tons of clown makeup, and dressed scantily-clad (granted, it was kind of the theme of the movie.) Since the hype of the movie has gone down, she has gotten rid of the clown look, but kept the bad girl look. It’s almost as if she has decided to be the complete opposite of the image Britney Spears has tried to give to the public. On her latest album, Stripped, she makes that point clear, but sometimes overdoes it....full text It was noticed by many, and overlooked by few. When Christina Aguilera released Stripped in October 2002, she made an enormous statement. Not only did this album show that there's much more to Christina than revealing clothes and genies in bottles, it's such a strikingly honest album. Nothing is held back lyrically. Nothing is held back vocally. The words spoken in the introduction track ring true: "No hype. No pretense." Anyone who stereotypes this is a typical late '90s bubblegum pop record is unbelievably wrong....full text According to Christina Aguilera, the title of her second album, Stripped, refers to her emotions and not her body, but the topless photograph of her on the cover suggests otherwise. Most things about Stripped suggest sex, actually, since Xtina — as she calls herself in a handful of interviews accompanying the release of the album — never hesitates to put her body, her piercings, and recently liberated sexual beliefs on display throughout her hyper-sexual, convoluted sophomore effort....full text