TOAST 2 THAT / ALL THE BUZZ ON THE HOUSE

The late '90s brought an influx of new and talented young faces—Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore and Christina Aguilera. Of all the acts to come out of the teen pop explosion, Aguilera was the best. Though she was never as popular as Spears (she always trailed Spears in the popularity race), she reigned supreme in the class of ’99, so says the Grammy’s (the singer won Best New Artist over Britney Spears at the 2000 Grammy’s). She was young and gorgeous with a range that rivaled the late-great Whitney Houston. She was in a league of her own and everyone knew it.

Despite the massive criticism, Stripped managed to debut at No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 200. Shortly after the album’s release RCA records released ‘Beautiful,’ a soulful ballad, pinned by former 4 Non Blondes front woman Linda Perry. The song resonated across the globe and became a world-wide anthem for the bullied, ridiculed and unwanted. As time progressed people discovered that despite Aguilera’s image, she was nevertheless a musical force to be reckoned with. Despite its lead single, Stripped was filled with big ballads, gospel choirs, bluesy tracks and sexy baselines. Critics said that the record was musically scattered—lacking focus, but fans loved it. It was during this era that X-tina was born—the antithesis of Britney Spears and everything bubble gum pop. It was clear that this was Aguilera’s musical direction—and she owned it!

Aguilera waited four years before she released her next album, Bionic. The singer described the album as a glimpse into the future—citing the birth of her son and a rejuvenation of her playful side. In May 2010 the singer released the lead single from the album, “Not Myself Tonight” and radio welcomed it with open arms. But there was another blonde bombshell on the scene. Her name? Lady Gaga. She was fresh and new and pop fans gravitated to her like white gravitates to rice. To the dismay of many fans, radio ditched Aguilera’s single—a single that they had embraced just months before. The album suffered and though it hit No.2 on Billboard’s Top 40 chart, it dropped from the charts just weeks later.

What was interesting about Aguilera’s now infamous Bionic era was the lack of urgency shown by Aguilera and her camp when Bionic was being defeated. Pictures began to surface of Aguilera noticeably larger and seemingly unfocused. The media and the blogesphere pounced. Bionic was laid to rest just five months after its release date. In the early months of 2011, Christina Aguilera announced that she and her husband of five years were filing for divorce. Again the media pounced, but fans knew that something was drastically wrong. During that year Aguilera experienced a series of setbacks, she fumbled (no pun intended) the words to the National Anthem at the biggest sporting event ever—the Super Bowl, and after a rousing tribute to Aretha Franklin during the 2011 Grammy ceremony the singer nearly tumbled off stage (she later claimed that the train of her dress was caught in the heel of her stiletto). Though Aguilera’s mishaps became the laughing stalk of the music industry, fans across the world were in near-mourning status. Following the Grammys, there would be a new dawn for Aguilera and her army of “fighters” and it would come in the form of a new and fresh reality singing competition—The Voice. Aguilera served as the only female judge on a panel that included R&B/hip hop sensation Cee-Lo Green, rock/pop bad boy Adam Levine and country crooner Blake Shelton. It was this show that saw the return of X-tina. On the show, Aguilera did was she does best—she polarized primetime viewers. For some, she was what talent competitions were lacking—a diva with unparalleled range who loved hard and coached even harder. But for others, Aguilera came across as a know-it-all privileged pop star—on Twitter, “bitch” became synonymous with Christina Aguilera. Though The Voice did little to repair the singer’s tarnished image, it did galvanize her fanbase. She reminded the folks that may have jumped ship to cruise with Gaga and Katy Perry that she was still pop’s HBIC and a flop album was not going to stop her reign. It was entertaining to say the least—watching fans and foes debate Aguilera’s outfits and choice of words every Monday and Tuesday night. As a critic of the show, I saw the world talking about Christina Aguilera again. Whether they loved or hated her, Aguilera was on the forefront of everyone’s brain and plastered on the cover of every tabloid in America. And in true pop diva form—Aguilera rose to the occasion. The spark that fans thought was gone forever had reemerged—X-tina was back! By the time the live shows began for The Voice season two, Aguilera had a new body and a new attitude.

We are now on the eve of Aguilera’s fifth studio installment and her fans are on pins and needles because out of everyone, they know this next Christina Aguilera era is her make or break moment. She is in the middle of two extremes—if Aguilera manages to come roaring back, she has solidified herself as a music legend. If she doesn’t, I’m afraid it may be over for the little diva with the big voice—her accomplishments will fall by the waste side and like Lauryn Hill, she will be forced to feed off of her previous success for the duration of her career. Sure Aguilera has a wider fanbase than most, but it isn’t enough to sustain her—she needs casual listeners to hear her music and connect to it. The truth is, Aguilera has never been America’s sweetheart—she’s no Beyonce (but it’s ok). The masses will never purchase her music just because they like her. They’ve always purchased her music because they connected to her voice and because she’s damn good at what she does. But in order for Aguilera to make the comeback that everyone’s expecting she must be ferocious, she must not hold back because if there is anything we have learned about Aguilera over her illustrious 15-year career is that she is at her best when she’s fighting.