xtinafighter48 wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 8:35 am
https://jenesaispop.com/2022/06/26/4365 ... -desunido/
Bionic? Rather chaotic: Christina Aguilera gives a fun but disunited show in Mallorca
Mallorca Live has scored one of the festival hits of the summer by confirming Christina Aguilera on its lineup this year. It had been almost 2 decades since the interpreter of 'Beautiful' had not landed in Spain to act, and the feeling of being in a privileged situation for seeing her practically before anyone else was palpable in the air. Since Thursday, fans of Christina who were wearing the 'Stripped' shirt swarmed through the venue. Others opted for 'The X Tour'. From the first hour of Friday, Christina's most faithful followers awaited her arrival in the front rows of the stage. It was necessary to make sure to see it in conditions in case it took another 20 years to return (although in Spain there are still two opportunities).
There was also some unease in the air for the first 15 minutes…or 20 or 30 that Aguilera didn't come onstage. The singer had time to earn both the cheers and the boos from the public. Finally, the show began with visuals that warned of Christina's arrival and her sluttiest song: "Are you ready to get dirty?" Christina emerged on stage in a see-through red bodysuit, coat, and sunglasses. 'Can't Hold Us Down' came next, and nothing prepared the audience for the strange concert to come. Funny, yes, but strange.
Christina's show was several in one. At no time did it seem like a concert dedicated to his EPs in Spanish, which, perhaps, no one expected either; but the singer chose to make an exhaustive and rushed review of her entire career without worrying about to give some kind of unity to the songs. In some cases he was not even on stage to interpret them, and in others he shortened them without rhyme or reason.
After the first two singles from 'Stripped' came 'Bionic' and 'Vanity', suddenly taking us back to 2010... or to the Pride parties. The show then seemed to start all over again with a reggaeton version of 'Genie in a Bottle' that did lead to the brief Latin act... only to give way to more erratic decisions that generated bewilderment.
One of them was the introduction of Christina from 'Pa Mis Muchachas'. It seemed that she was going to sing a ballad when, accompanied by some guitar chords, she began to talk about how excited she was to receive the public's love at a time when especially negative things are happening in the world (she indirectly alluded to the repeal of abortion law). But not. It was the turn of the main single from 'La Fuerza', which Aguilera liked to record because she did it with Nathy Peluso, Nicki Nicole and Becky G and she "had always wanted to feel part of a group". Ironically, Christina only remembered to name Nathy, and besides, the part about them didn't even sound. The song was shortened badly, robbing it of its climax.
In a show where you didn't know where the different acts began or ended, if any, and where the cultivation of an atmosphere, a cohesive environment, was non-existent, Christina took us back to Pride with 'Feel this Moment' and the first tsunami of confetti shot out from the stage, threatening to engulf all of Mallorca. It seemed like the end of the show, which gave way to an interlude in which Bad Bunny's 'Titi asked me' and Farruko's 'Pepas' were played. If nothing seemed to make sense anymore, Aguilera returned to the stage to sing "Ain't No Other Man" ... and left it again while the dancers danced to the rhythm of the songs of "Burlesque". Bionic? Rather chaotic.
Within this chaos, it must be said that there was a lot of hits, so anyone who was familiar with Christina's repertoire was going to have a good time. 'Lady Marmalade' blew the crowd away with tons more confetti shooting out of nowhere, and Christina's rendition of 'Beautiful', with rhythm variations on the melody, was gorgeous. 'Fighter' starred in the moment of euphoria of the night, and 'Let There Be Love' concluded the show with a message dedicated to love and union, in which Christina did make explicit reference to the "freedom to decide".
I'm not the least bit interested in the debate about playback at pop concerts. Yes, Christina did call on him at various points in the show, to the point where she didn't even care if it was obvious, like when on 'Santo' he would adlib on top of his own pre-recorded lead vocal. Probably lip-syncing allows you to preserve your voice so you can continue to tour. Especially on 'Beautiful' it became clear that Christina is still an impressive vocalist. Unfortunately, she didn't seem too interested in putting on a show that made sense, told a story, or just had a modicum of unity.
