It's approaching Christmas which means record labels are bustling to shove out hits collections as a way of making an easy buck - but after just three studio records, Christina Aguilera might not seem like the most deserving candidate. Does the new compilation by the glamorous A-lister with earth-shattering pipes merit a purchase?
Christina Aguilera - Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits
Christina is the anti-Britney; the naughty to Britney's nice, the innovator who makes her rival look like a puppet - or so she'd like to think. Her presumptuously-titled Greatest Hits highlights Aguilera's laid-back work ethic; ten years in the industry has seen her release only three studio records, of which two were huge successes. 'Genie In A Bottle' kicks the chronological tour of C-Ag's career off, all sweetness with a hint of sexy. Follow-ups 'What A Girl Wants', 'I Turn To You' and 'Come On Over Baby' fail to make the best use of a vocal as tailored as any could be to power-pop, but Christina shines on 'Lady Marmalade', a P!nk-assisted cover of the disco classic injected with an extra dose of raunch.
'Dirrty', Aguilera's first comeback single and a surprise US flop, offers little in the way of the artistry she boasts of, instead ramming her leather-adorned crotch down our faces in a not-so-subtle attempt to prove that the starlet has become a woman. Much better is 'Fighter', the finest single of Christina's career and one of the most gloriously dramatic pop moments of the twenty-first century; operatic backing vocals combine with a rock soundtrack to make for the highlight of Scott Storch's production CV. It's back to the dreary with 'Beautiful' though, a song more sickening than the candyfloss her hair at the time resembled. C-Ag does ballads better when she's barely even trying, as shown on 'The Voice Within', a beautiful epic which makes more of a statement with it's own shyness than the faux-empowerment anthem which preceeds it.
Christina skips backwards a decade or five on 'Aint No Other Man', designed to highlight the apparent genius of our girl's love for retro. Here, though, it truly is brilliant - the song radiates a relentless, joyful energy whilst packing the biggest hook of its release year. 'Hurt' sees Aguilera embrace the drama again; a soulful ballad with the emphasis firmly on her emotive vocal, its sadness only adds to its appeal. On 'Candyman', the upbeat jazz makes a triumphant return under flirty lyrics - 'met him out for dinner on a Friday night / he really had me workin' up an appetite' - to make for the most youthfully appealing song of Aguilera's entire catalogue, and something of a modern-day classic (and a karaoke favourite).
The four new tracks added to the collection are something of a mixed bag. The title song packs a tight, Goldfrapp-inspired beat and an understated verse before erupting into a huge, anthemic chorus; 'I'm your supergirl / out to save the world / and it keeps gettin' better' she convincingly tells us. 'Dynamite' is a light electropop number with a throwaway chorus and vocals which seem out of time with it's furiously-paced backing track, whilst the re-worked 'Beautiful' is a lazy rehash with a re-recorded vocal which sounds as if it was uttered from Christina's sleep - and we can't blame the girl, the backing track is so hazily dull. The star turn here is 'Genie 2.0', which as the title suggests is an update of her best-loved single. A hard, pounding electro beat is employed under an effortlessly sultry vocal; 'come on, come on and let me out', C-Ag whispers, the result being something so sexy Janet or Madonna would probably sell a limb to get their lace gloved-hands on it.
Christina Aguilera isn't the perfect popstar; she can be too self-indulgent, too reliant on her past-it producer of choice Linda Perry, and too unwilling to admit she's made a shamelessly pure pop song. But this hits collection drives home the point that when she's on form, armed with an immense uptempo and a staggeringly huge vocal, she's a world-beater, and for the likes of 'Fighter', 'Candyman' and the new 'Genie' alone it's worth an hour of your time.
Oh, and most importantly... it's better than Britney's Greatest Hits.
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