Re: Aguilera: Bionic [Spring 2010]
Again, I have already acknowledged her amazing voice and am not trying to deny it. Like most of her fans, you need to stop clinging to it. There are plenty of singers out there with amazing vocal abilities.
I'm not
clinging to her voice alone. You're clinging to that argument. With that being said, there are not that many other singers who have amazing vocal abilities in the entertainment business at this time.
First off, the Rock and R&B. She delved into Rock when the scene was littered with the rocker anti-pop princesses like Avril Lavigne, P!nk, etc. She did nothing special there. And guess what? Everyone from Madonna to Britney, Gaga to Beyonce have worked with R&B/Hip-Hop styled music. Again she has proven nothing. Second, the jazz and throw back days. She had one hit song, Aint No Other Man, that could fall in the category. And guess what? That song was about as Pop as you can get with only slight Jazz influences. Beyonce, Gaga, any of them could easily put an album out with Jazz influences but if you can't sell it then it doesn't mean anything.
So, you name two other artists, Avril Lavigne and Pink, who performed similar styles of pop music and the music industry is
littered with "anti-pop" princesses? Second, P!nk's second album would not have been classified as Rock, anyway. P!nk changed her image, but her album was not a Rock album, even if she was trying to separate herself from the R&B image she was initially given.
Avril Lavigne was a corporate puppet, so that point is useless. She marketed with a punk/emo style which is different from what Christina did. Christina took control of her second album, musically and artistically. By the way, did you see Christina's tribute to James Brown? Probably not. Once again, another example of her versatility as an artist. Somehow, I get the feeling that you really did not listen to B2B as well. She also had other tracks such as
Candyman and
I Got Trouble, which show her versatility as well.
Finally, being able to sell has nothing to do with the level of someone's talent/artistry. Another point which is irrelevant. Anyway, the more talented/artistic a person is, the less he or she sells because the person's not relatable. However, if your point mattered, she still reached number one with B2B.
Again, when she did that little "XTINA" era where she so desperately tried to rebel against the pop princess image and went rocker/dirrty, guess what was popular? Oh yeah, the punk rocker anti-pop princess singers like Avril and P!nk.
Yet again, she did nothing special there.
See my paragraph above.
This is exactly what I am talking about! She sings one song about inner beauty and it makes her some pop messiah! No! She was lucky she even got to sing that song since she had nothing to do with it. Stop hiding behind her voice and "Beautiful"! That is the point I am trying to make! Don't try to elevate her to something she is not. She is a generic pop singer with a great voice but guess what? So is Beyonce. And if we really want to jump on this wagon of Grammy awards, meaningful songs, and being able to sing. Guess what? BEYONCE kick her ass! I understand that you are her fan and you enjoy her music but really I am just sick of her talent being inflated. You all seem like you are constantly making excuses for her and holding on to moments of greatness that happened years ago (just like Britney fans). And honestly, it is annoying.
Once again, you have not listened to enough material to justify this claim. As I said earlier, she has multiple songs where she has sung about something atypical pop subjects. Songs is the plural formation of song, which is singular. Songs such as
Mercy on Me,
Hurt,
Hold Us Down, and
Fighter are other songs, which show that she can delve beyond standard pop drivel, if that's your argument. These are the facts.
Beyonce is a generic pop singer, but her songs do not possess the same level of difficulty as Christina. The reason for that is she does not have the same level of abilities as Christina. I like B as a performer, but I'll be the first to admit that she cannot touch Christina vocally.
Also, Beyonce really has not tackled any profound issues on any of her albums. Yes, I've heard every album and all of them discuss:
1) Loving a man.
2) Wanting to love a man.
3) Hating a man.
4) How a man needs to step to her correctly.
5) How she's the queen.
6) Dreaming about a man.
7) Missing a man.
8 ) Replacing a man.
9) Going insane because of a man.
10) How a man is checking for her.
11) What she can offer a man.
12) Accepting a man.
13) A man accepting her.
Why is Beyonce, of all singers, being brought into this discussion anyway?