Review: Christina Aguilera “Your Body” Tough, No-nonsense

Christina Aguilera released her new single “Your Body” early Friday Morning. If you were afraid Xtina had lost her that it factor that made her the powerhouse star she is you’re sadly mistaken. The demo version of the song leaked 2 weeks ago and it can only be described as containing classic Xtina-head-bopping-attention-grabbing-lyrics with a powerhouse voice behind them to boot.

In collaboration with Max Martin, Shellback and Savan Kotecha this is sure to be a popular dance track if remixed correctly. The demo version is a bit slow on the tempo but nothing you can’t bop your head to. Not to mention the lyrics are easy to learn and the hook is catchy as hell.

It wouldn’t be a Christina leadoff single without her patented shock-you lyrics and double entendre. You always want the first single from your newest album to capture people’s attentions whether it be by the vocals, the melody or the lyrics. She did it with “Dirrty” for Stripped, “Ain’t No Other Man” for Back to Basics and “Not Myself” forBionic. Now, for her upcoming album, Lotus, she’s bringing us “Your Body.”

The lyrics are pretty basic: girl goes to bar/club to get over old flame. Wants a one night stand with a random hot guy (“So don’t even tell me your name. All I need to know is whose place and let’s get walkin’.”) Not to mention it’s okay if the guy doesn’t know what he’s doing, she can finish up on her own (“We’re moving faster than slow, if you don’t know where to go I’ll finish off on my own.”).

Tie this in with a catchy techno beat and you have a pretty good song (similar toBionic’s “Monday Morning”, which unfortunately was only heard on the Deluxe version and completely overlooked). My only point of contention comes with the one curse word used in the lyrics, which, in my opinion, was completely unnecessary.

It’s bad enough the guy is a one night stand but she goes on to holler “all I wanna do is f*** you body. Tonight’s your lucky night, I know you want it.”

I have an issue with the pointless use of profanity in songs. It’s not like the point can’t be driven across without it. Clearly the point here is to show Christina (excuse me, Xtina), is a bad-ass, tough, no-nonsense woman who can get what she wants when she wants it. I get it Chrsitina, you’re all pro female empowerment but in my opinion the use of ‘f***’ just cheapens it.

The same message can be sent across by replacing the word with “touch” or “love” (not ‘rock” because then I’ll be thinking of Justin Timerlake’s “Rock Your Body”). Which, by the way, is probably what will happen for the radio edit, so once again, completely pointless.

All in all, the track achieves what it’s set to do: show off Christina’s vocal talent pairing it with Martin’s catchy beats ensuring that it will be a club anthem for a few months. Christina cut back on the unnecessary vocal rifts and concentrated on the (simple) yet catchy lyrics showing off her vocal range from highs to lows without asking you to lower the volume.

If Lotus is composed of similarly constructed songs as well as powerful/soulful ballads, it should do well on the charts. She needs to stick to what works for her. Because as she aptly puts it ..”I think you already know my name”… we just need to be reminded of her talent.

The singer says the album is about “personal freedom” and that she went into it finding her own individuality again. “It’s almost like a “Stripped 2.0” if you will,” the pop icon says.

The album boasts production from hit-makers like Max Martin, Alex Da Kid, Shellback, her The Voice co-star Cee-Lo Green and sees her re-teaming with Sia on a song called “Blank Page.” Aguilera also says she has a song dedicated to her fans titled “Sing For Me.”