Mar 2, 2007

Pop world chameleon changes form once more

Aguilera's 'Back to Basics' tour an intended misnomer

MediaNews

Christina Aguilera's latest road show is called the "Back to Basics" tour. That name, however, is anything but an accurate summation of what local fans will see when the pop diva performs next week at the Oracle Arena in Oakland or at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.

The tour is a gargantuan affair, which requires 24 buses and trucks to move between venues. It takes nearly 130 crew members some eight hours to set up the production in each city. And what a production it is, with 20 band members and dancers, 10 wardrobe changes for the star and more than 600 moving lights used onstage. When the tour finishes its 41-city North American run, crowds will have been showered with more than 820 pounds of confetti.

The singer is well-aware of the contradiction. She also knows that while her musical style has evolved from the kiddie-pop of early singles such as "Genie in a Bottle" to the vintage soul, blues and R&B sounds on last year's "Back to Basics," concertgoers' expectations are largely the same. And Aguilera is out to exceed those expectations with this tour.

"I don't think it would be fair to my audience to just kind of sit on the stage with a mic if I play an arena. ... I want my audience to be able to look around and enjoy a show from all aspects," the 26-year-old singer said during a recent teleconference to promote the tour. "You know, for me, whenever I go to see a concert, whenever I go to see a show, I really enjoy being taken out of my element for a moment and really being able to use my imagination and enter this whole different world. And, for me, we do bring sort of a larger-than-life feel to this, you know, old concept."

SEARCHING, FOR STARDOM
Flash back 15 years and you'd find a young singer with big dreams, who, at the time, seemed a very unlikely candidate to someday reinvent vintage jazz and soul for a new generation.

The Staten Island native, having competed (and lost) on "Star Search" at the age of 7, would get her first big break in 1992 when she signed on as part of the Disney Channel's "New Mickey Mouse Club." She was a member of an impressive cast that also included such future stars as JC Chavez, Justin Timberlake and, most famously, Britney Spears.

The Disney connection would later pay off when Aguilera was asked to record the song "Reflection" for the studio's "Mulan" soundtrack in 1998. That led directly to a record deal with RCA and the release of the singer's eponymous debut in 1999. That CD quickly hit No. 1 on the charts, thanks to the dance single "Genie in a Bottle," and Aguilera, just 18 at the time, became a full-fledged superstar.

It was a very good time to be a teen pop star. Many of the hottest acts in the industry, including Spears, the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, were catering to prepubescent pop fans. Aguilera quickly settled into the No. 2 position among young female pop stars, just a hair behind Spears, and her debut sold more than 8 million copies in the United States alone in less than two years. The album would help Aguilera nab a Grammy for best new artist in 2000.

There seemed to be every reason in the world for Aguilera to stay the course - which is exactly what she did not do.

In 2000, she released a Spanish-language version of her debut record, titled "Mi Reflejo," which again went to the top of the charts. Later that same year, she followed with the holiday-themed effort "My Kind of Christmas," which was another hit. In 2001, she completely abandoned the teen-pop-princess persona for a racy collaboration with Pink, Mya and Lil' Kim on "Lady Marmalade."

GETTIN' 'DIRTY'
That set the stage for 2002's "Stripped," a title that aptly summed up how Aguilera went about promoting the album. Underscoring the record's more mature sound, the singer appeared in a variety of sexy photo shoots for countless magazines, and released a sexed-up video for the song "Dirrty." It was at this point that people started referring to her as "Xtina." Despite the controversy surrounding her new image, "Stripped" was another multiplatinum smash.

The chameleonlike star then once again changed her colors. She collaborated with the great jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and started performing an Etta James tribute in her concerts. The new Christina, version '06-07, made her grand debut with "Back to Basics," a work that was partially inspired by such classic female vocalists as James, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday.

While some critics would argue that all the changes have been crafty marketing moves, Aguilera says that each phase of her career has been about being honest to her fans.

"It's if I didn't change, I would be lying to you. I would be lying about the real Christina," she says. "I'm really showing people, you know, I do get bored easily. And not only is it important for me to challenge myself and evolve as an artist, but it's important for me personally."

Where Aguilera goes from here is anybody's guess. She seems positioned to continue the move into classic R&B, soul and jazz styles. Her version of "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" at the Grammy Awards, delivered as a tribute to the late James Brown, wowed millions of viewers and left people clamoring for a full album of like-minded performances.

The music industry has also given its blessing to the singer's current path - her recent single, "Ain't No Other Man," won the Grammy for female pop vocal performance.
Plus, Aguilera has to like the fact that people are no longer comparing her to Spears. Instead, they are referencing her potential - that she has what it takes to possibly become one of the great singers of our time.

All of that means nothing when trying to gauge Aguilera's next career move.

She's a gambler, and she's okay with the uncertainty that comes with rolling the dice.

"For me, because I am the kind of artist that constantly likes to change and constantly likes to challenge myself and give my audience a new look and a new me, I'm constantly setting myself up for the possibility that people aren't going to like it," she says. "And, for me, I just have to live with that, because I'd rather come forth with something that's real and honest to me as an artist than try and second-guess myself and try to figure out what the public and the critics and everyone's going to like."