It's just "what a girl wants" for Christmas - or perhaps it's the guys who have visions of Christina, not sugar plums, dancing in their heads.
In either case, Christina Aguilera's new album, My Kind of Christmas, will undoubtedly end up in a lot of stockings this season. The album lends the pop-princess touch to some holiday standards, turning out a few snazzy new tunes for listening to around an open fire as well.
Christmas and Christina seem kind of incongruous with each other. Does she wear a midriff-exposing top to Christmas Eve church services? Anyway, a Christmas album is a good way to showcase Aguilera's vocal talent on songs that everyone knows.
And there's no denying that Aguilera's voice is a lot bigger than her tiny frame seems big enough to hold. Suited to more than just pop fluff, she can sound like a '50s torch singer in a smoky lounge or like she's channeling blues goddess Bessie Smith.
But she can also use her powerful vocal abilities to ill effect, as when she inserts bluesy growls and unnecessary warbling into classics like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" that were just fine the way they were, thanks.
That said, Aguilera does justice to some of the standard holiday fare, adding a funky upbeat to "Angels We Have Heard on High" and creating a powerful rendition of "O Holy Night" (unfortunately interrupted by a whispered, cheesy rendition of the Lord's Prayer).
She also adds her own flair - and a synthy backbeat - to the holiday remix of Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song."
The five new songs written just for this occasion are Aguilera's usual stuff, ballads and dance tracks with themes of peace and goodwill toward all men replacing the usual lyrics about rubbing the right way. It's not noteworthy material, and it's doubtful that any of these tracks will become "new classics," as the press release proclaims.
The best new tracks are the questionably named "Xtina's Xmas," the closest to dance-club DJ playlists that Christmas will probably ever get, and the bluesy "Merry Christmas, Baby."
