The Voice is back, and not just on the talent show. The talented Christina Aguilera is making a come back to the UK charts with brand new single Your Body. Along with it is the Xtina we remember from the stripped days but this time with the blonde hair we saw with her Back To Basics image. In the video she is being very sexy, cheeky and a little bit naughty....Welcome back Xtina!
Aguilera on The Voice US
In November her seventh album Lotus is being unleashed, and Total Biz World is very excited!! Are you? The last album Bionic was very under rated, it was a brilliant album! Although it was a little bit too electronic. Her voice is too good to hide behind computerized sounds, the producers should maybe save that for Cheryl albums.....!
Stripped is one of my favourite albums to this day, so I sincerely hope this album matches that era slightly. It was Xtina at her best! I loved Back To Basics as it was a refreshing new sound and image but lets have a bit of angst back please. Her gritty performance in the Burlesque movie showed glimmers of the dirty singer is still in there and was reflected throughout her performance in songs like Express and Tough Lover could have been written for Stripped!
The teasing and cheekyness of I Am A Good Girl would have suited Back To Basics as would the excellent ballad Bound To You. Glimmers of hope that Christina would be back in full force once again came from Burlesque. New album Lotus has a lot to live up to with her previous successes and slight flop with Bionic, but Ms Aguilera will without a shadow of a doubt leave us all wonder where the hell has she been hiding.
After waiting for the Katy Perry film Part of Me to be released on DVD oh so impatiently! It was worth the wait, it was not just a live concert it was the story of how a tour comes together and the dedication an artist needs to have to pull the show together.
I was lucky enough to see Katy live in Manchester Academy shortly after her debut album One For The Boys was released here in the UK. I was already a fan of the album, songs like Fingerprints, Lost and Mannequin had massive impact on me. These album tracks were brilliant and far from album fillers.
One For The Boys Tour 2009
She was a breath of fresh air, pure pop with a naughty twist! Of course it helped that I had not long passed my driving test, it was an amazing car playlist! So as soon as I saw tickets were available I jumped at the chance to see her live.
Her confidence and voice really shone through at the gig in Manchester, and to my surprise she only had one outfit for the entire show, very refreshing! She turned up to our show in kitten heels and a snow white image, black haired bob hair style and snow white figure hugging dress with yellow short sleeves with a smiley face on. Her words "Dont you guys think Im like Snow White....on acid?!"
This was the first time I had seen an american artist up close and personal, and she explained how she wrote the songs with the meaning behind them or in some cases just the story. With this touch she managed to win over the roaring crowd and truly gain fans for life.
Ticket for Manchester Academy 2009
I feel she has done this on a huge scale with release of her movie being released in cinemas. The film contains very personal moments and the demise of her relationship with Russell Brand.
But also it cleverly guides us through the hard work and dedication Katy puts into her tours and her music. The part where we awkwardly had to sit through an emotional break down then she put her brave face on to put the show on for her fans.
Manchester 2009
Her rise to chart domination was a massive struggle. This film shows the total dark side of the music industry through her knock backs in the early days, with record companies wanting her to be someone else to sell records and her determination to stick two fingers up and do it her way.
With every single released all being a huge success it is hard to believe Katy Perry has only released just two albums and succeeded in global pop domination!
There is nobody to compete with in her style and the film really shows how unique and versatile she is. Lets hope her star continues to rise and shine!
Liverpool Lass Melanie C has released a musical masterpiece in the shape of brand new album Stages. It is the sixth album from Sporty Spice and it is her most vocally sound record to date. The album is inspired by musical theatre and songs that have meant something to Melanie in her life.
This album features a fantastic duet with Emma Bunton on 'I Know Him So Well' from the musical Chess. Its brilliant to hear their voices together on a mid tempo ballad. It reminds me of the Spice Girls Forever album.
I remember Melanie appearing on backing vocals for the b-side track Merry-Go-Round on Emma's debut solo single What Took You So Long single. Also their voices suit really well as they dominated some of the amazing ballads on Forever.
Stand out tracks are Another Hundred People, its uptempo track and its the first time we have heard Melanie singing so fast. Her voice is very strong on this track and its great to hear. The song is about the excitement of city life and its fast pace as described on her website.
Aren't You Kinda Glad We Did is a sparkly ballad about forbidden love, Melanie really suits singing in jazz style. Hopefully a jazz album will be future project? I would love to see her in a smokey jazz club singing this album. Or just a theatre in Manchester would be good :)
Both Sides Now, Something Wonderful and Maybe This Time are all from musicals and they really showcase her range and strength that she has learnt from appearing in Blood Brothers doing 8 shows a week for six months and of course two extra weeks in Liverpool.
I really enjoy listening to this album especially the upbeat tracks like Aint Got No / I Got Life and I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself.
I was excited to hear Tell Me It's Not True from Blood Brother's recorded as I loved hearing this when I was lucky enough to see her in the show in London and Liverpool. It is a great song on the album, but it does not quite capture the raw emotion that she portrayed so brilliantly live on stage.
I personally love the itunes only version of Anything Goes. I just love her voice on this song, I have always been a fan of the song but Melanie takes it to a new level. It was originally written by Cole Porter for his musical Anything Goes in 1934. It has dated lyrics to the present day, but its cheeky story throughout really suits Melanie's playful personality.
Also look out for the single from the album 'I Don't Know How To Love Him' which she will singing live on stage for the arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar from next week.
'Stages' is out now!
Tickets for the JCS Tour are on sale with extra dates added
