Christina Aguilera
Back To Basics Tour
30th June 2007, 8 pm
Singapore Indoor Stadium
Written by Derrick Lim
Starting half an hour late, Christina Aguilera’s debut concert started early by Singaporean standards. And Aguilera seemed determined to make an impression from the moment the curtains went down, and impress she did. Belting out the first note from her opening number Ain’t No Other Man to the cheers of an 8000 strong crowd, Aguilera, amazingly enough, managed to sustain her voice throughout her entire set of 17 songs, mostly from her latest album Back To Basics, a concept album containing music which Aguilera claims is a throwback to 30s and 40s jazz, blues and soul music but with a modern twist.
Certainly, there was a lot to characterize Aguilera as a performer from that era, with the typical 4 piece horn section and the well-harmonized background vocalists. Ironically, the only thing that didn’t fit in with that image was the music itself. Aguilera’s so-called soulful licks on the majority of her performances seemed somewhat pretentious, as if she was a white girl trying to be black. Only a few songs Aguilera performed that evening seemed to fit right in with the 40s jazz club feel, with the soul influences of Understand and the big-band leanings of Candyman. Perhaps the inclusion of the song Nasty Naughty Boy, one of the songs on the album with a more nostalgic flavour, would have made the concert seem more complete. The song was removed from the Asian leg as it was deemed too sexual.
Speaking of sexuality, Aguilera put much of hers on display. The video montages on screen during her costume changes were lewd at least with her suggestive body language, rendering the exclusion of Nasty Naughty Boy from the set pointless. Aguilera’s dress sense was outrageous throughout her numerous costume changes, from her sailor-girl outfit to her fishnet stockings. To put it simply, the whole performance was pretty much Las Vegas showgirl meets Moulin Rouge, and Aguilera seemed to appeal strongly to the gay members of the audience with her over-the-top costumes, elaborate stage sets powerhouse belting.
And of course, there were the songs that stood out. The obvious crowd favourites included Lady Marmalade as well as Beautiful, two of her biggest worldwide hits. Even though her vocal prowess was undeniable, it wasn’t on these songs that Aguilera truly shined; it was when Aguilera showed some restraint (something she is not known for) and a higher degree of emotion in her vocals that she truly struck a chord with the audience. This quality came through on the songs Hurt, a song about the loss of a loved one and Oh Mother, where Aguilera dealt with her and her mother’s experiences with domestic violence. Aguilera brought up the awww factor when a picture of herself with her mum appeared on the screens and the words “I love you, Mum…” flashed across them.
Fans of Christina Aguilera’s teeny-bopper music might have been disappointed Even the two songs from her debut album were musically re-arranged. Come On Over (All I Want Is You) and What A Girl Wants, both #1 hits, were performed in bossa nova and reggae styles respectively. Aguilera has proved herself to be a re-inventor, consistently coming up with new images as well as a variation of influences in her music. She is probably what you would call the modern-day Madonna, albeit with a voice. Make no mistake about it, this girl knows what she wants and she is all grown up now.
-note by jing: feels great to be a publisher! =D great work, derrick!
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