I love how the judges on The Voice get up on that same stage as the contestants and show- via 100% live vocals- why they have the right to be judging other people's talent. With new album Lotus to promote, Christina Aguilera was the latest of the line-up to put her money where her mouth is and perform on the main stage.
With Lotus containing duets with fellow judges Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton it was no surprise one of these songs was chosen to showcase the album to The Voice audience. So despite Lotus' first single Your Body desperately needing the publicity, Chrissy went for the Cee Lo Green featuring, party track Make The World Move to give the live treatment.
Check out their performance below:
So let's start with what was good about the performance. First of all, I was loving Christina's energy, attitude and general Divaness. It's great to see her back on stage with a big production, and what with The Voice being her domain, its no surprise she looked so at ease while performing. Also the crown hidden in that nest of a wig was EVERYTHING....lol
Vocally, her midrange was solid, as it usually is, and for once I didn't even mind the throaty belts that peppered the performance as they fitted the energy and jovial nature of Make The World Move.
However anyone who watches this performance can't fail to notice her voice giving out when she needed it most. At 2.28 Christina goes for the crescendo of the song and attempts a vocal slide that unfortunately culminates in a bum, broken note that no one can deny was all kinds of wrong.
It seems that despite her vocal lessons with renowned teacher Seth Riggs, Christina Aguilera can't shake off old (bad) vocal habits and is still singing how she did pre-lessons. Perhaps proceeding performances this era will demonstrate further technical developments. But I won't hold my breath.
But what did you guys think?
The issue seems to be the passaggio between the upper chest and the head voice (above a D5 through the F5). I wonder if her vocal cords are in decent shape at that area or if there is something amiss. I attempted the same chest ascension to see where the issue is and I felt if I took too much weight up the scale without mixing with the head voice, the note was much harder to nail so it is a tricky spot anyway in addition to the shaky technique that Christina has used in the past.
ReplyDeleteNo Lotus album review? ><
ReplyDeleteJust a week before that she hit the same note on The Voice though.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbkpcRvLOVM
She kind of lost it this time with the approach.She is usually so harsh on herself - she wasn't in the mood the whole night after that.
Its coming up soon! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm very much worried about her voice at this point. There have been times where she shows much improvement and others where you just wonder...As for the performance WHAT IS SHE WEARING. Second Her vocals seemed...great for recent Xtina standards until she tried to maintain control of that scream...You can't hold back a scream without breaking it guys. At least you can tell she's trying to maintain control now instead of just letting her voice run wild. Another thing...was Ceelo wielding a staff? Im confused as to what the theme of the performance was. But if Christina ever plans on truly rehabilitating her voice I say she'd have to take another one of her famous four year breaks and focus on her sessions...but with her current reputation and success rate...that would probably hurt her more than save her since her fanbase is mostly younger and a few loyal fans from the 90's.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agreed with the comments on the voice. I worry about damage is she doesn't rehab that stat. As for the outfits...it's almost neo-Burlesque I'd guess. It reminds me a bit of "Lady Marmalade."
ReplyDeleteI'm rather more disappointed with the vocals of Cee-Lo
ReplyDelete" show- via 100% live vocals-why they have the right to be judging other peoples talent"
ReplyDelete???
Jesus, I feel those lessons make no change. And I feel she trusts her old technique too much. Sure, she was able to maintain such notes in the past when her voice was more agile, had more stamina and recovered faster, but now, wow, this is just plain bad. I was always a Christina fan, enjoying most of her songs and loving her tone to death, but this... It is just unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteShe cracked so hard on that note that I wondered if she was able to even talk after the performance. This makes me sooo sad, and I'd rather listen to her lip syncing for a whole era than to never be able to hear that beauty in her voice again.
I just hope she gets her mind right and starts listening to the damn Riggs.
:/ Maybe this will encourage her to tone it down a bit. I honestly see little to no improvement with her vocals. I was listening to Lotus the other day, and I couldn't deal with how coarse her belts sounded. I still think she's reaching those higher belted notes through poor technique. Old habits die hard.
ReplyDeleteThat was a little dig at the those who are judging (and have judged) other famous talent contests.
ReplyDeleteI had a little bit on the need for mixing in a previous write up, which i took out in the final edit. I think that edge is something she wants, but unfortunately its a risky move when you try to get it with the higher belts- especially live.
ReplyDeleteso you must have heard "sing for me" from Lotus? That song makes me think shes never going to change the way she sings.
ReplyDeleteOh my god.
ReplyDeleteAt 2:30, what was that???
It isn't like people who lip don't have the right to judge. *Coughcough*Mariah*coughcough*
ReplyDeletelol! That wasn't who I was aiming at!
ReplyDeleteI didn't even take much notice of him. He's practically a backing singing here.
ReplyDeleteLOL Well I don't care how poor a singer, everybody has the right to judge at one of those shows.
ReplyDeleteThough personally, I want to know who you like before I judge your judgment worth my serious consideration. 8|
She sounds good to me! The costume here is the problem.
ReplyDeleteDon't come for that crown Henrique! I will cut you!
ReplyDeleteYou. I like you!
ReplyDeleteWhich is obviously why your judgments are getting my full consideration DD.
ReplyDeletehttp://i352.photobucket.com/albums/r349/reddragon2_photos/thatssotrue_3342_1330867053.gif
Yup, she did "hit" it and sustained a bit, but still, she strains too much, and her timbre is getting darker, losing it's beauty and is becoming coarse... So sad
ReplyDeleteOH! Its like I'm back in the 90's! Only because I'm listening to Xtina's music and it doesn't suck.
ReplyDeleteHonestly
though I liked this (aside from the obvious mistakes) I'll take an
artist who over does it as opposed to one that lip syncs. I may not stan
for Xtina but she has one of the best live voices
LOL
ReplyDeleteYou've nailed it. You can chest your way up for great power and effect, but you risk stability and resonance when doing so. The variables have to line up just right to pull it off decently.
ReplyDeleteugh i wanted to get a sponge and scrub all that caked in make-up off her face....she always goes through this oompa loompa stage with her albums at the start of promotion http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/prom-night-gifs
ReplyDeleteThat E5 sounds much cleaner and a little more elastic than the one she tried to nail in "Make the World Move." It sounded slightly mixed but still chest-dominant.
ReplyDeleteKind of a disappointment, really.
ReplyDeleteYes, that part around 2:28, was a big big BIG disappointment.
It was like you watched it happily and you expected something big and she just goes all ze way down. Still kind-of great, though.
i already stop from listening to xtina cause im really disappointed at her.
ReplyDeleteShe hit it and it sounded cleaner but it was still heavily strained.
ReplyDeleteWhat????? I didn't get it!
ReplyDeleteThat straining is unbearable to listen to
ReplyDeleteOkay for those who don't understand her costume. She was going for Marie Antoinette/Queen Elizabeth. I don't think it was that hard to follow her performance. She was the Queen. Ceelo was the King while the dancers where dressed in Elizabethan fashion. Her vocals on her worst day are still far better than what these artists the major labels are force feeding us...
ReplyDeleteI will say, her head voice/falsetto is still very much intact (the slide up to the C6 @ 1:01). She doesn't use it as much as mid-career, but it still sounds decent.
ReplyDeleteAs in the one that is on her head, and thus part of the outfit?
ReplyDeletethat belt @ 2:29 was terrible. Its clear what she was attempting to go for, but its something here voice is not capable of doing at least naturally. I do like the feel of the song and performance for her and Ceelo though.
ReplyDeleteThe style was a like whimsical lady marmalade. Christina always wants to do things that are out her range and comfort with the belting. Amanda Brown has the naturally abillity to go for belts that Christina attempted to do as her voice is more Dynamic in the belting power range.
ReplyDeleteThing is Christina has the capacity to belt these notes properly or healthfully in some form. She has before. There's footage of it. Even some footage right below. But it's inconsistent because of what I suspect is some ongoing issues with support and placement. God knows that shape her cords are in for that matter. She's belted higher that E5 before. In "I Turn to You", there was an F5 belt and melisma. But she started cutting that from her shows as her voice darkened and coarsened -- it would often break.
ReplyDeleteExcept for that section, she was fine. She need to work on stabilizing her upper chest voice because it's clearly a danger spot for her.
ReplyDeleteYour right, stabilizing her chest voice is an area that she needs to work on. When attempting belts like the one at 2:29 stabilization is crucial for it turnover correctly. Stabilization her upper chest voice can require a lot of training to get to the point where you can hit notes like that without having to be so calculative for proper execution. Stabilizing would probably improve the consistency of her timbre as she she climbs.
ReplyDeleteAgreed
ReplyDeleteChristina sings like a crocodile....I really don't like her voice...all that gutteral hissing and growling ain't called for... That ain't soul...that's raw animal instinct...
ReplyDeleteSorry it took so long for me to respond but yes, I did hear it; however, that's not the only song I'm referring to. I couldn't even take her voice on Just a Fool. I find the harshness to her belts to be just too much. That aspect of her voice is really what turns me off about her. Also, it ruins what could have been a good song imo. A more subdued vocal performance would have better demonstrated the fragility the song was trying to showcase.
ReplyDelete^Btw I was referring to Song for Me. It's honestly headache inducing. I do not feel the emotion that she is trying to display. Belting/ shouting does not equal emotion, a lesson that some other divas need to learn as well. (Beyonce especially)
ReplyDeleteShe maybe put pieces of glass in her milk instead of cereals :-D
ReplyDeleteLOL... is that news? her timbre has been changing and her voice has been course since... Back2Basics?
ReplyDeleteI think she's going for "gaga-minaj lovechild".
ReplyDeleteXtina? Toning down? ROFL
ReplyDeleteshe shouts too much...
ReplyDeleteOkay song, I though I think Cee Lo adds to it more than Aguilera does. But that note man...that fucking note....
ReplyDeleteShe has destoryed her voice she can no longer sing her great range anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe glissando wouldn't have been that bad, but her placement at the first note was wrong, therefore the top note suffered. the same happened at the VMAs. You should never start a glissando with a growl/screamed attack.
ReplyDeleteanother problem could have been that she couldn't hear herself, as soon as she pushed her in-ear further into her ear, she fixed the failed note
ReplyDelete