Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green team up again, but this time it's for his Christmas album, Cee Lo's Magic Moment! Having already recorded an original cut, in the form of Lotus' Make The World Move, the pair opt to tackle the pop standard Baby, It's Cold Outside this time round.
Despite Christina Aguilera only "featuring" on the song, it's perhaps unsurprising she remains the more striking voice on the classic: dancing all over CeeLo Green's grounding bass like a butterfly fluttering spasmodically around a slug.
The overall quality of her voice- tone/ timbre/ belts- is definitely much improved on the majority of tracks on her own album Lotus; an odd fact considering it was released after Cee Lo's album. Also, the balanced out dynamics on the top belt make her voice much more palatable. I just wish she'd chosen to attack the notes like this on Lotus: it would have made it a much more enjoyable affair.
However, having fallen in love with the Ray Charles and Betty Carter version many moons ago, Christina's delivery sounds way too fussy/showy for me to truly get into. This is supposed to be a song that tells a story, but when the melody is made so complex it makes it hard for it to be heard, let alone appreciated. Let's not even start on the lack of chemistry between the two singers. Bottom line, this won't be replacing the Ray Charles/ Betty Carter version of Baby, It's Cold Outside in my heart, or on my Ipod.
Check out both duets below:
