What is Christina Aguilera's next move going to be? Sure, she can keep collecting those massive checks from The Voice USA while sitting grandly (and richly) upon her swivelling throne. But this is a singer who has often proclaimed the importance of using her gift, so she can't be satisfied with this strategy, long-term.
So with this in mind, how can Christina continue with the music, stay relevant and not risk another a flop- like back-to-back bombs Bionic and Lotus? Well she could keep doing what she is now: featuring on other people's tracks- à la successful collabs with Pitbull and Maroon 5- while periodically tossing us original material via soundtracks- as she has just done with her contribution to the The Hunger Games: Catching Fire OST. It's not an idea situation, but it sure feels sweeter to me (see what I did there?- only the die hard fans will get that) than a prolonged Christina Aguilera famine.
Her contribution to the aforementioned soundtrack, We Remain, is actually a beautiful one. It not only benefits from the Diva's capable pipes, but she also had a hand in composing the uplifting lyrics. This may be the reason why the vocal on the Ryan Tedder-produced cut sounds like one of Aguilera's most emotive to date.
The delivery is altogether a mellower one, with an emphasis on melody rather than showy melisma or big notes. And though the raspy tone is also out in force, it's not painful to listen to- as was the case at some points on Lotus- complementing the airy, soft-rock production perfectly. Being that it sounds to be more within the Diva's natural range, I'm already excited to hear this tackled live.
We Remain is another song for Christina to add to her catalogue of inspiring anthems. However as much as I enjoyed it, it's just missing that something for me to put it up there with other classics like Hurt, Lift Me Up, and The Voice Within. Perhaps hearing/seeing this performed live will tick that last box to make me fall Disney-style in love with it.
Rating: B+
Thoughts?
