True
to its title, Stripped, the audacious new RCA Records release
from Christina Aguilera, strips away the last remnants of her
previous teen idol persona and what’s left is as real as
it gets.
The
sixteen new tracks that comprise Stripped, including her sensational
debut single, "Dirrty," showcases an unadorned, unfettered
and fearlessly outspoken artist who has liberated herself, her
soul and her music on an album that is as much a declaration of
independence as it is a convincing demonstration of her fierce
and original talent. Simply put, this is the real deal.
"When
you’re seventeen years old, green and inexperienced, you’re
grateful for any guidance and direction you can get." Says
Christina on her rocket sled ride to the top following the 1999
release of her eponymously-titled debut album, with its string
of consecutive chart toppers, including "Genie In A Bottle"
and "What A Girl Wants." It was a feat she would repeat
the following year with Mi Reflejo, the smash Spanish language
version of her debut, followed by her hit holiday release, My
Kind Of Christmas.
Ten
million plus albums, a Grammy win for Best New Artist and a marathon
round of world touring later, Christina began to fearlessly break
free from the mass media mask that hid her true self, and the
full scope of her talent.
"I
felt trapped," she admits. "I was under the thumb of
people who were mostly interested in keeping me doing exactly
the same thing. But I’m not blaming anyone," she’s
quick to add. "You learn fast in this business and, once
I knew where I wanted to go, I didn’t let anyone get in my
way."
Where
she wanted to go, at least initially, was to her Los Angeles home
where she could catch her breath, reconnecting with herself and
her two canine companions. "I needed a break," she reveals.
"I wanted to disappear into empty space for awhile. So much
had happened in such a short time, and not only in my career.
I’d gone through a breakup with my first real love and I
began realizing that I should be experiencing a bit more of life
than TV and recording studios, hotels and green rooms."
As
well intended as her much-deserved hiatus may have been, the vocalist
and songwriter still had to contend with the restless creative
energy that had fueled her preteen trajectory from talent show
contestant in and around her native Pittsburgh to international
superstardom.
"I’m driven," is Christina’s frank admission.
"Even in the midst of touring, I was thinking about what
my next album would be, writing bits and pieces of songs in journals
and scrapbooks."
That
album, like Christina’s long overdue R&R, would have
to wait. Unable to resist the lure of a promising creative collaboration,
she joined forces with Pink, Mya and Lil’ Kim on the smash
"Lady Marmalade" single and video. That eye-popping
slice of ear candy kept her front and center in the international
spotlight even as she began, slowly and steadily, to lay the groundwork
for a musical manifesto that would change all the rules.
"I
was straight ahead about what I wanted to do," Christina
continues. "For a long time, I’d been uncomfortable
with the image that had been built around me and my music. It
felt like I was pretending, trying to hide the real me, and hurting
inside because of it. This time I was determined to step beyond
the hype and glitter, to take it back down to the bare necessities.
It was like starting all over again."
Yet
at the same time, Christina’s bold work-in-progress wasn’t
simply a reaction to the past. "I wanted to explore some
of the music that had inspired me coming up," she explains.
"I’ve always been a huge fan of soul. I love real rock
& roll and hip-hop, of course, is one of my biggest influences.
I wanted it all."
And
what she wanted she set about to achieve with a relentless determination
and a willingness to stretch her creative boundaries. "I’ve
always thought recording was about attaining perfection,"
she reveals. "What I discovered making this album is that
getting across real feelings is what’s important. As much
as possible, I wanted to have the listener right there in the
studio with me. I wanted to introduce myself, to get down to it.
What mattered was sharing what I was really going through…for
the first time."
And
the first and most formidable challenge for Christina was to assemble
a supporting cast that, in her words, "weren’t influenced
by my old image." A ruthless process of elimination yielded
a production and songwriting team that included, among others,
Pink producer Linda Perry; the team of Redman and Rockwilder;
Alanis Morrissette producer Glenn Ballard; fast rising studio
wizard Scott Storch, as well artist/producer Alicia Keys.
Recorded
over an eighteen-month stretch, with Christina firmly at the helm
every step of the way, Stripped slowly but surely took shape,
not only as an exercise in breathtaking stylistic diversity but
as a resonant and revealing look into the mind and emotions of
a young woman on the verge of personal and professional liberation.
The
result is resonant and revealing original tracks that decisively
shred Christina’s squeaky clean persona, even as they set
the stage for a career that, millions of albums and concert tickets
later, is only now just getting started.
The
proof is all over Stripped, from the opening notes of "Impossible,"
the smoky ballad by Alicia Keys, to the romantic revelations of
"Can’t Hold Us Down," featuring the persuasive
production of Scott Storch; from the soaring affirmations of "Beautiful,"
to blistering licks of "Make Over," to the superheated
funk of "Dirrty," featuring Redman and Rockwilder. "I
loved ‘Let’s Get Dirty,’" Christina reveals,
"So I asked Rockwilder to put something together kind of
like that for me." She laughs. "What I got was a little
too close, but then I figured, ‘Why not?’ The track
is like an answer song to the original, only from a female point
of view."
As
much excitement and surprise as a first listening to Stripped
might generate, there are other textures, urgent, honest and unguarded,
that emerge with time. "Everything I sing about in ‘I’m
OK’ is real," she asserts. "I took it right out
of my life and I’m singing it right to my Dad." While
another Stripped standout, "Can’t Hold Me Down,"
may at first sound like payback to a certain superstar rapper,
for Christina that’s hardly the point. "I haven’t
got time for all that," is her retort. "I’m more
interested in helping girls stand up for themselves. That’s
what the song is about – double standards and how we’re
supposed to look and act a certain way just to please men. If
I have any influence as an entertainer, I want it to be optimistic
and uplifting, to make this world a little better place to live."
For
Christina Aguilera, it all begins by getting real. "This
music is who I am," she confidently asserts. "You can
take it or leave it, but I’m not going to change, not for
anyone." In the end, she says, it’s a tribute to the
millions of worldwide fans who have made her a household name.
"Fans grow up, too," she smiles. "We’re all
reaching out for something more real and if we really want it,
we’re going to find it. This album is for anyone who really
wants it."
