‘Stripped’

By Kim Krichbaum

Ignore all the hype, and just listen to her voice.

Christina Aguilera’s sophomore release “Stripped” shows she is all grown up and ready to reveal who she really is. Aguilera leaves behind the bubblegum pop on this album and attacks everything from her sexuality to an abusive father.

The album begins with Christina saying, “So here it is. No hype, no gloss, no pretense, just me … stripped.”

The problem with what she says is that throughout the whole album, she claims to be so many different people that you can never be too sure who the real her is. The first song “Can’t Hold Us Down” confronts issues of how women need to overcome stereotypes and be proud of who they are.

One problem with this is that she wants us to respect her words, but when you open the CD booklet, you see Christina wearing little clothing and even a picture of her shoving a sausage into her mouth. Why would she deserve our respect when she can hardly respect herself?

The CD contains a lengthy 20 tracks featuring artists such as Redman, Eve, Alicia Keys, Lil’ Kim and Dave Navarro. Each collaboration has a different feel. There is everything from the pseudo-R&B song “Impossible” to the wannabe rock track “Fighter.” With so many different sounds of music on the album, it leaves you questioning if Christina even knows who she really is.

Aguilera’s first single is “Dirrty,” which features Redman. The song title pretty much sums up what to expect. The video has gained Christina a lot of attention because of her dancing around in barely-there clothes and showing some extremely provocative dance moves.

The girl does deserve some credit though – she has an amazing voice, and “Stripped” really shows her range. There doesn’t seem to be any sort of music that she cannot sing.

When you listen to the album, try to look beyond her trashy clothes and just listen to her sing.