THE RANT

Calling for a Christina Aguilera Comeback

By K. LO     Oct. 5, 2016

            Success didn't come easy for the "Diva," however. Born on December 18, 1980 in New York, Christina Maria Aguilera moved from state to state because of her dad's military status. Before her parents' divorce, Aguilera's father was abusive toward her mother, something that affected her and is the theme of a lot of her songs. 
            At the age of 8, a young Christina competed on StarSearch and came in second. Though she didn't win, the young artist continued to compete in talent shows and, in 1998, landed a record deal with RCA and recorded "Reflection" for the Mulan soundtrack.  Later, the release of her self-titled Christina Aguilera unleashed singles "Genie in a Bottle," "What a Girl Wants," and "Come on Over Baby (All I Want is You)," establishing her as a major presence in Pop and gaining her a Grammy for Best New Artist. 

            Though she's had lots of success, and can even brag about being the youngest artist in RollingStone's "100 Best Singers of All-Time," Xtina has not had too many chart-toppers as of late. Her last #1 single was the collaboration with Maroon 5, "Moves Like Jagger." Her most recent solo album, Lotus, sold only a little over 70,000 copies in its first week, with "Your Body" peaking at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. We shouldn't consider this a failure for the singer though, since her digital sales were high enough to make "Your Body" a top 10 digital single for a few weeks. 
            But why hasn't Ms. Xtina been able to maintain the success she's previously had? I personally think Christina took too much time off between Bionic (2010) and Lotus (2012). Sure, two years may not seem like a long time, especially with Back to Basics arriving four years prior to Bionic, but today's fans demand constant interaction with their favorite stars. Whether that be through constant Instagram updates, Tweets, or new singles, music consumers seek to be connected with their favorite stars regularly. Christina has various social media profiles, but the most activity the fans get on those pages appear to be mainly during runs of The Voice. Maybe being more active online and letting fans into her every day life regularly can give Christina the boost she needs.