Album Review: Christina Aguilera "Bionic (Deluxe Edition)"

One of the greatest singers alive today, Christina Aguilera may take her time between albums, which, judging by the minuscule attention span of the general public, isn't always in her best interests commercially, but at least when she returns to the spotlight, she has a clear vision of what she wants to do. With her fourth studio album Bionic, Christina not only incorporates some of the industry's current pop sound, but also some of the charm of her early career, mixed in with an electronic influence. Never fear though because fans of Xtina's big voice & those critical of her "over-singing" on her last album, 2006's Back To Basics, alike should be happy to know that she seems to find a nice balance between showing off her golden pipes & simply making good music on Bionic.

"Bionic": The title track serves as a great introduction to what the listener can expect from the rest of the album, but is also a solid song on its own. 4.5/5

"Not Myself Tonight": Bionic's first single features excellent vocals from Christina & production from Polow, although Ester Dean's lyrics don't quite match up. With that said (as I'm sure I have before), the song is growing on me. 4.5/5

"Woohoo" (ft. Nicki Minaj): Another radio-friendly track with Christina's signature vocals. As always, I love Nicki on it as well. 4.5/5

"Elastic Love": This one gives me just a slight indulgent vibe, but at the end of the day, it is pretty addictive & I applaud Christina for at least trying to introduce a different sound to pop listeners. 4/5

"Desnudate": One of the better uptempos. Christina's vocals are present, but not overbearing. 4.5/5

"Love & Glamour (Intro)": Fine, I guess. LOL

"Glam": This one does have its charm. I've just been trying to get over the fact that they were actually considering this for the lead single & it's not single-worthy AT ALL. 4/5

"Prima Donna": My favorite uptempo on the album. Everything is on-point: The vocals, the production (Nice one, Tricky), the attitude! Yes! 5/5

"Morning Dessert (Intro)": Very nice vibe.

"Sex For Breakfast": The delicate delivery of this one takes me back to the Stripped era. Again, very nice. 4.5/5

"Lift Me Up": Hearing this song for the first time live, I wasn't sure if I would fall head-over-heels for it or not, but the studio version certainly does it for me. Personally, I prefer this Linda Perry-produced ballad over "Beautiful". 5/5

"My Heart (Intro)": Aaawww.

"All I Need": I like the sweetness of this one & all, but it's just not quite there for me. 4/5

"I Am": Unfortunately, this is my least favorite track on the album. The pronunciation of the song title just comes across like she's trying too hard & there really aren't any big vocals present to save it. Still, it's not awful. 3.5/5

"You Lost Me": Interestingly enough, this one's my favorite track on the album. I don't know what happened with them on the preceding track, but Christina & Sia's chemistry is on fire here. Absolutely gorgeous. 5/5

"I Hate Boys": Seeing as how I am a boy, I probably shouldn't like this song as much as I do, but it's too irresistible! 4.5/5

"My Girls" (ft. Peaches): I like this one & Peaches, although I don't know her very well, adds a cool touch to it. I don't love it though... not sure why. 4/5

"Vanity": Obviously, I adore the sass of this track. It's not the catchiest song in the world, but that big note near the end really gives me my life! Love her son at the end too. Perfect closer. 4.5/5

As for the deluxe edition tracks, I actually find them a surprisingly well-rounded set. "Monday Morning" displays the sound she was going for with this record quite well, I think, & I'd probably give it a slight edge over "Elastic Love". I completely understand why the talk-singing-filled "Bobblehead" was left off the main album, but it's totally awesome! Slowing it down a bit, "Birds Of Prey" would've given the album a different angle--& a pleasant one at that. "Stronger Than Ever" isn't great, but it's a great display of vocals for us Christina stans. Naturally, I didn't particularly care to have "I Am (Stripped)", but it is nice.

I'm willing to admit that Bionic isn't perfect. That said however, if people are open-minded while listening to the album & they expect to hear something more sophisticated than your cookie-cutter pop, Bionic does have some really well done pop, urban, & electronic songs--both uptempos & ballads. As a whole, the track selection & sequencing (I wouldn't have bunched all the ballads together) are a little off, but that doesn't really take away from the listening experience. The very talented Christina Aguilera has another worthy piece to add to her collection in Bionic.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars