14 DAY TRIAL // Christina Aguilera’s much-mediated comeback album, her first studio material in four years, “Bionic,” failed to meet pre-release hype for reasons that are still subject to debate with industry insiders and fans. Its underperformance reportedly caused a rift between the singer and her record label, which may even be considering parting ways. Nothing could be farther from the truth, a rep for the label says, as cited by AceShowbiz.
“Bionic” was undoubtedly a hit with fans, who recognized it for what Christina wanted it to be: a mix of various sounds, styles and musical genres meant to make the most of her unique voice and electronica influences. Critics, though, bashed it for lacking unity and for failing to make Christina’s voice the centerpiece – and thus placing too much focus on what they choose to call “noise.” The label too reportedly saw things in the same light, accusing the singer of not following their guidelines, and indirectly contributing to its underperformance.
“[It] has only managed to shift 200,000 copies of the album in the five weeks it has been on sale in the US. The record also made chart history in the UK for being the lowest-selling album to make it to the number one spot in eight years, as well as suffering the quickest decline of a chart topping disc. Reports claimed the poor sales stemmed from Aguilera refusing to listen to her label’s suggestions that she needed to update her pop sound to compete in a modern market – but a rep from RCA Records insists the singer is still one of the company’s top talents,” AceShowbiz writes.
The spokesperson is vehemently denying there’s any truth to the report, saying it’s the media’s way of causing trouble where there’s none to be had otherwise. “[Aguilera] is a pillar of the RCA Music Group and is an undeniable talent with one of the greatest voices of our time. She continues to push herself as an artist, and we are behind her efforts 100 per cent,” the RCA spokesperson says. Her manager, Irving Azoff, agrees, adding, “I am the one who deals with the label, and [reports of a bust-up] couldn’t be farther from the truth.”
Among the causes cited for “Bionic’s” somewhat lackluster performance (and definitely a disappointing one if compared to Christina’s previous releases) are the fact that she canceled her tour, refused to talk to the media more about the album but stuck instead to doing live performances, drew negative attention onto herself by dissing Lady Gaga and then tried to downplay the incident as if it hadn’t happened, and, of course, the fact that the album leaked online two full weeks ahead of the official release.
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