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Christina's Afterthoughts on Bionic


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Old 17-08-2012, 17:24
Ally_Bowie
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Im really curious to know if Christina Aguilera expressed any opinion on the failure of the album at all, any interviews etc, Most artists usually have a lot to say after a records bombed i.e
"Rushed by label, wasn't promoted etc etc" you know the drill,But i have never seen or heard any of her opinions on the Bionic fiasco.....
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Old 17-08-2012, 17:28
O.Michel
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She only talked about it in a press conference before the premiere of 'Burlesque'. I think either Christina herself or her manager said that the 'Bionic' promo campaign will be cut short, just after the 2nd single and when they were asked why, they said that the album was recorded a long time before release and that Christina wanted to move on to a new project. That's all that was ever said I think.
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Old 17-08-2012, 18:02
gelbma0991
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I'm still annoyed the original tracks haven't all surfaced yet. I'd love to have heard how it would have sounded before her label made her go back in with all those US producers.

I still NMT is actually quite a good song, and probably would have done well if there weren't a bjillion Gaga comparisons at the time... but that's just my opinion ha.

Excited to see what she brings to the table for this next era, I'm hoping it's going to be like Stripped but with a bit more of a contemporary sound!
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Old 17-08-2012, 18:05
O.Michel
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I'm still annoyed the original tracks haven't all surfaced yet. I'd love to have heard how it would have sounded before her label made her go back in with all those US producers.

I still NMT is actually quite a good song, and probably would have done well if there weren't a bjillion Gaga comparisons at the time... but that's just my opinion ha.

Excited to see what she brings to the table for this next era, I'm hoping it's going to be like Stripped but with a bit more of a contemporary sound!
'NMT', much like the entire album, is very overlooked and people wrote it off from the start due to what was going on at the time (Perez, the monsters etc). It's a catchy pop song and the album is a good fun album. I do think that if the label hadn't messed 'Bionic' up, it would have been much stronger and more cohesive though.
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Old 17-08-2012, 18:14
gelbma0991
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'NMT', much like the entire album, is very overlooked and people wrote it off from the start due to what was going on at the time (Perez, the monsters etc). It's a catchy pop song and the album is a good fun album. I do think that if the label hadn't messed 'Bionic' up, it would have been much stronger and more cohesive though.
Sorry, my grammar has been terrible today - I keep missing out words when I'm typing! I meant "I still think NMT" haha. But yes I agree, it was a lot of things which contributed to it's 'failure'... There's some real gems on that album though, Prima Donna, Vanity (for a good cheesy song), and WooHoo with Nicki Minaj (That would have been awesome as a single).

Onwards and Upwards for Xtina though!
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Old 17-08-2012, 18:51
Josh Pinder
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i reckon (and hope) when she goes on her next world tour that there is a Bionic Segment where she can do a bit of a medley of Bionics material...i played it in full again last week and still really really like it...nice mash up that i personally wish she marketed more on...but what with Burlesque taking time up and everything it all got haywire.

Also would love a Burlesque theme too i reckon itd be great to mix up different styles and stuff live

Anyways....love the purple sneak preview and love the wardrobe....brrrring on album 5!
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Old 17-08-2012, 18:56
Hit Em Up Style
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I think what happened is that Gaga blew up. Its that simple imho. Think back to 2008. Christina was so excited about going down the electronic route. For Keeps Gettin' Better she used classic old skool superheros and combined it with pop art. However this was summer 2008. The electro wave hit mid 2009 so by the time Christina finally released the album she had been bragging about for so long everyone else had done it. The endless Gaga comparisons made the album campaign worthless as the press just wouldn't let up. The project had to be dropped sadly for her own image.

Of course there is also the small matter of her marriage breaking down bang on its release.
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Old 17-08-2012, 18:56
elasticlove
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Wasn't WooHoo a radio single or something?
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Old 17-08-2012, 19:18
Dr. DoNothing
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Bionic is a good, solid pop album imo. Its nothing groundbreaking but it's just an album of good pop songs. I'm so excited for this new album to be released and I hope she keeps the purple hair for the campaign, it looksreally good!
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Old 17-08-2012, 19:27
toanythingtaboo
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I don't think Christina's heart was in the project, both thanks to the rumoured label interference and being preoccupied with her marriage failing.

I truly don't believe that the Bionic we got was the Bionic she wanted. Half the tracklist that appeared in the months before release don't correlate to her description of the concept, nor compliment the material she had spent years on.

She's not a pushover and she was part of the songwriting process, so I doubt she hated the new editions...but it seems so uncharacteristic for Christina 'takes 4 years to make an album' Aguilera to be 100% happy with compiling up to half the tracklist with songs only a few months old.

I mean, even now with this quick-lets-get-some-hits-out album she's taken 2+ years to create it.
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Old 17-08-2012, 19:47
boysforpele
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Bionic was a good album with some stellar tracks but suffered from:

~an horrendous hate camapaign (I have to say it was media bullying ...)
~ atrociously poorly imagined first single video, it was overtly sexualised and tacky in parts and brilliant in other parts- I like the song a lot...but i think the song was a knee jerk record label last minute recording for mainstream appeal after hearing an album of edgy/out there/old school tracks.
~bad timing : marriage breakdwon and promotion of film coincided
~ the album was bloated ... a derrivative from the initial vision.....the record label were admitedly worried
- promotion stalled

If you delete some songs you get a more cohesive very melodic and catchy album. There are some standout Christina tracks too! Birds Of Prey (furturistic, edgy electo rock), Monday Morning (classic upbeat), Lift Me Up (supreme emotive power ballad) are now among my fave Xtina tracks! I wish she had also finished her work with Goldfrapp. But this must have been the point when the label said - hold on!!! And WooHoo, You Lost Me and NMT were recorded.

Single Releases: should have been
First Single - Birds of Prey (naturalistic arty video)
Second Single - Lift Me Up (simple sepia video)
Third Single - Monday Morning
Fourth Single - I am
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Old 17-08-2012, 19:56
STACEYFISHER
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The lead singer of Ladytron spoke about the project. He said the album was finished in 2009 but had to go on hold when she decided to film the movie. In the mean time Lady Gaga became a massive success and RCA decided they wanted Christina to rival her so half the Bionic tracks, and these were tracks that Daniel Hunt claimed would have made Christina a legend, got scrapped in favour of dancey tunes she didn't want such as Not Myself Tonight.

He is on quote talking about it.
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Old 17-08-2012, 20:24
O.Michel
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Wasn't WooHoo a radio single or something?
It was sent to US rhythmic radio, but it didn't really get playlisted and then it was sent to iTunes so that everyone that pre-ordered the album would automatically have 'WooHoo' downloaded. It was supposed to be the second official single, but...it was cancelled I guess.
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Old 17-08-2012, 20:25
O.Michel
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The lead singer of Ladytron spoke about the project. He said the album was finished in 2009 but had to go on hold when she decided to film the movie. In the mean time Lady Gaga became a massive success and RCA decided they wanted Christina to rival her so half the Bionic tracks, and these were tracks that Daniel Hunt claimed would have made Christina a legend, got scrapped in favour of dancey tunes she didn't want such as Not Myself Tonight.

He is on quote talking about it.


I wish she had released the album with her original concept. I just can't even deal with all the "would have/ could have/ should have" stuff.
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Old 18-08-2012, 00:26
Eric_Blob
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In my opinion, the Lady Gaga comparisons had nothing to do with this. EVERYBODY gets accused of copying her (even though they never are), and they still have success. It's just something that a few thousand people on Internet pop forums argue about but 99.9% of people in the world have no idea that any of this happened. It's not the reason the album didn't do well. I think people simply didn't like Not Myself Tonight tbh. I love Christina, but I think that song is pretty average and non-eventful.
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Old 18-08-2012, 00:35
gelbma0991
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In my opinion, the Lady Gaga comparisons had nothing to do with this. EVERYBODY gets accused of copying her (even though they never are), and they still have success. It's just something that a few thousand people on Internet pop forums argue about but 99.9% of people in the world have no idea that any of this happened. It's not the reason the album didn't do well. I think people simply didn't like Not Myself Tonight tbh. I love Christina, but I think that song is pretty average and non-eventful.
I think it was to the point, that the comparisons were forced by her label - not the discussion of them? If you get what I mean?

Someone posted about Xtina experimenting with a more Electronic sound before Gaga hit the scene and then when Bionic cam out it had been reworked to compete with Gaga's sound.... Which is a shame, because it was supposed to be rather 'experimental' especially for a pop star.


The lead singer of Ladytron spoke about the project. He said the album was finished in 2009 but had to go on hold when she decided to film the movie. In the mean time Lady Gaga became a massive success and RCA decided they wanted Christina to rival her so half the Bionic tracks, and these were tracks that Daniel Hunt claimed would have made Christina a legend, got scrapped in favour of dancey tunes she didn't want such as Not Myself Tonight.

He is on quote talking about it.
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Old 18-08-2012, 01:04
Josh Pinder
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had BIONIC been BIONIC then i would have felt it would have been her own personal "Like A Prayer", "Sign O The Times", "Off The Wall", "Rumours" moment.....a true focus musically and visually of her life at that point.

Something dark, broody, experimental, keistch, something sonically derivative and experimental...i mean she herself said she listened to different artists that have inspired her since a child and played around with the future and the idea of the future and Andy Warhols pop Art concepts and alternatives....it could have been something that MADE her! But alas.

But ironically i do rank it as my second favourite after Back To Basics and ahead of Stripped (controversial i know lol!) but i have a feeling with her in charge of album 5...lets brrring it!!!
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Old 18-08-2012, 02:42
RaiseItUp
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I've actually just listened to Not Myself Tonight for literally the first time ever, I think I must've somehow managed to avoid the whole era/hate campaign.

It sounds like classic Christina! Why was there even a single comparison happening, not a bit like Gaga or anyone else!
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Old 18-08-2012, 09:42
O.Michel
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had BIONIC been BIONIC then i would have felt it would have been her own personal "Like A Prayer", "Sign O The Times", "Off The Wall", "Rumours" moment.....a true focus musically and visually of her life at that point.

Something dark, broody, experimental, keistch, something sonically derivative and experimental...i mean she herself said she listened to different artists that have inspired her since a child and played around with the future and the idea of the future and Andy Warhols pop Art concepts and alternatives....it could have been something that MADE her! But alas.

But ironically i do rank it as my second favourite after Back To Basics and ahead of Stripped (controversial i know lol!) but i have a feeling with her in charge of album 5...lets brrring it!!!
I just wish we could hear the tracks that were rejected from the final tracklist. Ladytron and LeTigre have been hyping these tracks up everytime they're asked about them and I really want to hear them. Maybe they aren't as good as they're hyped to be and that would be a major consolation at this point, because knowing that Christina might have recorded tracks that would make 'Bionic' a monumental and legendary pop album and replaced them with Polow Da Don productions is killing me!
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Old 18-08-2012, 10:33
little-monster
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The media and pop fans in general were nasty to Christina. They hated her album, they hated her image, they ripped their claws in to her being the blame for her marriage and they tried to make out her film was a flop and that she would be awful (which it wasn't as it made 90 million dollars out of a 55 million budget, and believe it or not it was Cher who was hugely criticised for her role in that film, not Xtina)

But since The Voice, she has kinda gotten the music world on her side again.
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Old 18-08-2012, 11:50
O.Michel
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The media and pop fans in general were nasty to Christina. They hated her album, they hated her image, they ripped their claws in to her being the blame for her marriage and they tried to make out her film was a flop and that she would be awful (which it wasn't as it made 90 million dollars out of a 55 million budget, and believe it or not it was Cher who was hugely criticised for her role in that film, not Xtina)

But since The Voice, she has kinda gotten the music world on her side again.
IKR! It's like everyone was against her for no reason in 2010 and 2011. And her National Anthem performance made it even worse. I would go as far as saying that Christina's 'Bionic' and 'Burlesque' eras represent the biggest backlush any popstar has had since Madonna's 'Erotica'! Maybe the negative comments helped her find a balance in her music again though. Now she seems more devoted than ever as opposed to 2009, when she replaced all her amazing experimental music with pop songs just because the label said so.

And I agree that she was great in 'Burlesque'. People tried to put her down, but the movie grossed 130 million dollars combined with the DVD sales, so it was a success.
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Old 18-08-2012, 12:36
rivercity_rules
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I think what happened is that Gaga blew up. Its that simple imho. Think back to 2008. Christina was so excited about going down the electronic route. For Keeps Gettin' Better she used classic old skool superheros and combined it with pop art. However this was summer 2008. The electro wave hit mid 2009 so by the time Christina finally released the album she had been bragging about for so long everyone else had done it. The endless Gaga comparisons made the album campaign worthless as the press just wouldn't let up. The project had to be dropped sadly for her own image.

Of course there is also the small matter of her marriage breaking down bang on its release.
The comparisons to Gaga started with that performance of Keeps Gettin Better at the MTV awards. http://perezhilton.com/2008-09-08-ch...a#.UC98ZallTa4 and the outfit was very like this one http://www.last.fm/music/Lady+Gaga/+images/10620711so they were there before Bionic, it seems a poor move on her managements part to aim her against Gaga who by the time of Bionic was on fire, everything she touched turned to gold and was probably at her, so far, most popular. (ON searching for this I've rediscovered my love for Genie 2.0 but also a track I'd all but forgotten about, Christina and Nelly, Tilt Ya Head Back! Loved that track! Actually gasped when I saw on my iTunes that it was 2004!!)

Bionic was a mess of an album, not coherent, no real potential hits on it, it was like an album of just filler, but not filler for one artist, it was like a compilation of filler taken from different artists unwanted song list.

Hopefully new material will be of a better standard. She's got a fairly open market at the moment as well, although Mariah is on the comeback trail, other than big vocals, their music isn't in competition and hopefully she can secure some good gigs, sell some tour tickets off the back of The Voice and basically give us what we've all been waiting for, a true successor to Stripped. A personal album, well written, with hits.
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Old 18-08-2012, 12:38
Josh Pinder
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I just wish we could hear the tracks that were rejected from the final tracklist. Ladytron and LeTigre have been hyping these tracks up everytime they're asked about them and I really want to hear them. Maybe they aren't as good as they're hyped to be and that would be a major consolation at this point, because knowing that Christina might have recorded tracks that would make 'Bionic' a monumental and legendary pop album and replaced them with Polow Da Don productions is killing me!
I do know what you mean! I mean hopefully she will do a Frank ocean and leak her own album version of what Bionic could have been etc! I mean Kimono sounded like it would have been something beautiful too as was hinted at.
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Old 18-08-2012, 15:28
O.Michel
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I do know what you mean! I mean hopefully she will do a Frank ocean and leak her own album version of what Bionic could have been etc! I mean Kimono sounded like it would have been something beautiful too as was hinted at.
I WISH she would do something like that, but unfortunately Frank Ocean belongs to the new generation of artists, who are more open minded and more independent/ less attached to the label, while Christina is old school But I hope Ladytron leak the songs instead!

Too bad the original concept never materialized, though. An album full of 'Birds Of Prey'-lite epicness...Oh well...Roll on album #5
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Old 18-08-2012, 15:53
toanythingtaboo
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If they aren't going to use the lost Bionic tracks, they should anonymously leak the demos to YouTube for fans.
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