Christina Aguilera’s sound in Accelerate is new but not so memorable
By Mia Johnson
Christina Aguilera is back to being dirrty in a Kanye West-produced song and music video featuring Ty Dolla $ign and 2 Chainz.
Pop icon Christina Aguilera’s got a new sound and a racy new music video to go with it. The singer released the song “Accelerate” early Thursday, as a surprise to many fans. The last time the artist dropped new music was about six years ago.
In her new song, Xtina goes for the kind of sound that mixes chill synths with a hip-hop beat. It’s not so much the pop music we’re used to hearing her sing. But it also isn’t a straight-up hip-hop song either. She sings on the beat and is accompanied by Ty Dolla $ign, who does backing vocals on the song, and 2 Chainz, who raps a verse on the track.
Even with the two big rappers helping the track out, there’s one thing noticeably missing — Christina’s powerful vocals. This song really isn’t a show-off of her talent, and in a way, it almost hurts the song. This is Christina Aguilera we’re talking about!
Sure, it’s a fun song with a chill sort of vibe, but it’s not something that will likely stand out as one of the greatest Christina songs of all time. Those will probably forever be awarded to “Beautiful” and “Dirrty.”
And speaking of dirty, the music video for “Accelerate” gets a bit racy, though we know that’s nothing new for her. It’s the kind of video you might not feel safe watching at work, but the visuals are still something to witness (if you like staring at different cuts of Christina Aguilera and nothing else for 4 minutes straight.)
The new album looks like it’s moving in a more R&B and hip-hop direction, with songs like this one produced by Kanye West, and others with the help of Anderson .Paak, as Billboard reports. Another song will also feature her Voice co-star Demi Lovato.
This might have been bad timing for Christina to collaborate with West given his out-of-touch Twitter rants as of late. Yet, she defended her decision in an interview with Billboard saying, “I’ve always been a huge fan of Kanye. Outside of, you know, his controversial aspects, I just think he’s a great artist and music maker and beatmaker. The artists that he chooses to pluck from different walks of life are so interesting.”
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Christina’s new album, Liberation, is out on June 15 and will be on all major streaming and download platforms.