This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Frankly, Christina Aguilera’s new album Stripped scares the hell out of me.
No, not because of her aggressively hypersexualized new image — hell, if Christina wants to pierce her lip and nose, pioneer the use of hair extensions as a halter top and include provocative pictures in her CD packaging, well, she’s 21 and it’s a free country, you know? And it’s certainly not because of her music — because honestly, Stripped may be sorta self-indulgent, but it isn’t half-bad. Thankfully, she’s pretty much ditched the whole teen-pop sound along with the look. Instead of all those dance ditties, Stripped has plenty of gritty, R&B-flavoured hip-hop and some rockier adult-contemporary fare by former 4 Non Blondes leader-turned-producer Linda Perry. And instead of all those treacly ballads, Aguilera offers up some honestly soulful numbers (including an Alicia Keys track) and even some gospel-flavoured cuts. Heck, she even hand a hand in writing nearly all these songs, so you can’t complain that she’s just some no-talent diva-puppet. And I’m certainly not spooked by her voice. I’ve always maintained she was a truly gifted singer squandering her talents on inferior material, so it’s heartening to see her finally tackling more grownup, distinctive and varied fare. No, what scares me is how low some of her competitors are going to stoop trying to top that Dirrty video.
