I think that this interesting view on today's pop artists is very interesting. It's mainly on Xtina though. Oliver Wang mentions artists from Beyonce and Mariah Carey to Britney and Paris. I thought that this was an interesting un-biased review. He bashes/compliments everyone. It covers a lot of things we've been discussing.
OF ALL the strange things I've seen through the magic that is youtube.com, one of the eeriest was watching a 10-year-old Christina Aguilera belt out "Sunday Kind of Love," a sultry ballad most associated with Etta James.

It's not that Aguilera mangled the song it's that she performed it too well, wielding a voice and emotive pantomime years more mature than her age would suggest. However, this is not a song a 10-year-old girl should be singing; her performance doesn't nod toward her later girl-next-door appeal circa "Genie In a Bottle" so much as the JonBenet Ramsey beauty pageant videos.

A dozen years later and Aguilera was still making people uncomfortable. Her last album, "Stripped" (2002) sent uptight, moral majority types into histrionics after viewing the raunchy sexual energy of her video for "Dirrty." Even her longtime fans had to admit that in trying to cram her shapely assets into a pair of Daisy Dukes, Xtina came off as trying too hard to remake her image.

Of course, four years later and Aguilera comes off "7th Heaven" wholesome compared to Paris Hilton's parody of herself and Britney Spears going straight-up %*(@! crazy. More importantly, unlike Hilton and Spears, Aguilera can actually sing. Her early career may have been bubblegum pop but she's grown into a blue-eyed soul singer in the tradition of Linda Lyndell, Gayle McCormick, and Teena Marie " belting out with enough conviction and power to blur the (color) lines between pop and R&B (Aguilera, with her ethnically ambiguous surname, has used this to her advantage, especially in the "Stripped"-era).

This said, you'd be forgiven if you forgot she had a great voice. Aguilera claims women such as Etta James as her inspiration but she's clearly made Mariah Carey her actual singing template. Carey is a gifted vocalist too, with a range and clarity of timbre that anyone short of Aretha or Ella would kill for. Pity that both Carey and Aguiliera insist on singing every note with an orgy of vocal runs and unnecessary embellishments.

The technical term is "melisma" but "vocal diarrhea" is equally descriptive in capturing how melodic arrangements with poise and simplicity get crammed through an esophageal shredder. Jazz and soul singers were the first to popularize melisma, using it judiciously as both displays of vocal virtuosity as well as for emotive effect. The problem has come in more contemporary times, following first Whitney Houston, then Carey's insinuation of the technique into modern pop songs. Since then, melisma has become less an enhancement and more of a vanity vehicle. See "American Idol's"

Aguilera's insistence on abusing melisma threatens to mar an otherwise impressive comeback with her latest single, "Ain't No Other Man." The song is an interesting collaboration with hip-hop producer DJ Premier. Primo's name practically defined rap's underground aesthetic throughout the'90s 囹quest;½₦not;⦥uro;? producing pop divas hasn't been his trade. What he delivers is good, though: propulsive rhythm track and enough brass to drown out a marching band.

That said, this fast, funky workout routine sounds less like a traditional "Primo beat" and more like a good imitation of a Rich Harrison track (he of "1 Thing" and "Crazy In Love" fame) " ironic since Harrison's penchant for skull-cracking drum breaks and distinctive samples are clearly based on Premier's style of production.

As Premier coaxes out those heavy horns on the intro, Aguilera sweeps in by stretching out the word "hey" into nearly three bars and enough adornments to hang on a Christmas tree. Uh oh. Yet, after an inauspicious opening, the song (and Xtina) settle into high-powered groove where Aguilera lets the track carry her rather than insisting on overpowering it with her pipes.

The result is a satisfying dance-floor cooker, the kind of pop/R&B crossover hit that Gwen Stefani dreams of but could never pull off with her tinny vocals. Interestingly, it's already leapt into the Top 10 on the pop charts but it's nowhere on the R&B/rap lists even though, for all form and function, it's indistinguishable from a Beyonce song (except that Xtina has a better voice than B).

Even in 2006, when it's abundantly clear that R&B and hip-hop have taken over pop, and not the other way around, a wall still stands between genre categories " and better said, between artists " even if the music itself cares little for such artificial distinctions.

Oliver Wang is a Bay Area-based hip-hop writer and co-author of "Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide."

Get A Life Pancosnic !!! There are a lot of other things more interesting in music and in life than Xtina even though she is very interesting!!

Interesting article indeed.

This article isn't just about Xtina. I don't think that anyone on this forum new about melisma! Not to mention, I didn't know that Rich Harrison based his beats on Dj Premier's. There's quality info in this article!

already read it before but i think you should stop tracking xtina news on the net and stop talkin about her but anyway that was just an advice cuz you could be banned !!!

^ there is a thing called not clicking on the post.If someone wants to post tons of articles about her then its their right. Just as if someone wanted to post a lot of articles on britney beyonce who ever it may be they have a right to.

lol...ANOM is not even a great pop song, so it's barely good enough to be a cross over hit. I expect all her other singles to be far better then this though.

lol, Gwen's tiny vocals thing is harsh but Christina would die to get some of Gwen's past material so it ballances out.

C'mon who did not knew about melisma..? I mentioned melisma when we were talking about who is a better vocalist...

Get a life PANCOSNIC, because you need articles like that to really confirm CA is the better vocalist. Because you know it is an opinion.

I know many articles which said Beyonce is the best vocalist today, and yet I don't post them because I am not as pathetic as you are. I don't need attention.

Now kiddy, go to a shrink. ->

rofl. Beyonce the best vocalist? She's good (I won't lie) but she can't do HALF the stuff Christina can.. and thats a FACT

There is nothing that Beyonce cant do and Christina can. Actually, Beyonce's voice is MUCH MORE VERSATILE than Christina's. But anyways, I said that who is is better is DEBATABLE. It is up to your opinion.

Panosonic, did you write this cause it seems like it.

You know, it's not about what a voice can do, it's about the quality

Christina and Beyonce are both amazing vocalists, Christina needs lessons, I am telling you now, in 10 years, Beyonce voice will be as strong and vivid as today while Christina may not have one anymore. Christina uses her voice very very incorrectly. Beyonce uses her voice the right way...



I'm sure if you put both in a room, they could both give eachother a run for their money and both come out on top...

Vocal ability
The New York Times has described Aguilera's vocal range as "striking".[21] Because of her ability to produce pitches above E6 (whistle register), while showcasing power and control, her voice has been compared to those of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.[22] In 2003 she placed at number five (third for a female) on MTV's countdown of the "22 Greatest Voices in Music". Additionally, Cove Magazine, an online-only e-magazine on pop music, placed her at number one in their countdown of the "100 Greatest Pop Vocalists", giving her a mark of 50/50 for her vocal capabilities.[23] Aguilera can sing extremely complex melismas. On her rendition of Etta James' At Last, she sings a run that covers 2 ocatves in just a few seconds. She is noted for having an amazing lung capacity, that can hold very long notes, and a tone quality that is very solid and thick.

Can Beyonce do that? Their both amazing, but seriously Christina has a stronger voice whether she uses it wrong or right.

Thank you for informing the uninformed.

Well, if you watch Destiny's Child LIVE IN ATLANTA: Dangerously In Love, Beyonce hits a Ff5 and and E3 back to back, which means she went from high to low in 1 note. That is MUCH HARDER than singing on the scale and singing higher and higher.

Oh and about that countdown of yours, Ashanti was higher than Celine Dion so...

LMAO, Beyonce fan unable to handle the truth.

Or a dillusional Christina stan unable to take competition...?

Hello, guys I didn't post this thread to fight over it again. I just thought that the points made up were interesting. & No I didn't write this article. I got it from XtinaXpression.com.http://www.xtinaxpression.com/july_06/ It's the 4th article on the page.I thought that it was interesting that Dj Premier was a struggling producer while Rich Harrison was getting rich off of sampling his beats. Not to mention, I never heard anyone mention melisma. If anyone said it then I missed it. Not to mention this article bashes and praises Xtina. This article isn't biased. I just thought it would be nice to read someone else's opionions!