After two of years hallmarked  by a debut CD, a grammy, and a  tag-team performance with Limp Bizkit on the VMA 2000, Christina “As Hispanic as El Senor Guipe” Aguilera brought into our lives a Christmas album entitled “My Kind of Christmas.”

To no surprise, Aguilera’s kind of Christmas offers nothing too new to fans or critics in terms of its style and presentation. Aguilera seems to disagree with the notion of contemporary artists covering Christmas tunes without tampering too much with melodies and harmonies. The track “This Year,” for example, is a dancy Pop tune reminiscent of “Come on Over” – including brief rap by Aguilera similar to the one featured in the bridge of her recently retired-from-TRL hit. In general though, the album offers jazzy, Pop versions of some Christmas classics and other original pieces, all punctuated by samples of Christina giving us “yeah’s,” “Shake it’s,” “Break it down, baby’s,” and periodic giggling.
Certainly, though, the album has its moments. Aguilera is obviously blessed with a beautiful voice that she shows off very well in “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” a slower, more acoustic track than the others.
 

But along with those high moments, however, there is a bit of extravagance and melodrama in the presentation of some tracks that beg for a quick push on the fast forward button. Beautiful voice or not, there are just some times where you really want Aguilera to hit the damn note and be done with it, rather than dragging it through a dozen note changes. Images of Aguilera spastically waving and flapping one hand up and down as she throws her head back and belts out high notes come to mind, especially in the last three minutes of  “This Christmas.”

Perhaps the greatest shortcoming of this album is Aguilera’s inability to keep this “diva syndrome” from seeping into every song. “Oh Holy Night,” for example, begins in a very traditional way, with Aguilera piping out the high notes of this Christmas favorite. Midway through the song, in a deadpan voice, however, begins reciting “Our father, who art in Heaven…” Somehow or another, after finishing the prayer, the song morphs from a quiet, Catholic-school choir song into a boisterous, evangelical jazz-filled R&B tune with a large chorus clapping, chiming “Amen!” and shaking a tambourine right behind Aguilera piercing voice.

 Lovers of traditional Christmas music of the Bing Crosby sort may find their heads hurting after about track 5 or 6 of this CD. The gorgeous and talented Aguilera may one day realize that there’s no need to go all out on every song. The parts of the CD that are spared from the loud wailing are actually quite pretty and heartwarming, although they are few and far in between. Unfortunately, the other parts of the CD, like the techno remix of “The Christmas Song” that pits the line “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” to a thumping bass, just doesn’t quite sell the combination of Christmas and disco, mediating by Aguilera, even if she is in a shiny, sequined red top.

Most importantly though, it is unclear which segment of the American population this CD was geared to. It is too mature in its content (Christmas, not sex) for the average pre-teen; too Pop for light-rock “Michael Bolton’s Christmas” listeners; too jazzy and new-fangled for lovers of Christmas choir music; and too girly for men in love with Aguilera’s bleached-blond locks. Perhaps this CD without an audience served more as Aguilera’s qualification of her own talent – after all, everybody who’s anybody puts out a Christmas CD, right?  All in all, if there is $15.99 burning a hole in your pocket that you can’t do anything else with, it might serve better purpose in Aguilera’s hands than spent on drugs or alcohol. Otherwise, don’t even put it on the Napster queue.
Rating: 4/10