Saturday, November 8, 2008

DOTD Album Tracks 11/08: "You Are What You Are (Beautiful)" by Christina Aguilera

It's very hard to believe that 10 years has passed since the young Christina Aguilera blew up on the scene with the inescapable "Genie In A Bottle".

In the next decade, she proved to be one of the most enduring stars of the teen pop era. When Britney melted down and the Backstreet Boys fell into obscurity, she continued titillating the music world with new songs that never left anyone bored.

One of those songs was "Beautiful", the Linda Perry-penned mega ballad that inspired millions of people with its message. It is one of Christina's most defining moments as an artist.

What has she done to celebrate its six-year anniversary?

For her greatest hits compilation Keeps Gettin' Better - A Decade of Hits, the pop diva re-recorded the song (don't worry fans, the original is still on there) and retitled it "You Are What You Are". It was a smart move to separate it from its parent, because except for the lyrics, there is nothing similar about the two.

She has stripped away the melody and replaced omnious electro sounds. Her voice has been layered and made almost monotone. Essentially, she turned a pop ballad into a haunting, dark, slightly menacing techno slow jam.

It's very cool.

While the message may be lost, Christina delivers a whole new point of view with this remake. She gives the words new life, revealing the darker side to such uplifting lyrics. Her voice, as robotic as it sounds here, is still captivating in a weird way.

Kudos to Christina for switching things up completely.

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