Bionic (Christina Aguilera album)

After a successful 2006, during which Aguilera released her critically acclaimed and commercially successful fifth studio album Back to Basics, Aguilera received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards (2007) and won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for its lead single "Ain't No Other Man". While on the Asian leg of the Back to Basics Tour, during the summer of 2007, Aguilera said that her upcoming album would be "short, sweet and completely different" from its predecessor. After the birth of her son Max, Aguilera stated in an interview with Ryan Seacrest that her forthcoming album would include a completely new aspect of herself as an artist, because of the pregnancy with her son. In a February 2008 interview with People, Aguilera stated that she was going to start recording new material for her forthcoming album at her Beverly Hills, California residence. DJ Premier, who, at the time, was working on projects for his record label Year Round Records, shared plans to head back into the studio with Aguilera, and stated: "She's doing an all pop album again, but she wants me to keep the tone like what we did before. She's ready to start next month." Linda Perry, who had previously worked with Aguilera was to be included in the project too. In an interview with Billboard in October 2008, Aguilera said that the album would be mostly produced by Perry. During the initial recording sessions, Aguilera released her first greatest hits album ''Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits'' (2008), which featured two new songs that were derived from electronic music, and she announced that the compilation was in the vein of where the upcoming album was going to go, which was a very futuristic approach to music. "I get off on working with creative energy", she said, and added: "That's when I'm most at home and feel happiest. And all these people brought about new sides of me. It was a big collaboration-fest, and it felt so good and rewarding in the end, because I was just so happy with the work and the new territories that I ventured out to." == Recording and production ==

Aguilera set about contacting collaborators on her own accord, at the behest of then-husband Jordan Bratman, without relying on the record label A&R. She stated: "Going into [each of these partnerships], I said, 'I'm a really big fan of yours, and I'm interested in stepping into your world and what you do'", adding: "'I want to combine that with my sound, and let's see what happens.' I feel like I can do so much with my voice. I would be so bored sitting on a stool singing ballad after ballad just because I can." Aguilera told Billboard that she was a big fan of Furler and stated that she was thrilled when Furler said that she wanted to work with her as well. They recorded together at a studio in January 2009, Furler heard the album — or at least some songs recorded for it — as early as April 2009, which she revealed on Twitter. Members of British electronic band Ladytron, Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu, went to Los Angeles to meet Aguilera in December 2008 after hearing that they were one of her favorite bands. During the meeting, Aguilera identified what kind of Ladytron songs she liked, with Hunt later saying: "We were impressed because she had a real deep knowledge of our music – album tracks, not just the singles!". The band stated: "We went in with no expectations; the whole thing was a massive surprise. But it was incredible. She was so musically talented, a vocalist who really knows her voice. The first takes sounded really amazing, and while we'd made demos, it was only when her voice was on them that it all came to life." They finished working with Aguilera in March 2009 and produced four or five songs, but only three made the final cut. Two songs produced by the band – "Birds of Prey" and "Little Dreamer" – appeared on the deluxe edition of the album. Meanwhile, the third song "Kimono Girl" did not make the final cut, although it has been highly anticipated by fans. To celebrate the album's tenth anniversary, Aguilera released "Little Dreamer" onto streaming platforms in June 2020. British duo Goldfrapp said in a January 2010 interview that they did not finish the studio sessions and did not know whether their songs would make the final cut. The Australian said that the production team The Neptunes were to work with Aguilera on the album. In an interview with HitQuarters, Dr. Dre protege Focus... said: "We did a song and an interlude together." He produced the beats for "Sex for Breakfast", which were then worked on by Aguilera and producer Noel "Detail" Fisher. In August 2009, Aguilera said that she co-wrote tracks with British Tamil rapper and singer–songwriter M.I.A. and American singer Santigold, and according to American producer Tricky Stewart, Flo Rida would be featured on the album. Producer Polow da Don, who produced two of the four singles released from the project, was the only producer to be suggested by RCA Records and not contacted by Aguilera personally. Additionally, Stewart and Claude Kelly wrote the song "Glam", which was described as "a hard club song that's about high fashion. It's really for the ladies about getting dressed and looking your best, working it in the club and getting glam and sexy before you go out. ... It will surprise people. I'm calling it a modern day 'Vogue.' I wouldn't say it unless I believed it." Kelly also co-wrote three other tracks for the album, including the first two singles "Not Myself Tonight" and "Woohoo". He described the four tracks as being "up-tempo and fun, they're party anthems but at the same time have underlying messages." Commenting on the experience of working with Aguilera, Kelly said: "What people don't know about her is that she's actually a really good writer. She has good ideas, good melodies, good concepts ... She's really involved from the very beginning to the very end." ==Composition==

Music and lyrics Bionic is musically inspired by Aguilera's taste of electronic subgenres, including electronica. The album was mostly described as futurepop, while Andy Gill of The Independent noted the hybrid of electro and R&B on the project, and The New York Timess Alex Hagwood characterized it as an electropop album. Bionic consists of eighteen tracks on the standard edition, The standard edition consists mostly of electropop songs, heavily incorporating synthesizers and electronic beats. Mike Usinger from The Georgia Straight opined that the accompaniment of synthesizers on the project "offers up a rise-of-the-fembots strain of robo-pop that sounds like LCD Soundsystem-era Williamsburg." A few tracks are done up with Auto-Tune. Multiple music critics recognized sex as the main theme of Bionic. Echoing Handerson's point of view, The Georgia Straights Mike Usinger commented: "Where past Xtina efforts have hinted that's she's horny to the core, Bionic makes a concrete case that she's the dirtiest girl working in mainstream pop." According to Mike Wass of Idolator some of the explored subjects on the album are sex positivity and female empowerment. In June 2020, Aguilera stated that Bionic is "all about being unabashedly YOU". Songs The first seven songs are uptempo and club-inspired. "Not Myself Tonight" takes influence from tribal house and incorporates synthesizers, pulsing basslines, and house drums in its instrumentation. On the song, Aguilera explicitly announces her new persona and style adopted on Bionic, declaring that "The old me's gone I feel brand new / And if you don't like it, fuck you." and speaks about oral sex, containing lyrics such as: "All the boys think it's cake when they taste my woohoo / You don't even need a plate, just your face." and features "808-esque backbeat" in its foundation. On the song, Aguilera uses office supplies such as rubber bands as a metaphor for her relationship. "Love & Glamour (Intro)", which is a fashion-themed spoken interlude, follows, and is succeeded by "Glam", a "throbbing" dance-pop and electro song about high fashion and making up before going out, which was characterized as a hip hop-influenced throwback to Madonna's song "Vogue" (1990). "Prima Donna" is a retro styled combination of classic pop, dance-pop and electronic music. with background vocals from Lil Jon, who encourages them to "work yo' body" in the track. The second half of Bionic explores a more balladic production. Aguilera characterized her lover's penis as a "honey drip." Aguilera explores her personal issues, such as motherhood and insecurities on ballads, which The Guardians Alexis Petridis deemed "patented self-help ballads." while "I Am" expresses Aguilera's self-consciousness, Leah Greenblatt, writing for Entertainment Weekly, compared the ballads to Fiona Apple's songs. The standard edition of Bionic concludes with three uptempo tracks, the electropop song "I Hate Boys" which features Aguilera insulting men, The deluxe edition includes five bonus tracks – four new songs and an acoustic version of "I Am" entitled "I Am (Stripped)". "Monday Morning" is a new wave track, "Bobblehead" is a hip hop-inspired song that features a "clattering, chanting" beat and Aguilera rapping. "Birds of Prey" is an synthpop-influenced electro song backed by "cool" synthesizers, and Aguilera's vocals are delivered in a whispered manner. "Stronger Than Ever" is a "mournful" ballad. Aguilera's vocals are a farewell to her titular dreamer. == Title and artwork ==

The album was originally titled Light & Darkness; however, in February 2010, Aguilera announced that it would be titled Bionic. Bionics cover artwork was designed by D*Face. The album's cover, which was unveiled on March 25, 2010, features half of Aguilera's face and half of a robot, with platinum curled hair locks, bright red lips, and long eyelashes. Ruth Doherty from InStyle called the cover "super-cool" and compared Aguilera's look to that of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator film series. MTV Newsroom's Kyle Anderson named it "delightfully strange" and opined that the cover artwork features references the cover artwork for Tokio Hotel's third studio album Humanoid (2009) and Madonna's music video for "Bedtime Story" (1994). == Release and promotion ==

Originally entitled Light & Darkness, the album was set to be released in September 2009. In an interview for the February 2010 issue of Marie Claire, Aguilera announced that the project was entitled Bionic and would be made available in March 2010. However, on March 25 of that year, Aguilera re-confirmed that the album would be released on June 8. In May of that year, the fan edition of the project was made available for pre-order via Sony Music Entertainment. The release included exclusive features, including a 12-inch × 12-inch box, a triple vinyl set, a deluxe edition CD of Bionic, and two exclusive photographs of Aguilera. On June 4, 2010, Bionic was released for CD and digital download in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. In the United States and Canada, the album was released on June 8. Aguilera made several appearances on television shows in mid-2010 to promote Bionic. She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on May 7 and performed the lead single "Not Myself Tonight". On May 26, Aguilera performed "You Lost Me" at the season finale of the ninth season of American Idol. The following month, Aguilera opened the 2010 MTV Movie Awards on June 6 with a medley of "Bionic", "Not Myself Tonight" and "Woohoo", and appeared on Today on June 8, where she performed "Bionic", "Not Myself Tonight", "You Lost Me", and two previous singles "Beautiful" and "Fighter". Later that month, she performed "You Lost Me" on the Late Show with David Letterman on June 9, and "Not Myself Tonight", "You Lost Me", "Fighter" and a medley of "Genie in a Bottle" and "What a Girl Wants" on The Early Show on June 11. A VH1 Storytellers episode featuring Aguilera's performances aired on June 13. Cancelled concert tour Aguilera initially planned to further promote the album by embarking on The Bionic Tour. It was announced in early May 2010 that twenty shows had been scheduled in North America, which would run from July 15, 2010, to August 19, 2010. British singer Leona Lewis was said to be a supporting act and the tour would be in conjunction with North American leg of Lewis's tour the Labyrinth (2010). Later that month, Aguilera announced that she would postpone the tour until 2011, however, that never happened. In a message from tour promoter Live Nation, Aguilera stated that due to the excessive promotion of the album and her then upcoming film debut in Burlesque, she felt it was necessary to take more time to rehearse the show and with less than a month between the album release and the tour, it was impossible to create a show as her fans' expectation. Singles was featured on "Woohoo", which was released as the second single in the United States and several European countries "Not Myself Tonight" was released as Bionics lead single on April 2, 2010. It debuted and peaked at number twenty-three on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Aguilera's third highest solo debut on the chart after "Keeps Gettin' Better" (2008) and "Ain't No Other Man" (2006). Internationally, the song was a moderate commercial success, peaking at number twelve in the United Kingdom, and within the top forty in Australia, Austria, New Zealand and Sweden. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its club nature and Aguilera's vocals on the track; some reviewers also referred to it as her best uptempo recording since her single "Dirrty" (2002). The accompanying music video, directed by Hype Williams, featured a S&M theme with Aguilera sporting different bondage-inspired looks. Paying homage to Madonna's music videos for "Express Yourself" (1989) and "Human Nature" (1995), the video received mixed reviews from critics, who complimented its aesthetic but called it unoriginal. "Woohoo", featuring rapper Nicki Minaj, was released as the second single from Bionic. It was made available exclusively to the iTunes Store on May 18, 2010 before being serviced to rhythmic contemporary radio on May 25, 2010. The song peaked at number one-hundred-and-forty-eight on the UK Singles Chart due to high digital sales, but was never released as a single there. It received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising Minaj's appearance in the song and commending Aguilera's powerful vocals. "You Lost Me" was released as the album's third single on June 27, 2010. The song was sent to contemporary hit radio on June 29, 2010, in the United States. Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly called "You Lost Me" a "lovely" ballad and Amber James said the song was a "somber track" that brings the "honesty and emotion that have made Aguilera one of the premier balladeers of our time." "I Hate Boys" was released as the fourth single digitally on September 3, 2010 in a two-track single format. It was the eighth most-added song to radio stations in Australia from the week ending July 23, 2010. It peaked at number twenty-eight on the Australian Airplay Chart. Additionally, in the United Kingdom "Lift Me Up" debuted at number 26 on the UK Independent Singles Chart, despite not being released as a single, as reported by the Official Charts Company. == Critical reception ==

Initial reviews Bionic received generally mixed reviews from music critics at the time of its release. In a positive review, AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine opined that the "robot-diva hybrids are often interesting even when they stumble". Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson said that it is as "efficient a pop entertainment" as was Britney Spears' Circus, but felt that its attempt at hedonistic themes "feels synthetic and compulsory." Conversely, Entertainment Weekly later named Bionic the fifth worst album of 2010 in a year-end list. Retrospective commentary In June 2012, Sam Lansky wrote for MTV News that the record "was, at times, precociously brilliant" and most of its songs were "thrilling", claiming that "the songs on the deluxe edition are forward-thinking and even timeless, galactic pop with subversive, ambient production." Lansky added that "two years after the fact, Bionics moments of greatness remain about as good as it gets." In similar vein, Mike Wass of Idolator asserted five months later that "the album holds up better than expected, and is actually an intriguing — if somewhat disjointed and often meandering — collection of songs." While reviewing Aguilera's eighth studio album Liberation in June 2018, Pitchfork writer Claire Lobenfield retrospectively hailed Bionic as a record with "cutting-edge singles" that was "perhaps too forward-thinking, a risk that could have reaped the rewards of poptimism if the album had only been released a few years later." The following October, Joey Guerra of Houston Chronicle echoed these statements regarding the progressive nature of the album, calling Bionic "a forward-thinking assertion of independence like Madonna's 'Erotica' and Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope." One of its tracks, "Birds of Prey", was ranked by Billboard at number 68 on a 2017 list of the hundred best deep cuts by 21st century pop stars, who wrote the song stood out as one of Aguilera's "most sonically beguiling compositions". Ten years after the record's release, Glenn Rowley of Billboard wrote Bionic had become "something of a cult favorite LP" over time and noted that there had been regular calls for "#JusticeForBionic" — the online campaign — on social media. Wass opined that "Few albums have as many layers. Xtina blessed us with pitch-perfect bangers, beautiful ballads, quirky experiments and sexy slow jams. There is literally a bop for every mood." In 2024, Paper called the album "ever-controversial", also noting it "was misunderstood upon release but has become a cult favorite". LA Weekly opined that Bionic "has gained a cult following for its innovative electronic sound". Accolades ==Commercial performance==

Unlike Aguilera's previous studio albums, Bionic had trouble maintaining commercial success in the international markets. On the week ending June 26, 2010, the album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 110,000 copies. However, those first-week sales were comparatively less than those of Aguilera's previous studio album Back to Basics (2006), which peaked at number one with 346,000 copies sold. In its third week, Bionic dropped to number twenty-two. Bionic has sold over 1.15 million tracks in the United States. As of August 2019, the album has sold 332,000 copies in the United States. As of June 2018, the album has moved 500,000 album-equivalent units in the United States, being certified by RIAA as Gold. The album ranked as the year's seventy-sixth best-selling album in the United States. On the week ending June 26, 2010, Bionic debuted at its peak position, number three, on the Canadian Albums Chart. The following week, it charted at number nine. In the United Kingdom, Bionic debuted atop the UK Albums Chart, becoming Aguilera's second consecutive studio album to debut atop the chart with 24,000 copies sold. It became the lowest-selling UK Albums Chart number-one album in eight years but the record was later broken by Marina and the Diamonds and Newton Faulkner in 2012. However, in the album's second week on the chart, it made the UK Albums Chart history when, on June 20, it registered the largest drop in chart history for a number one album by falling twenty-eight places to number twenty-nine, selling 9,754 copies that week. This was beat by The Vamps in 2017, when their album Night & Day fell thirty-four places from number one to number thirty-five. Bionic has been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). During the twenty-third week of 2010, the album debuted atop the Greek Top 50 Albums, replacing Soulfly's Omen, and receiving a gold certification from IFPI Greece. The album also managed to peak within the top ten in Austria, Belgian region of Flanders, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden. On the week ending June 12, Bionic debuted at number twenty-three on the French Albums Chart. As of December 2010, it has sold over 10,000 copies in the country. The album peaked within the top ten in both Australia and New Zealand. On the week commencing June 14, the album debuted and peaked at number three on the Australian Albums Chart. It remained in the top five in its second week, and descended to number sixteen in its third week. Bionic was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments exceeding 35,000 copies. In New Zealand, the album peaked at number six. == Track listing ==

• Hill • Switch }} • Jamal Jones • Ester Dean • Jason Perry • Greg Curtis }} • Aguilera • Jones • Dean • Claude Kelly • Onika Maraj }} • Polow da Don • Kelly }} • Aguilera • Mathangi Arulpragasam • Hill • Taylor }} • Hill • Switch }} • Aguilera • Christopher "Tricky" Stewart • Kelly }} • Stewart • Kelly }} • Aguilera • Stewart • Kelly }} • Stewart • Kelly }} • Aguilera • Stewart • Kelly }} • Stewart • Kelly }} • Aguilera • Detail • Edwards Jr. }} • Focus... • Detail }} • Aguilera • Sia Furler • Samuel Dixon }} • Dixon • Furler }} • Aguilera • Furler • Dixon }} • Dixon • Furler }} • Aguilera • Furler • Dixon }} • Dixon • Furler }} • Aguilera • Jones • Dean • William Tyler • Bill Wellings • J.J. Hunter }} • Polow da Don • Kelly }} • Aguilera • Kathleen Hanna • Johanna Fateman • J.D. Samson • Merrill Nisker }} • Aguilera • Dean • Kelly }} • Dean • Kelly }} }} • Hill • Switch }} • Aguilera • White • Hill • Taylor }} • Hill • Switch }} • Aguilera • Cathy Dennis • Helen Marnie • Daniel Hunt • Mira Aroyo • Reuben Wu }} • Aguilera • Furler • Dixon }} • Dixon • Furler }} • Aguilera • Furler • Dixon }} • Dixon • Furler }} }} }} Notes • signifies a vocal producer • "Woohoo" contains a sample from "Add Már, Uram Az Esőt!" performed by Kati Kovács. • "I Hate Boys" contains a sample from "Jungle Juice", written by Bill Wellings and J.J. Hunter, and performed by Elektrik Cokernut. • In China, Bionic excludes the tracks "Woohoo", "Morning Dessert (Intro)" and "Sex for Breakfast". ==Personnel ==

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Bionic • Christina Aguilera – vocals • John Salvatore Scaglione – electric guitar • Leo Abrahams – acoustic guitar, electric guitar • Brett Banducci – viola • Felix Bloxsom – percussion, drums • Denise Briese – contrabass • Alejandro Carballo – trombone • Daphne Chen – violin, concert mistress • Matt Cooker – cello • Pablo Correa – percussion • Ester Dean – background vocals • Samuel Dixon – acoustic guitar, bass, piano, celeste • Richard Dodd – cello • Stefanie Fife – cello • Sam Fischer – violin • Jimmy Hogarth – acoustic guitar, electric guitar • Chauncey "Hit-Boy" Hollis – keyboards • Paul Ill – bass • Claude Kelly – background vocals • James King – flute, alto sax, baritone sax, tenor sax, snake • Anna Kostyuchek – violin • Oliver Kraus – strings, string arrangements, string engineering • John Krovoza – cello • Marisa Kuney – violin • Victoria Lanier – violin • Juan Manuel-Leguizamón – percussion • Ami Levy – violin • Abe Liebhaber – cello • Nicki Minaj – vocals (track 3) • Diego Miralles – cello • Julio Miranda – guitar • Karolina Naziemiec – viola • Neli Nikolaeva – violin • Cameron Patrick – violin • Peaches – rap • Linda Perry – bass, guitar, percussion, piano, keyboards • Radu Pieptea – violin • Melissa Reiner – violin • David Sage – viola • Kellii Scott – drums • Arturo Solar – trumpet • Audrey Solomon – violin • Jenny Takamatsu – violin • Tom Tally – viola • Jason Torreano – contrabass • Jessica van Velzen – viola • Amy Wickman – violin • Rodney Wirtz – viola • Richard Worn – contrabass • Alwyn Wright – violin • Deantoni Parks – drums ("Monday Morning") • Thomas Aiezza – assistant engineer • Brian "Fluff" Allison – assistant engineer • Christopher Anderson-Bazzoli – conductor • Matt Benefield – assistant engineer, assistant • Richard Brown – assistant engineer • Dan Carey – mixing • Andrew Chavez – Pro-Tools • Cameron Craig – engineering • Ester Dean – production • Detail – vocal production • Samuel Dixon – programming, production, engineering • D Face – artwork • Sia Furler – vocal production • Brian Gardner – mastering • Terry Glenny – violin • Larry Goldings – piano • Eric Gorfain – string arrangements • Josh Gudwin – engineering • Kuk Harrell – engineering • John Hill – production, engineering, instrumentation • Jimmy Hogarth – engineering • Jaycen Joshua – mixing • Josh Mosser – engineering • Claude Kelly – vocal production • Alex Leader – engineering, assistant engineer • Giancarlo Lino – assistant • Erik Madrid – assistant • Alix Malka – photography • Manny Marroquin – engineering, mixing • Kyle Moorman – Pro-Tools • Bryan Morton – engineering • Luis Navarro – assistant • Linda Perry – programming, production, engineering • Christian Plata – assistant • Polow da Don – production • Oscar Ramirez – engineering, vocal engineering • TheRealFocus... – production, instrumentation • Andros Rodriguez – engineer • Alexis Smith – assistant engineer • Eric Spring – engineering • Jay Stevenson – assistant engineer • Jeremy Stevenson – engineering • Christopher Stewart – production • Subskrpt – engineering, assistant engineer • Switch – production, engineering, mixing, instrumentation • Brian "B-Luv" Thomas – engineering • Pat Thrall – engineering • Le Tigre – production • Randy Urbanski – assistant • Eli Walker – engineering • Cory Williams – engineering • Andrew Wuepper – engineering • Reuben Wu – production ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts == Certifications and sales==

• Urban Outfitters exclusive black and grey splattered clear vinyl. == References ==