Review: Christina Aguilera at the O2 Arena
Review: Christina Aguilera at the O2 Arena
The pop icon delivers a sensational set full of throwback hits in front of a lively crowd at London’s O2 Arena. Adam Davidson reviews.
The five-times Grammy winner was one of the defining figures in early noughties pop alongside Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. She has an impressive 4 number-ones in the UK charts and after performances in Scarborough Open Air Theatre and Liverpool, Christina Aguilera now brings her UK tour to London’s O2 Arena.
The lights went down and the message ‘Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to get Dirrty?’ flashed across the screen. Christina Aguilera came on to roaring applause and opened with her guaranteed party starter, ‘Dirrty.’
This was followed by ‘Can’t Hold Us Down’, ‘Bionic’, ‘Vanity’ and ‘Genie in the Bottle’ and the audience were immersed with stunning visual effects with everything from smoke and confetti cannons to strobe lights creating a special experience for everyone in the arena.
After ‘What a Girl Wants’, Christina went off stage briefly and an interview played on the screen with the singer talking about going back to her Latin roots for her latest album, setting up the next section of the show.
It was a high-octane and exciting section of the show that centred around ‘La Fuerza’, her first Spanish-language album in two decades, bringing the Latin flare to London.
Following this came hit after hit with crowd favourites coming thick and fast from ‘Ain’t No Other Man’ to ‘Candy Man’ and ‘Moves Like Jagger.’ Throughout these songs was a brilliant blend of choreographed dances to visual effects and Aguilera’s unmistakable vocals which had everyone dancing along.
There were quite often long breaks in between sections but these gaps were filled by energetic dances which kept the crowd entertained.
She had a treat in store for the London crowd as she welcomed Olly Alexander onto the stage to join her to duet on the tearjerker ‘Say Something.’
Undoubtedly a daunting task for the Years and Years lead singer, singing a famous song with a pop icon in front of a huge crowd. However, he stunned the audience with an incredible rendition before being joined by Aguilera in the second verse.
Christina Aguilera has gained a reputation over the last two decades as one of the great voices in pop music with a rich voice that can hit the most improbable of long notes. Therefore, the highlights of the show came when the singer sang slower ballads like the aforementioned ‘Say Something’ and ‘Beautiful’ which allowed her to showcase her masterful and unique talent.
After the duet, Aguilera went off for a quick costume change and the 02 was transformed into a burlesque club with prop dressing room mirrors, and feather fans as the backup troupe danced on chairs. This could only mean one thing, Lady Marmalade was next up! The cover of Labelle’s disco classic featured on Baz Lurhman’s Moulin Rouge and Christina brought the magic of the Paris underworld to London.
The evening ended with Let There Be Love, as the Rainbow flag appeared on the screen and multicoloured confetti was fired out across the Arena, a nod to her status as an LGBTQ+ icon and continued the theme of ‘love yourself’ which ran throughout the show.
