Christina Aguilera's PAPER Magazine shoot is raw transformation

Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera made her debut in 1998, and she has been adorned with makeup and glam, always. But her photo shoot with PAPER Magazine is considered a transformation, one of the minimalist kind.

She shot photos without any covering or enhancements, really setting an artistic tone, like shooting a raw diamond, not masking her freckles or adorning her blue eyes.

Christina told PAPER Magazine, "I've always been someone that obviously loves to experiment, loves theatrics, loves to create a storyline and play a character in a video or through stage. I'm a performer, that's who I am by nature. But I'm at the place, even musically, where it's a liberating feeling to be able to strip it all back and appreciate who you are and your raw beauty."

Of course, going without makeup will not be an everyday thing, Aguilera said,"I mean, I'm a girl that likes a beat face, let's not get it twisted.".

Her confidence and carefree attitude have been cultivated with age (and prolific experience).

Certainly, if one remembers far back enough, in the early 2000's, she was bending trends and there was a stirring of controversy due to her choices in fashion and branding appeal.

Lady Marmalade saw Pink, Mya, Lil Kim and Aguilera featured alongside each other (with Christina oscillating high edgy vocals) as they dressed in sexy controversy. This is course was around when Aguilera started experimenting with more counter-culture looks colorful braids, more revealing outfits, a diverse range of colors and experimental outfits.

When she released Stripped and with the song Dirty in 2002, Aguilera's self-called, "game-changer," she had two-toned hair, sported bikini tops and had worn her well-known pair of leather chaps. Responses ranged from saying they bent traditional fashion norms to outright insult, like from a 2002 Entertainment Weekly article, calling Aguilera the, "world's skeeziest reptile woman."

Back to Basics in 2006 took a vintage 40s approach wearing pinup-inspired outfits with her signature red lipstick.

2010's Bionic, she had combined new and old with a dualistic modernly sharp and classic fuzz. At the 2002 MTV Movie Awards, she wore a  vintage-style victory roll, red lipstick and an Atelier Versace gown with mock heavy chain straps.

Of course, Aguilera has been branding her own take on fashion in collaboration with her music, which has won five Grammys and has sold 50 million records worldwide.

Although she hasn't released a new Album since 2012'sLotus, a new album will come out this year. Her photo shoot with PAPER introduces a more experienced interpretation, and surely the fashion choices she displays will be mirrored in her music - which can also be said the other way around.

Surely she would be excited to get back in the middle of creative work since she applauds the current progressive trend in art and culture, where it is now accepted to be different, be able to take chances and be sexually empowered. This is conducive to positive artistic growth. On top of this, Aguilera was one of the trendsetters, back in the day, whom the current culture reflects.

Christina says with wisdom, "They don't have as much backlash when they come out on the scene. And I did. It was a very interesting and controversial time for me. Either women are not sexual enough or we're not fulfilling enough of a fantasy for you, but then if we're overtly sexual or feeling empowered in a certain kind of way, then we're shamed for it... Madonna had to go through it in her day, and she paved the way for my generation to come up. And paying it forward, now a younger generation is coming up and I'm loving what I'm seeing. It's so incredible."

Fans displayed impatience in January waiting for her newest addition to the music industry with trepidation, which Aguilera replied with a handwritten note on her Walk of Fame star, posted to Instagram, "It's coming b*****s." according to PAPER Magazine.

The sensation around Christina Aguilera is one of renewed vitality, and her photo shoot foreshadows major moves in the future. The question is how will she present her self? She's worn so many styles and has worked through a range of music that is wide and deep, so seeing what she does next will be intriguing. Will the raw but beautiful natural look exhibited in PAPER's Photo spread manifest in her voice and music?

Are you excited about Aguilera's new album? What direction do you think she will go?

Sabrina Carpenter and Jonas Blues drop single ‘Alien’

{"code":"internal_server_error","message":"

There has been a critical error on your website.<\/p>

Learn more about debugging in WordPress.<\/a><\/p>","data":{"status":500},"additional_errors":[]}