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On the heels of Britney Spear's precocious success comes a new pop Lolita. Like her
predecessors, Aguilera was a member of
TV's Mickey Mouse Club who has scored No. 1 hit with her debut single,
"Genie in a Bottle." But unlike Spears, Aguilera, an 18-year-old thrush from Pittsburgh who appeared on the soundtrack of
Disney's Mulan singing "Reflection" (which is included here)—has been embraced by critics, who liken her powerful vocal style to Mariah
Carey's. The comparison, while accurate, is nothing to crow about.
Both are fond of great cascading melismas that have the cumulative effect of caterwauling. While
Aguilera's vocal acrobatics are impressive, she uses her potent pipes to serve up cliched lyric clangers like
"I turn to you for the strength to be strong/ For the will to carry
on." That double-talk, from "I Turn to You," was written by the ubiquitous Diane Warren, who should be punished for putting such dreck in the poor
child's mouth. Similarly, a tag team of more than a dozen producers have plunged
Aguilera's voice into watery R&B arrangements featuring synthesized drumbeats that patter as monotonously as dripping faucets. Perhaps aware that more is not necessarily better, Aguilera is performing on this
summer's Lilith Fair tour accompanied only by piano.
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