YMMV / Christina Aguilera

• Common Knowledge: "Genie in a Bottle" is about a horny girl who's desperate for someone to "rub me the right way"? Wrong. The actual lyrics of the song make it clear that the girl isn't just in the mood for sex ("you're licking your lips and blowing kisses my way/but that doesn't mean I'm gonna give it away"), and that if she's going to have it, it'll be on her terms and not just because of hormones.
• Covered Up: "I Turn to You" was originally recorded by All-4-One for the Space Jam soundtrack. Word goes that they expected a single, but the label went against, and songwriter Diane Warren, who felt the song had chart potential, went on to offer it to Aguilera when she recorded her debut album. And indeed, "I Turn to You" charted at #3 and is mostly associated with Aguilera today.
• Don't Shoot the Message: "Can't Hold Us Down"'s song itself has a valid message that women shouldn't be judged for their sexuality, and highlighting the Double Standards faced by the genders are points worth making. The video on the other hand tackles an issue that's very complex and simplifies it down greatly, with the result that the women in the video benefit from some of the double standards they're complaining about.
• Fans Prefer the New Her: During the Stripped period, a lot of fans who'd discovered her through her initial singles bemoaned the Hotter and Sexier image - which sent Moral Guardians into an uproar. The initial squeaky clean Pop Princess image she'd had for "Genie in a Bottle" and her first album was brought on entirely by Executive Meddling wanting her to be like the teen pop craze started by Britney Spears. Stripped represented Christina taking control of her own image - and she refuted the criticisms hurled at the sexual nature of "Dirrty" by reminding people she was in complete control and it was her decision.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • "I'm Ok" details Aguilera's child abuse at the hands of her father growing up. The recorded audio features the sounds of a young girl sobbing and begging, "Daddy please!", while her father lecherously says "Oh you're my good girl!". The warbled drowned out sound and the muffled cries all set to sad guitar doesn't help either. (Worse, the audio is sampled from the film Stephen King's Dolores Claiborne, which also focuses on the subject matters of domestic violence and Parental Incest).
  • "I Turn To You", which depicted a girl surviving a car crash on a rainy night after an argument no less.
  • In "Not Myself Tonight", a few scenes show Aguilera in heavily-clad spiked up eyelashes, a ball-gag and chain bondage that look more scary rather than sexy and appealing to the audience.
  • The track "Dirrty" is hot but the music video show cases grimy, filthy unsanitary environments, bulldogs (alluding to illegal pit bull fights) and then there's the ongoing rumor that the track was featured in underground night clubs that took part in illegal underaged sex trafficking...
• Overshadowed by Controversy: The "Dirrty" video in particular was more infamous for its sexual content and the darkness that the Moral Guardians were complaining about than the actual music for a while.
• Signature Song: "Genie in a Bottle" or "Beautiful".
• Tear Jerker:
  • "I'm Ok" details Aguilera suffering from child abuse and her mother from domestic violence at the hands of her father.
  • "You Lost Me" details Aguilera's heartbreak and anguish over an unfaithful spouse.
  • "Hurt" details Aguilera's mourning of her late father and the music video shows a 1940's circus star losing her father as she becomes overshadowed by fame.
  • "Oh Mother" is a love shoutout to Aguilera's own mother thanking her for all her strength and bravery when both mother and daughter suffered domestic abuse at the hands of Aguilera's late father.
  • As beautiful as "Beautiful" sounds, it's also quite hard not to cry as Aguilera details hers and other peoples isolation from different reasons (bullying, being gay, transgender, body image dysmorphia, ect.)
  • In "I Turn To You", a mother and daughter make up for fighting after she survives a near-fatal car crash.
• Values Dissonance: The "Can't Hold Us Down" video has not aged well. It's been attacked for cultural appropriation, as Christina sports dyed black hair that's tightly curled and appears to be wearing Brownface - and the video's setting is in a predominantly black neighborhood (and the man who gropes her is black, opening a whole other can of worms).