Back to the Present

Status: With a really happy heart
Music: Tell Me – P. Diddy feat Christina Aguilera

Contrary to popular opinion, P.Diddy’s “Press Play” album, as far as I am concerned, is something to spend some cash on. I’m not sure of this, though, because I still haven’t heard the entire album yet. But at least, his first two singles are damn hot. And the album already reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart.

I was still not over my being hooked to Come to Me (P. Diddy feat Nicole Scherzinger) when Tell Me, this time with Christina Aguilera, was released on October 30. The video is not spectacular. It’s just OK. There’s nothing that impressive in and about it except for Christina. It’s so refreshing to see her again minus the Monroe curls and the straight-from-the-40s/30s/20s costume. Christina is prettiest in this video. And she’s sooo blonde, which I’m still trying to figure out if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.

The song itself is not stunningly awesome. I just like the beat. And I share my opinion with most of the music fans in the online community — If it weren’t for Christina, the song would have been one big mess. Christina did her part amazingly but P.Diddy didn’t give any justice to it. His part is so dull I always skip to Christina’s part everytime I play this song.

And there’s something lacking. Maybe I’m already not used to hearing Christina’s singing style in the 90s (for her debut album) again. She doesn’t belt much here because the song is not something that gives her any chance to show vocal range or something unlike in her past upbeat singles (Lady Marmalade, Car Wash, etc). It’s much like the video version of Come on Over Baby, which I really love. But it’s OK. Christina effortlessly outshines P. Diddy when it shouldn’t be the case because (1) it’s a collaboration, not a showdown and (2) she’s only the featured artist and it’s P. Diddy’s single. But what is Christina to do? P. Diddy is just one big crap in this song. But I will still grab a copy of his record cos I heard the next single is going to be with Mary J. Blige. Yebah!

# # #

Another video to watch out for is Christina’s Hurt. The song is very good. The video is not brilliant but it’s emotionally charged that sets it apart from most of the videos today. The video gave me goosebumps the first time I saw it. Beware, though. Christina is a little overacting in this video. But it’s totally fine. Even Mariah Carey sucks big time in some of her supposedly dramatic videos. Christina co-directed the video with Floria Sigismondi, the same person behind Fighter (Christina’s best video to date).

*photos courtesy of concreteloop.com

• Bookmark on Delicious
• Digg this post
• Recommend on Facebook
• Buzz it up
• Buzz it up
• share via Reddit
• Share with Stumblers
• Tweet about it
• Subscribe to the comments on this post
• Tell a friend
• Print for later

If you liked this post, you might want to check out:

• Christina Aguilera and Cher Join Forces in ‘Burlesque’
• First Listen to Christina Aguilera’s ‘You Lost Me’ and ‘Bionic’ Tracks (VH1 Storytellers Leaks with Lyrics)
• Move Over Y’all, Christina Aguilera is Back!
• Tara, Nood Tayo!
• A Smorgasbord of Unwanted Comments on Contemporary Music
• God, I Miss Boy Bands!
• Album Review: Christina Aguilera – Bionic (2010)
• Boyce Avenue Returns to Manila for MusicFest, Also Featuring Kris Allen and Jabbawockeez
• My Top 100 All-Time Favorite Love Songs (Part 2)
• Christina Aguilera: Back to Basics Tour Live in Manila