Christina Aguilera Poses For The Cover Of Frederick’s Of Dollywood

Oh, Christina. Apparently you’re a country-western dominatrix now? Just when we got used to you moonlighting as a slutty cat. In actuality, we really got used to seeing you as a stylish and credible superstar, not as a pandering purveyor of cheap thrills.

This is not the first time Christina Aguilera exuded an in-your-face sexuality in either her videos and performances. The singer, you may recall, introduced us to her inner skank in her “Dirrty” video and slithered across the dancefloor in a fetishy catwoman getup for 2008’s “Keeps Gettin’ Better”. This woman is not afraid to play dress-up in the name of marketing her music, or shoes. (She even one-upped Madonna’s controversial “Like A Prayer” sex-and-religion shtick by donning a full nun’s habit before stripping it off during an MTV Europe awards show performance of “Dirrty.”)

So flirting with “controversial” imagery is nothing new for Christina—but it was more interesting back when she first did it. Before the piercings, the sweat, and the assless chaps, she was a sweet, sensitive pop tart not that far removed from Disney’s programming. Christina was growing up and going through her own personal metamorphosis, and it showed in her music and her style. Basically, there was a reason for adopting that salacious X-Tina persona besides just intending to shock people. She wanted to shed her younger, sweeter self.

But now? Her dip back into the outrageously erotic and scandalous comes off more desperate than titillating and shocking. The whole over-the-top sexual vibe displayed in what we’ve seen so far of her “Not Myself Tonight” video (here’s preview photos one, two and three) isn’t as noteworthy as it is when she first did it, and after classing up her act—with a perfect pinch of burlesque-style naughtiness—and maturing with the retro glamor of her last album Back to Basics, why is she falling back into old habits when she could evolve her image even further to something we haven’t seen before?

We know you X-Tina fans don’t care either way as long as she keeps making good music. And ultimately, that’s what really matters. Although many of you may not be digging Aguilera’s new tunes, as “Not Myself Tonight” is slipping down the Hot 100, falling from #23 to #49—but that could change after the video’s premiere tonight at midnight.

In the meantime, check out yet another incredibly brief video preview below!