Album Preview: Everything We Know About Christina Aguilera’s 8th LP

Mike Nied | March 29, 2018 12:30 pm
Christina Aguilera Poses For 'Paper'
Xtina poses for a stunning 'Paper' magazine shoot, reveals little about her new LP.

The wait is over. New music from Christina Aguilera is arriving in 2018. Five years have passed since the “Genie In A Bottle” icon dropped Lotus, and fans are thirsting for her next masterpiece. To be fair, she hasn’t exactly been in hiding — partnering with Oreos for an iconic commercial, releasing the odd charity or soundtrack song, posting flawless thirst traps on Instagram and appearing as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Now, she is gearing up for her official return with her new album Liberation, which is set to drop June 15.

Xtina kicked off the era with her hip-hop influenced single, “Accelerate” and has announced plans to travel North America for her first tour in years. We have also seen the tracklist which includes features from the likes of Demi Lovato. While parts of Liberation are still shrouded in mystery, Fighters have shown remarkable aptitude for detective work — piecing together enough information to get us very excited about Christina’s new era.

In celebration of the 37-year-old’s imminent comeback, we have compiled everything we think we know about the album so far. This starts all the way back in April, 2014, when the then-pregnant singer announced she had returned to the studio to create “beautiful music.” Put on your favorite Xtina album and dive into our summary below.

Release Date: June 15

Release Rumors:

Rumors of a release date for CA8 surface at least biannually. In October, 2014, Christina revealed that the album would drop in 2015 after finishing her stint as a judge on The Voice. After missing that deadline, she confirmed that the album would come in the second half of 2016. Again, the release was scheduled around her judging responsibilities. By February, 2017, Xtina promised she was putting the “finishing touches” on the album. Of course, the merciless teasing continued well into 2018.

The Title, Potential Songs & Final Tracklist:

In March, the Legend’s laptop sprang a leak and a flood of unreleased music made its way online. The first song to surface was a snippet of “Masochist,” which was rumored to be the album’s lead single. Shortly thereafter, a track called “Fall In Line” also leaked. Described as a female empowerment anthem, fans speculated that it may be a track from CA8. Days later, an alleged tracklist appeared and introduced Liberation as a potential title.

During a performance in Baku, Azerbaijan on April 28, the icon appeared to confirm the LP’s title with an interlude in the setlist. “This is my liberation. This is our liberation. Be liberated with me,” she cooed over an atmospheric production while a screen broadcast some moody promotional footage. Some of the footage later appeared on Xtina’s social media accounts, leading Fighters to celebrate the looming release.

On May 3, Christina officially kicked off the Liberation era by releasing the project’s lead single, “Accelerate.” The 2 Chainz and Ty Dolla $ign-assisted bop features a production credit from Kanye West and has amassed more than 3 million streams on Spotify as of May 9. Along with the single and video, the “Your Body” hitmaker unveiled the official tracklist and June 15 release date. We will get our next taste of the LP when she and Demi take the stage at the Billboard Music Awards to perform “Fall in Line” May 20.

Collaborators:

Over the years, a multitude of people have been tied to Christina’s 8th LP. In July, 2014, Charli XCX revealed she had turned down an opportunity to record with Xtina because the song wasn’t right. Since then, everyone from Pink to Demi Lovato has been tied to the project. By November, 2014, the hitmaker implied she had been working with Pharrell Williams. She confirmed the collaboration with the “Happy” chart-topper in 2015.

By 2016, Christina expressed interest in hitting the studio with Beyonce during a promotional appearance for The Voice. “I haven’t done Beyonce yet,” she mused. “I think me and Beyonce would be a pretty fierce combination.” Last September, she was photographed with rapper Anderson .Paak before a video surfaced of the pair singing along to her debut single.

In 2017, Pink confirmed that she had worked with her former rival during an interview with The Sun. “We did a duet for her album and I don’t know when it’s coming out but it’s amazing,” she gushed. “We did it two years ago so I don’t remember the title, but she’s incredible.” More recently, speculation that Xtina is collaborating with Cardi B did the rounds on Twitter. The evidence? They were at the same studio and followed each other on social media.

Meanwhile, Demi and Christina have both promised “big things are coming,” feeding rumors of a highly-anticipated collaboration between the big-lunged divas. It is worth noting that a previously leaked Liberation tracklist named Anderson .Paak, Demi, Ty Dolla $ign and 2 Chainz.

The official tracklist dispelled many of the rumored collaborations. Ty and 2 Chainz did appear on “Accelerate” while Demi lent her voice to “Fall In Line.” The only remaining collaboration comes from Keida and Shenseea, who will appear on “Right Moves.”

Producers & Writers:

Numerous producers have been tied to CA8. Chicago-based production duo Da Internz spoke about working with the legendary hitmaker way back in 2015. Previously, they worked on Rihanna’s “Birthday Cake” and Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda,” which alluded to a more hip-hop direction. Christina confirmed “Beautiful” writer Linda Perry’s involvement with the project in 2016. Last year, she was photographed in the studio with Mark Ronson, who contributed a trio of anthems to Back to Basics. Other producers tied to the album include Che Pope, Ricky Reed and the eternally iconic Max Martin.

Sonic Direction:

The Lotus flower’s oft-delayed album has been described quite colorfully in interviews. Da Internz famously referred to their work for the LP as “caviar ratchet” in an interview with Rap-Up. “It’s caviar ratchet… we’re servin’ it on gold platters. You want to know what Christina’s music sounds like? 14K caviar ratchet serving with three finger tips.” Xtina also expressed an interest in exploring the roots of her creativity on the project. “I will go back into my artistic self and really unleash what I’ve been dying to for so long.” That same year she referred to it as her “authentic masterpiece.”

Around the release of her charity single “Change,” she also discussed the healing powers of music and alluded to her goal of inspiring on the new album. “And the whole message that I always have been about is to give the message of hope for everybody out there who needs that message of hope and love.” Regardless the direction she takes, we know it’s going to be well and truly worth the wait.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you for Christina’s new album? Let us know below, or by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter!