Christina Aguilera

Whereas such Latin singing sensations as Selena and Ricky Martin built their followings singing in Spanish and then crossed over, Christina Aguilera made her mark as an all-American pop princess and is now attempting to conquer the world. She’s playing concerts in Mexico, Chile, and Brazil in support of her Spanish-language album, Mi Reflejo, and her revamped version of “Genie in a Bottle” (now “Genio Atrapado”) earned a Latin Grammy nomination. In addition to introducing a new audience to her slim back-catalog, Mi Reflejo appeals to her established fanbase with seven new songs. Granted, only a rare subsect of bilingual preteens will understand the words, but not many people listen to Aguilera for her lyrical content. They’re there for her upper-octave acrobatics (Reflejo‘s tunes provide an appropriate forum for her full vocal range) and her unshakable melodies (other than the prereleased tunes, Reflejo offers very few).

“This will make my grandparents proud,” Aguilera has said of this project, and, indeed, the ballad-heavy album seems to have been made with grandparents in mind. Other than the saucy, horn-accented “Falsas Esperanzas” and the mildly percussive “Cuando No Es Contigo,” the new tracks lack a pulse. Instead, they pair her expressive and, at times, excessive voice with backdrops that make a standard elevator tune seem like a full-orchestra rendition of “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” None of producer Rudy Perez’s songs approaches the depths of dreck-peddling diablo Diane Warren, whose nauseating “I Turn to You” gains nothing in the translation to “Por Siempre Tú,” but his compositions are frustratingly bland, and the few promising numbers have been polished until they’ve lost their shine. Aguilera continues to improve as a singer, with both her dazzling bluesy growls and show-stopping high notes displayed in fine form on “Contigo En La Distancia,” but her dilemma remains the same in any language: She needs better material.