SSE Hydro, GlasgowGenuinely jaw-dropping, Aguilera’s vocals are so powerful that she cuts through the glittering gladiatorial chaos
Christina Aguilera is draped across an elaborate golden throne that is rising, tantalisingly slowly, from the belly of the Hydro. Glasgow’s impatient crowd erupts with noise before she’s even visible. A dizzying recap of Aguilera’s 20-year career, the X Tour is her first visit to the
UK in well over a decade. Such is her legend that two buskers are competing to cover her classics in the walkway to the arena, pandering to punters who shriek with delight.
The X Tour throws together her biggest hits in a series of randomly themed, over-produced acts, with costume changes, unholy guitar solos and video footage punchier than a Marvel fight scene. Presumably adapted from Aguilera’s Vegas residency, this dazzling spectacle feels almost like a one-woman variety show, were it not for the eight dancers, three singers, full band and mountain of glitter. Everything is supersized, but nothing more so than her voice. Aguilera can switch from breezy ad-lib to finger-waving, earpiece-tapping devastation in a split-second. Genuinely jaw-dropping, her vocals are so rich and powerful that she cuts through all the chaos – of which there is a lot.