Christina Aguilera with the LA Phil

Christina Aguilera with the LA Phil

Residency by Christina Aguilera
Orchestra	Los Angeles Philharmonic
Conductor	Gustavo Dudamel
Location	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Venue	Hollywood Bowl
Start date	July 16, 2021
End date	July 17, 2021
Duration	70 minutes
No. of shows	2
Guests	Ian Axel
Attendance	35,000 (total)
Christina Aguilera concert chronology

Christina Aguilera with the LA Phil was the second concert residency by American singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera, accompanied the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel. The residency was held at the Hollywood Bowl amphitheater in Los Angeles, California during two consecutive nights on Friday, July 16 and Saturday, July 17, 2021. The residency was Aguilera's first performance in almost 18 months after the cancellation of The Xperience in March and September 2020. During the show, Aguilera performed her discography as well as several covers, with the LA Phil contributing to all but five numbers, as well as several interludes. Aside from the orchestra, Aguilera was also joined by her tour band. The show featured seven costume changes, as well as a mountain fixture, on top of which Aguilera opened the show as a reference to the opening scene in The Sound of Music (1965).

The residency was a critical and commercial success, with both shows selling out and receiving praise from critics.

Background

Following the conclusion of The X Tour in 2019, Aguilera continued her Las Vegas residency, The Xperience. The residency was planned to continue until November 2020, but following the show on March 7, it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the final leg getting cancelled in September. Aguilera wouldn't perform for almost 18 months following the cancellation of The Xperience.

Aguilera was invited to perform at the Hollywood Bowl for a two night residency by Dudamel on behalf of the LA Philharmonic. The shows were announced in early June 2021. Due to COVID restrictions, audience members were required to wear masks for the duration of the show. Musical inspiration for the show was taken from film and composers, such as Danny Elfman's work with Tim Burton, Philip Glass and Nicholas Britell. Another source of inspiration was the opening scene in The Sound of Music, where Julie Andrews is seen singing atop a mountain in Austria.

About the show

Music

The set featured the contribution of Gustavo Dudamel, conducting the orchestra of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as Aguilera's own band. The set list featured songs from four of Aguilera's English-language albums (excluding 2000's My Kind of Christmas, 2010's Bionic, and 2012's Lotus), as well as her rendition of "Contigo en la Distancia", which is featured on her first Spanish-language album, Mi Reflejo (2000). In addition to songs from her own discography, Aguilera also performed two covers: the Etta James popularized "At Last", and James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World", both songs she'd previously covered and received acclaim for.

The show featured fifteen musical numbers, with the LA Phil contributing to ten of them, including the orchestral opening score. The rest of the numbers featured only Aguilera and her own band. During the song "Say Something", Aguilera is joined by Ian Axel, singer of the American musical duo A Great Big World, with who Aguilera duetted the song with.

Fashion and style

The show's fashion was characterized by several costume changes, which were done over a base outfit, which Aguilera wore the entire show. Aguilera's makeup was done by Etienne Ortega and her hair by Iggy Rosales, while the styling was handled by Mel Ottenberg. Ottenberg wrote an article for Interview Magazine, who he is the Editor-in-chief of, documenting the design and styling process.

The show fetured seven outfit changes. The first outfit of the set was a black catsuit, designed by LA Roxx and a pair of Gianvito Rossi black ankle-height boots. Underneath the catsuit, Aguilera wore Wolford undergarments. Aside from being used as the show's opening outfit, it was used as the base for the rest of the show's costumes, with different pieces being draped over it. For the opening look, it was styled with a pair of Nickho Rey earrings, a Swarovski ring and choker and a vintage diamond necklace from Kentshire, as well as a custom black ruched belt by Anthony Canney. Following the performance of "Ain't No Other Man", a metallic M'Lynn Hass skirt was draped over the catsuit and was styled with a Laurel DeWitt neckpiece and archive Swarovski cuffs. The third styling of the base outfit featured white sparkling Versace sunglasses, custom white leather Gaspar evening gloves and an archive Swarovski necklace. It is customary of Aguilera to wear chaps when performing "Dirrty", as they have become synonymous with the song. Ottenberg contacted American fashion designer Zaldy to design a pair for the set. The final product was a bedazzled thong and a studded pair of chaps which would be layered on top of the catsuit. It was styled with a Dena Kemp ring and a pair of Briony Raymond earrings. The styling was then replaced by bangles and a Medusa ring from Versace, a diamond necklace, a chain necklace with two crosses, and a David Webb gold and diamond ring from Broken English jewellery. For the performances of "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" and "Fighter", the simple base outfit was styled with an old Hollywood style feathered robe by Catherine D'lish and a pair of diamond hoop earrings. The encore performance outfit involved stripping away the styling and draping on a black sheer ball gown skirt over the catsuit, made by Anthony Canney.

Iggy Rosales styled Aguilera's hair in an intricate bun for the July 16 show. The second show on the following night featured Aguilera's hair in a long ponytail braid. Her makeup, by Etienne Ortega, remained similar in nature between both nights.

Set design

Set design for the show was handled by Kristen Vallow. The show's setting was mostly similar in nature to the regular stage, with the addition of a large white mountain-shaped setpiece. The mountain served as a projection screen, used to project visual effects onto it. Aguilera could also climb to the top through a staircase in the back, as she did during her performances of "At Last" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World". The mountain was a reference to the 1965 film The Sound of Music. During the show, Aguilera addressed the mountain, saying:

I was originally, of course, inspired by the great Rodgers and Hammerstein and The Sound of Music being the first thing that ever spoke to me musically. I wanted to be Julie Andrews on the hills and tonight is that moment for me. I’m just constantly inspired by composers and the way they create worlds and take you to other places and have new perspectives hearing things, it’s just incredible.

Reception

The show received critical acclaim. Ranita Aniftos of Billboard complimented Aguilera's "mind blowing vocal runs" and called her rendition of "At Last" an "intoxicating cover of Etta James' classic". Variety's Chris William complimented the 70-minute set's fashion and ability to incorporate the orchestra into songs like "Dirrty".

The residency was held for two consecutive nights at the Hollywood Bowl. The 17,500 seat amphitheater was sold out for both nights, totaling an audience of 35,000.

Set list

1. "Opening Score"
2. "At Last" / "Ain't No Other Man"
3. "Genie In a Bottle"
4. "The Voice Within"
5. "Peaches" / "Can't Hold Us Down" (sans orchestra)
6. "Maria"
7. "Twice" (sans orchestra)
8. "Say Something (with Ian Axel of A Great Big World)
9. "Dirrty"
10. "Express / "Lady Marmalade" (sans orchestra)
11. "Contigo en la Distancia" (sans orchestra)
12. "What a Girl Wants" (sans orchestra)
13. "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"
14. "Fighter"

Encore

15. "Beautiful"

Personnel

• Christina Aguilera: lead performer
• Gustavo Dudamel: conductor
• Philipa Price: Creative director
• Sarah Francus: Creative director
• Mel Ottenberg: Styling for Christina Aguilera
• Stephen Galloway: Choreographer & clothing designer for the dancers
• Kristen Vallow: Set designer
• Etienne Ortega: Makeup artist for Christina Aguilera
• Iggy Rosales: Hair styling for Christina Aguilera