From Yahoo Music:
Not-So-Bionic Christina Aguilera Cancels Tour, Says See You In 2011
Posted Tue May 25, 2010 1:49pm PDT by Chris Willman in Stop The Presses!
Better put a big X through any plans you had to see X-tina. Christina Aguilera has canceled her summer tour just days after it went on sale, citing "prior commitments." Most superstars check their calendars for conflicts in the period of months that a tour is being put together, not after tickets are already going over the counter. Which leads to the inevitable speculation that Aguilera's real commitment is to not playing half-full houses.

Not much word about ticket sales had trickled back before the tour was summarily axed. But initial indicators of ongoing interest in Aguilera this year have not been great. Her latest video, for "Not Myself Tonight," was widely derided in the blogosphere. The single topped out at No. 23 on Billboard's Hot 100; after just five weeks, it's at a very tepid No. 55 on the top-selling digital songs chart.

Bionic will be released on June 8. Pre-release orders on Amazon suggest a moderate level of interest in what was expected to be one of the summer's biggest sellers -- the standard regular edition of her upcoming album, Bionic, is at No. 396, while the slightly more expensive deluxe version is at No. 48.

Emergency triage measures are being taken, of course. A new single,"Woo Hoo," featuring Nicki Minaj, is being released to rhythmic top 40 radio today. Most significantly, Aguilera will perform on the American Idol finale Wednesday night, where it's presumed she'll sing the new, rush-released single and not the DOA "Not Myself Tonight."

Bloggers have seemed eager to turn Aguilera into something of a punching bag lately, pitting her against her supposed successor, Lady Gaga. Christina's oft-repeated, catty-sounding quote about Gaga in Out magazine—"Oh, the newcomer? I think she's really fun to look at"—didn't help in turning the likes of Perez Hilton against the battered, defending dance-pop champ. It might take a great album for Aguilera to pull herself out of this perceived slump... and with Bionic already leaking, it's not taking take long for further buzz to form.



Naturally, Live Nation's statement about the tour postponement simply painted her as a busy bee: "Christina Aguilera's summer tour has been moved to 2011 due to prior commitments that the singer had made to her film ‘Burlesque' and to the promotion of her new album Bionic. The singer felt she needed more time to rehearse the show and with less than a month between the album release and tour date this wasn't possible."

If that's legit, it's hardly the first time someone's put a tour off because an album took longer than expected: Tom Petty also postponed the start of his summer tour after tickets had already gone on sale, citing the need to get his album done first. But Petty's tour was only put back by a month, not to the following calendar year. Fans and detractors alike couldn't help but wonder if a tour isn't the foremost promotion you can do for a new album. And the Burlesque film doesn't come out till November 24, which probably doesn't call for a demanding round of film press duties in July.

To play Aguilera's advocate, her (theoretical) tour probably does involve learning a little more choreography than, say, Tom Petty's. We just have a feeling she'll be doing all that dancing in smaller halls when or if we see her in 2011.

The bigger question raised might be: In a post-Madonna pop world that demands its divas reinvent itself every time they reappear on the scene, how many reinventions does Aguilera have in her? She went from teen-pop queen to "Dirrty" girl, then cleaned herself up—sort of—for her classier Back to Basics in 2006. But lately she's seemed more follower than leader. For the new tracks on her 2008 greatest hits album (which was sold only at Target), she went with the electro movement, territory that Britney and others had long since trodden. She doesn't have Gaga's flagrant willingness to remake herself every 10 seconds, nor Katy Perry's carefree charisma—and you can ask Jennifer Lopez how the whole diva thing is going over these days. In 2010, flogging her sex-bomb appeal again, she seems like a woman without an angle.

You'll have to forgive Aguilera: Commercially speaking, anyway, she's not herself this year.

scriptgirl said:

No one is commercially who they are, and to be honest, this is not a slight to her, no one wants to go see the newer artists on tour. They cant sell out shows, recently i was checking the Billboard boxscore and a-ha's tour, i passed by some dates for ALicia Keys, now the bill is ALicia,Melanie Fiona and Robin Thicke, thats alot of talent and alot of records sold, couldnt sell out a 5,000 seat place, not once, but in 4 different areas that are strong touring states. So its got nothing to do with being commercial for doing a tour.

Postponing the tour is a smart move.

Honestly, who cares about album sales, anyway?

Porcupine Tree is my favorite band. I just saw them in a club that (maybe) at the most holds 300 people. It was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. And Porcupine Tree are a non-mainstream band; pretty much nobody, outside of a cult following, knows who they are.

I tend to aim towards the non-mainstream, so if people are going to hate this album, I'll probably love it even more. Most of my top 20 list is made up of albums that are unpopular. Hell, my favorite Paula Cole album is "Harbinger", and that is her lowest selling album (and the only Paula album to flop over and over again, despite rereleases!)

I think the main reason I'm like this is that 97% of other people have SH*TTY TASTES in music. I mean, I turn on the radio, and I'm like, "Why is this popular? It freakin' sucks!"

Bionic is one of the best albums I've heard so far this year, and it hasn't even been officially released yet. I'm not ashamed to be a Xtina fan, not at all, because I thought the Not Myself Tonight video was incredible/stunning/visually entertaining, and I absolutely love every song on this album!

If Xtina postponed because of low popularity, it isn't from her hardcore fans, who are loving every moment of this new 'era.' It's from the casual fan, who expected another "Hurt" and was severely disappointed when Xtina decided to do a 180 and change it up. Because, honestly, the music on this album is different than she's ever done before...that doesn't make it bad, however.

Even if this album bombs, it will still sell enough to keep Xtina rich. And she could stop after this album, and never have to work again. She releases new material because it's in her to put out more music/art.

SoulAlive said:

The thing is that she took time away, i mean almost 4 years between albums, during that time we've had so many come and go, Christina will have her base and thats it, she needs to hold that plain and simple, she is viewed as "old news" in terms of Mainstream, Britney has been through the ringer but didnt take time away for any great time like Xtina did, plus people generally like Britney despite her fucking lunacy at times, Xtina has Never come off well as a person, so many things are in play here. The tour was not relevant, a "world" tour for what? Youre not Bon Jovi.

And who cares about touring? The Beatles didn't tour from 1966-1970, until their breakup. And Kate Bush has only had one tour, in 1978, and since then has not toured any of her albums.

Isn't it supposed to be about the music? Who cares if Xtina cancelled her tour? The album still rocks.

Britney is more charismatic and magnetic. She has that "IT" factor that Xtina doesn't have and people care about Britney. But other than that, why exactly does Christina not come off well as a person?

shipoffools said:

Well U said it all right there, i think alot of people are mixing up slow sales/no sales with bad album, and i always wonder about this double standard on the org, we preach how labels and music are dead and sales are in the toilet and then talk about artists like Melanie Fiona not having sales but being really good, and then Xtina is a disaster because she isnt selling and that equates to a bad album? Im missing how sales dictate how good the work is, i mean we are on a PRINCE forum, we shouldnt be talking sales and how better albums sell, Prince is fucking proof of this, i mean Diamonds and Pearls sold 10 times more than Rainbow Children, but DP was for the most part not a strong album at all.

This christina record is good, but lets also remember this, this album has been out there over a week already on the net, almost a month before street date, i live in NYC and this dude with a blanket on 34th street already has this cd on his display, now if i wanted a xeroxed cdr for $3-5 dollars then i would have gotten it, but i will wait for the store, but remember that thinking of mine is about %5 of the public who have music on their iPods, actually its %2

shipoffools said:

the thing now is that touring is the only form of cash for labels.

lastdecember said:

Wow, I had no idea that it was out that early! I thought it just leaked today. Crazy!

Yeah, when you think about it, Christina's first cd was the most popular in terms of album sales. Is it her best album? Hell no! That's either Stripped or this new one.

Like I said, if you want to take bubblegum pop (Genie In A Bottle) over adult pop (Not Myself Tonight), so be it. Just don't expect me to take you seriously.

scriptgirl said:

Honestly i dont know, but she seems like there is an ego, but again if she were a man it wouldnt be an issue, i mean Elton,Prince,Sting,John Mellencamp,Bono etc..all have tremendous attitudes but also back it up with their amazing talents, and she is talented but as a woman, with attitude, shes a bitch to the public and that is the way its always been with females

shipoffools said:

Things were different when the Beatles stopped touring. Nowadays touring is means to make a living.

Timmy84 said:

Exactly, radio is non existent, the songs that sell have no relation to the albums that sell, and its reflected on the tours that sell big, i mean Bon Jovi will end up with an album that will sell a little less than a million in the states, no hit song, no vh1 play, but cash coming out their asses from the tour. So in the 80's you had a connection on the Singles and ALbums and touring charts, they were similar, now its a mess

I honestly haven't heard any of the negativity in that article, and I've been following this release rather closely. I've read uncountable positive articles about the album and how people are looking forward to it. I also believe her reasons for postponing the tour make perfect sense. I mean, the tickets hadn't gone on sale yet, so you can't blame slow ticket sales. Also, you think Britney has an "it" factor and Christina does not come off well as a person? Uhh, what rock have you been living under for the last five years?

Cerebus said:

God, preach it! Britney has always appeared so 'fake' to me. I like some of her songs, but the girl can't sing.

Xtina, on the other hand, HAS that it factor. She gets on stage, and blows everyone away with her voice. Were you not watching her performance of "Lift Me Up" on the Haiti benefit concert?

Xtina can be b*tchy at times, but that's because she suffered child abuse at the hands of her father. She HAD to grow that hard shell, in order to not go insane. The lyrics of "Fighter" are pretty much autobiographical.

SoulAlive said:

I don't know, man. Maybe she doesn't have to charge that much for a ticket, and just promote her album.

I think an album that is sitting at the top of the charts is justification for Gaga's $110 nosebleed seats.

It doesn't have to be like that though.

She's . She should just let Bionic slide by like Kelly Clarkson did with My December, and jump her arrogant, narrow ass back in the studio and whip up 12 new songs, and get them out by year's end at the latest.

Lets see what happens since the entire album leaked two weeks before it's release.

Yes all the stans keep repeating no one is selling like the used to. but the fact is that Christina has jumped a popular trend and is striving for sales. Gaga has sold over 10 mil world wide with one album and a re-release. If she weren't trying to be commercial she wouldn't have worked with Pow or whatever that fuckers name is. Sure the pinetree porcupines might be great, but CA was never meant to play a 300 crowd.

The album is effing horrible. She deserves all the shit shes getting

Ridiculous. Her tour would sell fine, even when Bionic stalls.

Taylor Swift will never have to reinvent HERself.

Taylor is also likable.

RodeoSchro said:

Well, she does country. Borefest.

midiscover said:

I heard the album yesterday and Im just NOT impressed by it.

scriptgirl said:

She's arrogant and her reputation precedes her as such. There are stories abound of people who are mortified when they actually meet her because she's well, pretty full of herself. Mary J. Blige has publicly told the story of how on first meeting Christina, the girl actually put her hand out to Mary for her to kiss it. At a taping for a tv show here in Germany, she was doing promotion for Back to Basics and when one of the other guests (a highly esteemed, award winning German actress) told her that she loved the cd and listened to it daily in her trailer while filming in the desert, this little thing replied in the most condescending tone "awww, isn't that sweet...that's what I like to hear, dear" and sauntered past this woman to her seat...the haughtines that envelopes that girl is sickening, and I wonder if people will grow fatigued of it while younger, bouncier, friendlier artists come on the scene.

All this hate is way beyond normal! what the hell just happened? can somebody please explain how is this trend of bashing an album and an artist even before they actually release the album itself, became so dominant? Now suddendly everyone is Perez Hilton!

I always thought My Life in the Shadow of Britney Spears could be a reasonable title for her autobiography.

Pardon if somebody has already come up with the same idea.

Cinnie said:

If she had gone ahead with this tour,she would be playing in half-empty arenas.It's better to take some time,release several more singles,get a hit or two,release the movie in the fall,and then tour.

Now that the tour has been postponed,she can concentrate on the new album and movie.

lastdecember said:

WTF