Christina Aguilera supported by Nizlopi Live Review

From the video montage of soul legends that kicks off Back In The Day to powerful ballads which sees Christina sporting her tiniest outfit yet: teeny shorts under a split skirt (or is it a variation of Christina's trade mark chaps?), the crowd seem to be enjoying the show, but everyone is willing Ms Aguilera to knock out some audience favourites, songs we really know.

Then a 'volunteer' is pulled on stage to take part in the circus segment of the show (he's taken by Christina and her sexy dancers and placed on a wheel in front of which they gyrate. And he's all smiles. After his 'my name's Alex' announcement, everyone is left wondering whether this guy really was pulled out of the audience or not. But it's entertaining nonetheless, with its acrobats, stilt walker, and fire-eaters.

And finally, it's the part of the show we've all been waiting for as we get a taster of Can't Hold Us Down, with the girls in the audience invited to "shout louder" and we're off into Dirrty andLady Marmalade. With the crowd up on their feet and dancing, Christina follows up with a touching ode to Aguilera's mother, a ballad about domestic abuse and how her mother got her away from that.

Beautiful reminds the crowd what a powerhouse this petite young woman is vocally and Candyman provides the highest note of the night. Classy, visually slick and fast paced, the Back To Basics tour gives us plenty of reasons to adore Christina, but we are left feeling a little flat after the first half. Perhaps she likes to save the best until last?page << 1 2 >>