Wikipedia

The X Tour (Christina Aguilera)

The X Tour (a play on the singer's nickname, Xtina) was the sixth concert tour by American singer Christina Aguilera, in support of her eighth studio album, Liberation (2018). Led by LiveNation, it was surprise announced on the same day as the ticket sale by Aguilera herself on March 4, 2019, and serves as the European counterpart to The Liberation Tour the year before. The tour was scheduled to run concurrent with Aguilera's own Las Vegas concert residency, Christina Aguilera: The Xperience, with the tour running during the breaks of the residency. The tour was split into two legs, with the first leg consisting of 15 shows taking place across Europe, and an additional three in the second leg taking place in Mexico.[1][2][3][4]

The X Tour
Tour by Christina Aguilera
Promotional poster for the tour designed by Play On Play Studio (Melbourne, Australia)
Location
  • Europe
  • North America
Associated albumLiberation
Start dateJuly 4, 2019 (2019-07-04)
End dateDecember 7, 2019 (2019-12-07)
Legs2
No. of shows18
Supporting act(s)
Attendance100,000+
Christina Aguilera concert chronology

Background and development

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Following the announcement of The Liberation Tour, which toured across North America, Aguilera's fans began to ask her if there would be any shows in other continents. However, The Liberation Tour was never extended and did not visit territories outside of North America. To combat this, Aguilera planned the tour in secret as a surprise.[5] When announcing her Las Vegas residency, Christina Aguilera: The Xperience, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on January 29, 2019, Aguilera teased touring in Europe, saying: "I still want to see my fans all over and in Europe and everything [...]".[6] On March 4, 2019, Aguilera took to social media to surprise fans by announcing the tour and that tickets would go on sale that same week, with some of the shows being already available.[7]

Aguilera had last toured in Europe in 2006 with her Back to Basics Tour, with The X Tour marking her first the arena tour of the continent in twelve years.[8][9] In March 2019 it was revealed that one of the cities the singer would visit will be Stuttgart.[10] On June 26, 2019 it was announced that a New Zealand quartet Drax Project would open for Aguilera during her European concert tour.[11] Aloe Blacc was a supporting act in Germany and Switzerland.[10][12]

On September 13, 2019, Aguilera announced that The X Tour would be extended to include eight more shows in Europe, as well as three shows in Mexico.[13] The pre-sale would last between September 18 and 19, with tickets going on sale on the 20.

Commercial performance

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Aguilera performing at SSE Arena in London

Tickets for several shows were made available alongside the announcement, with the rest of the tickets for the nine announced shows going on sale that same week, Following the announcement, all 8,416 tickets for the tour's second show at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp, Belgium sold out. After conclusion of the first nine shows on July 23, 2019, Aguilera returned to Las Vegas to continue her residency, Christina Aguilera: The Xperience.

Due to the high demand, a second date was added for the following night in London.[14]

Critical response

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Aguilera performing at SSE Arena in London

The tour received strong critical praise. Katie Hawthorne of The Guardian opined that "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". She complimented Aguilera's voice, calling it "genuinely jaw-dropping", "rich", and "powerful".[15] Una Mullally, an editor of The Irish Times, noted that "as Aguilera explodes on to the stage, her current energy is as fierce as her past legacy".[16] Tim Heap, writing for the gay-themed magazine Attitude, commended on the show's setlist: "For every high-energy banger, from a reworked 'Genie in a Bottle' to a 'Candyman'/'I Want Candy' mash-up, there’s a ballad that really lets the vocals soar". He gave the tour a four stars rating, and added: "It’s not always easy to be a fan of Xtina, but when live performances are this good, it’s worth it".[17] Katie Fitzpatrick from Manchester Evening News wrote that, "From the punchy pop of 'Ain’t No Other Man' to the bugle bop on 'Candyman', this is a flawless and full-throttle journey through Aguilera's career—and the costumes are fabulous".[18] She also noted that The X Tour "delivers the razzmatazz" of the singer's Las Vegas residency.[18] Helsingin Sanomat's Anton Vanha-Majamaa provided a positive review, and praised the tour for its feminist statements, intense theatricality, and rich choreography.[19] He called Aguilera "one of the most important stars on the pop music scene".[19]

Metro's reviewer Rishma Dosani, who attended the show at Wembley Arena, praised Aguilera for her emotional performance of "Beautiful".[20] Writing for Express & Star, Kirsten Rawlins stated that The X Tour was "a beautiful show from start to end, filled with messages of self-love, peace, and female empowerment—mixed in with smoulderingly sexy costumes and dance moves."[21] She also called Aguilera an artist of "exceptional talent, power, and humanity".[21]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Result
2020 SSE Live Awards Best Solo Act Won[22]

Set list

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This set list is from the July 4, 2019, show in Paris. It is not intended to represent all dates of the tour.[23]

  1. "Bionic"
  2. "Your Body"
  3. "Genie in a Bottle"
  4. "The Voice Within"
  5. "Dirrty"
  6. "Vanity" / "Express" / "Lady Marmalade"
  7. "Fall in Line"
  8. "Can't Hold Us Down"
  9. "Sick of Sittin'"
  10. "Maria"
  11. "Twice"
  12. "Say Something"
  13. "Reflection"
  14. "What a Girl Wants" / "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)"
  15. "Ain't No Other Man"
  16. "Candyman" / "I Want Candy"
  17. "Accelerate"
  18. "Feel This Moment"
  19. "Beautiful"
  20. "Fighter"
  21. "Let There Be Love"

Shows

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List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, opening act, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue
Date (2019) City Country Venue Opening act Attendance[24][13] Revenue
Europe[25]
July 4 Paris France AccorHotels Arena Drax Project 4,750 / 8,000 (59%) $432,934
July 6 Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis 8,416 / 8,416 (100%) $547,752
July 8 Amsterdam Netherlands Ziggo Dome —
July 11 Berlin Germany Mercedes-Benz Arena
July 13[a] Stuttgart Schlossplatz —
July 15[b] Locarno Switzerland Piazza Grande
July 19[c] Pori Finland Kirjurinluoto Arena
July 21 Saint Petersburg Russia Ice Palace Hanna
July 23 Moscow VTB Indoor Arena Maruv
November 5 Dublin Ireland 3Arena Alma
November 7 Glasgow Scotland SSE Hydro
November 9 London England SSE Arena
November 10
November 12 Manchester Manchester Arena
November 14 Birmingham Resorts World Arena
North America[29]
December 3 Monterrey Mexico Auditorio Citibanamex —
December 5 Zapopan Auditorio Telmex
December 7 Mexico City Palacio de los Deportes

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The July 13, 2019, show in Stuttgart, Germany at Schlossplatz is part of the Jazzopen Stuttgart concert series.[26]
  2. ^ The July 15, 2019, show in Locarno, Switzerland at Piazza Grande is part of the Moon and Stars concert series.[27]
  3. ^ The July 19, 2019, show in Pori, Finland at the Kirjurinloto Arena is part of the Pori Jazz concert series.[28]

References

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  1. ^ White, Jack (March 4, 2019). "Christina Aguilera announces The X Tour, her first UK & Ireland tour dates in 13 years". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  2. ^ Nied, Mike (March 4, 2019). "She's Coming, Europe! Christina Aguilera Announces 'The X Tour'". Idolator. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  3. ^ Neville, Steve (March 4, 2019). "Christina Aguilera is coming to Dublin on first European tour in 13 years". Irish Examiner. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  4. ^ Fletcher, Harry (March 4, 2019). "Christina Aguilera tour 2019: How to get tickets for pop diva's first UK shows in 13 years". Evening Standard. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  5. ^ "Christina Aguilera on Twitter: "Thank you for being patient with me— I heard you loud & clear so I've been quietly putting this together for you..."". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  6. ^ Christina Aguilera Reveals Her Big Las Vegas News, 29 January 2019, retrieved 2022-08-27
  7. ^ "Christina Aguilera on Twitter: "❌ THE X TOUR— surprise!! ❌ This one's for all my Fighters in Europe..."". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  8. ^ Nied, Mike (March 4, 2019). "She's Coming, Europe! Christina Aguilera Announces 'The X Tour'". Idolator. Hive Media. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  9. ^ White, Jack (March 4, 2019). "Christina Aguilera announces The X Tour, her first UK & Ireland tour dates in 13 years". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Jazzopen Stuttgart - Christina Aguilera & Aloe Blacc sind mit dabei". SpardaWelt (in German). Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  11. ^ Rees, Katrina (June 27, 2019). "Drax Project to support Christina Aguilera on four European tour dates". CelebMix. Archived from the original on 2019-06-29. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  12. ^ "Christina Aguilera – Moon and Stars" (in German). Moon and Stars. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Christina Aguilera comes back to Mexico". El Universal. 17 September 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  14. ^ "The SSE Arena, Wembley: Due to phenomenal demand Christina Aguilera (@xtina) has just announced a second date here in November". Twitter. March 8, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  15. ^ Hawthorne, Katie (November 8, 2019). "Christina Aguilera review – bondage and burlesque in bad-ass variety show". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  16. ^ Mullally, Una (November 5, 2019). "Christina Aguilera at 3Arena review: raunchy, gritty show of female empowerment". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  17. ^ Heap, Tim (November 11, 2019). "REVIEW: CHRISTINA AGUILERA'S X TOUR: 'WHEN LIVE PERFORMANCES ARE THIS GOOD, IT'S WORTH IT'". Attitude. Archived from the original on November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  18. ^ a b Fitzpatrick, Katie (November 13, 2019). "Review: Christina Aguilera at Manchester Arena". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on November 14, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  19. ^ a b Vanha-Majamaa, Anton (July 20, 2019). "Ensimmäistä kertaa Suomessa esiintynyt Christina Aguilera loihti Poriin spektaakkelin – Lady Marmaladen esittäjä on yhä aikamme tärkeimpiä popmuusikoita ja feministejä". Helsingin Sanomat. Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  20. ^ Dosani, Rishma (November 11, 2019). "Christina Aguilera proves you can't hold her down as she returns with X Tour". Metro. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  21. ^ a b Rawlins, Kirsten (November 15, 2019). "Christina Aguilera, Resorts World Arena, Birmingham − review and pictures". Express & Star. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  22. ^ "SSE Live Awards 2019". SSE Reward. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  23. ^ Nunes, Caian (July 4, 2019). ""The X Tour": Christina Aguilera estreia turnê na Europa com novos figurinos e adição de música queridinha dos fãs". Portal PopLine (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  24. ^ Sources for box office data:
  25. ^ Mackrell, Daniel (4 March 2019). "How to get Christina Aguilera tickets and what are the tour dates?". Metro. DMG Media. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  26. ^ "Christina Aguilera bei den Jazzopen" [Christina Aguilera at the Jazzopen]. Stuttgarter Zeitung (in German). 1 March 2019. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  27. ^ "Christina Aguilera kommt in die Schweiz" [Christina Aguilera comes to Switzerland]. Blick (in German). Ringier. 21 March 2019. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  28. ^ Korpelainen, Lore (4 March 2019). "Christina Aguilera ensimmäistä kertaa Suomeen – konsertoi Pori Jazzissa" [Christina Aguilera for the first time in Finland - performs at Pori Jazz]. Yleisradio Oy (in Finnish). Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  29. ^ Reilly, Nick (March 4, 2019). "Christina Aguilera announces 2019 UK and Ireland arena tour". NME. TI Media. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
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