Christina Aguilera turns up the heat on the cover of Paper Magazine‘s latest issue.

The Pop icon lives up to her billing in the striking shoot, which was lensed by Erica Synder

Though ever booked and busy, the spread specifically arrives in tandem with the 25th anniversary of Xtina’s self-titled debut studio album.

And while she’s seized the season to reflect on that blockbuster project, which is home to ‘Genie in a Bottle,‘ Aguilera is also opening up about 2010’s polarizer –‘Bionic.’

Head below to see what she had to say….

Speaking on the ‘Not Myself Tonight’-led record, the 43-year-old began by saying:

 “‘Bionic’ was not a huge song, but I can’t tell you how much love I get for that specific album. You listen to that song now and it holds up. At the end of the day, you look at the actual body of work. Whenever I’m not around anymore, for generations to come, they can enjoy different aspects of what I did and the music lives on. This is about the bigger picture.”

Continuing, she doubled down on past remarks about it being ahead of its time:

“Bionic was an adventurous album. I was very inspired at the time by electronica music, by M.I.A. and Ladytron, Switch and John Hill, who are incredible producers. They knew how to piece together these intricate electronic sounds, and these are newer to the ear. At the end of the day, sometimes things happen in pop culture that people aren’t ready for. But it’s not for me to really know and dissect, because I put something out there that I truly loved and still love to this day. “Bionic” and “Vanity,” these records that are so fun to perform live and get the audience hype and stand the test of time.”

On loving the LP despite the critique it received at the time, Aguilera quipped:

“I make that decision before I release it. It’s almost like you’re protective of your child: If I send this out into the world, it’s not mine anymore. You want to protect it and love it, and you don’t want people to be mean to it, like a child. But at the same time, I’m not going to shy away from a challenge. If you’re a real artist, you’re gonna put yourself out there. You get it to a place where it’s like, No matter what somebody can say about it, I love it. It can’t be broken because it’s a part of me, it’s real. That’s why I don’t hold weight in numbers or in other people’s opinions, because it’s so easy to critique and cast judgment. But it comes with the territory, I get it. You have to be able to stay authentic, or else you’ll lose your own sense of self and creativity.”

Expanding on how approaches her artistry, she concluded:

“I never was interested in making the same record over and over again, that’s my worst idea of music. It’s part of our jobs as musicians to see where music is moving and see what’s happening socially. It really is about connecting and trying to bring people together.

Your thoughts?

[Photo Credit: Paper / Erica Synder]

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