Christina Aguilera: Pop icon sizzles by the seaside as she kicks off UK tour in Scarborough

There’s not a great deal in common between Scarborough and the New York City birthplace of pop icon Christina Aguilera, but for one night only, the US superstar was in town for a sizzling show by the seaside.
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The 41-year-old Genie In A Bottle hitmaker is in the UK for a brief tour – and kicked it off in front of a sell-out crowd of 8,000 at Scarborough Open Air Theatre.

And what a show we were treated to.

When there’s a big star in town (think of previous pop icons Kylie Minogue and Britney Spears) you can guarantee a great big helping of glitz and glamour.

Christina Aguilera brought a stunning show to Scarborough. (Photo: Paul Dixon).Christina Aguilera brought a stunning show to Scarborough. (Photo: Paul Dixon).
Christina Aguilera brought a stunning show to Scarborough. (Photo: Paul Dixon).

And Christina’s show delivered plenty, backed up with a raft of some of the most memorable pop hits of the last few decades.

We had it all – costume changes, spectacular light shows and backdrops, an energetic posse of dancers, confetti cannons, fireworks – the whole shebang in a hit-packed 80 minute spectacle never short of colour or Hollywood sparkle.

Incredibly, it is now 23 years since she arrived on the scene, with the aforementioned Genie In A Bottle soaring to the top of the charts around the globe.

This tour is a retrospective look back though her entire career, from those teenage years to her current status as one of the elder stateswomen of the candy coated world of pop.

Opening with an energetic rendition of Dirrty, the crowd lapped it up as she bounded around the stage in a sparkly Madonna-esque silver number and black thigh length boots.

Backed with plenty of pyrotechnics, that stunning four octave vocal range threatened to be heard on the other side of the North Sea as she sailed through her back catalogue.

Genie In A Bottle and What A Girl Wants made early appearances before a dip into her Latin roots with Spanish themed tracks Santo, Sueltame and Pa' Mis Muchachas.

"It’s nice to be somewhere with a breeze,” she joked “It’s nice to be somewhere a bit cooler,” as she paraded around the stage in a stunning red full length coat.

But if the weather was a little cooler for Christina’s tastes, the musical gems certainly weren’t with a spirited Candyman getting the audience roaring its approval.

Maroon 5’s Moves Like Jagger and Lady Marmalade ensured Scarborough was on its feet before a Beatles-esque introduction gave way to a stunningly ahem, beautiful version of Beautiful, proof that it doesn’t always have to be about big production stompers.

That just left space for Fighter and Let There Be Love amid another volley of lights and confetti, and the pop sensation was gone, having brought a beautifully book-ended catalogue of pop classics for a spectacular night by the seaside.

This was pop at its finest – and then some.