Liberation

Her eighth album came six years after Lotus. Recording began in April 2014, and she worked with Kanye West, Anderson .Paak, Che Pope, Mike Dean, Tayla Parx and others. Pharrell Williams and Linda Perry were in the studio early on but are not on the album. Demi Lovato sings on Fall in Line, GoldLink on Like I Do, and Ty Dolla Sign and 2 Chainz on Accelerate. Aguilera said the title meant freeing herself from anything that was not her truth, and the black-and-white cover shows her with little to no makeup.

Metacritic averages 71 from 17 reviews. Alim Kheraj of the Observer wrote that she was at her most artistically emancipated since Stripped, and Pitchfork's Claire Lobenfeld called it a promising first step toward a genuine pop rebirth. It entered the Billboard 200 at number six with 68,000 units and reached number one in Spain. The Liberation Tour began in September 2018.