Alycia Baumgardner Vs. Christina Linardatou

The soundtrack to Christina Aguilera's silver screen debut Burlesque shines the spotlight on Xtina, who is in full-bore diva mode – a return to the splashy swing of Back to Basics after the robotic R&B of Bionic. Of course, many of her collaborators from Bionic remain on Burlesque: Tricky Stewart is responsible for the glitzy dance, and Sia Furler co-writes the ballads, their contributions slotted between two Cher songs designed to push the narrative forward, two Etta James covers, a slice of heavy camp in the mincing "But I’m a Good Girl", and a Nicole Scherzinger co-written interpolation of Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People" that provides a bewildering conclusion to this soundtrack. Some of this stuff is quite good, particularly when Christina swings her hips to Etta's lead, bringing to mind the zest of "Ain’t No Other Man".

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin returns to Pentatone together with soprano Christina Landshamer, presenting La Passione, a collection of dazzling concert arias on love, longing and loss by Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn, paired with the latter’s “La Passione” Symphony. Ranging from pastoral simplicity to exuberant outrage, the programme offers some of the finest vocal writing around 1800, including some of Beethoven’s rare and little-known excursions to Italian bravura opera, as well as one of the most dramatic and expressive symphonies of the eighteenth-century.

Whilst style wise this might be far removed from the symphonic-rock sound of Magenta it will come as no surprise to those who are familiar with Rob and Christina’s eclectic musical tastes. Along with pop and rock, elements of blues and jazz surface, all of which are handled with supreme confidence and panache. Christina’s beautiful, crystalline voice obviously takes centre stage with Rob taking care of most of the instrumental backing including keyboards, piano, bass and guitars…

Ignite your life force and purify your body through the union of breath and movement. Christina Pedersen offers you a unique and complete yoga practice designed to strengthen, tone and detoxify the body while reconnecting with your breath and calming your mind. Christina is a Kripalu certified yoga instructor who has been practicing yoga since 1996. She is strongly influenced by the Iyengar, Ashtanga and Kripalu traditions and has interwoven aspects of these into this Vinyasa Flow practice. Christina believes that finding and maintaining a deep, full breath is the secret in attaining a fulfilling yoga practice and a truly peaceful state of being. This Vinyasa Flow DVD is ideal for those seeking an invigorating home yoga practice. The practice begins with deep breathing and centering, followed by warm-up stretches and the asana series. Christina concludes with a restorative, relaxing guided meditation and Savasana. The unique combination of pranyama (breathing), asana (physical postures) and relaxation will leave you feeling calm, yet energized.