[VIDEO] CHRISTINA AGUILERA OPENS UP ABOUT EMBRACING HER INNER 'BADGIRL' FOR 'YOUR BODY'

When Christina Aguilera started planning the video for her single "Your Body," she knew she wanted to work with Melina Matsoukas, who has cooked up eye-catching clips for Beyoncé, Rihanna and Lady Gaga. And, judging by a teaser for the clip, the twosome decided Aguilera was going to be a colorful vixen who robs convenience stores and blows up cars. No big deal.

"I worked with Melina Matsoukas on this video for 'Your Body,' who I was very drawn to because her work I saw in her other videos," Aguilera told MTV News about the clip, which is set to debut ahead of November's Lotus. "It looked like she really caught a character and drew it out of them and really had a story to tell. You know, not needing or wanting or using a lot of background dancers or gimmicks or things like that."

Once the two women met, all bets were off visually. Matsoukas was enlisted to capture the light-hearted side of the singer. "Once we started talking with each other and she heard 'Your Body,' she spun it in a way that you wouldn't expect at all," she said. "And I get to play this character that, yeah, she may be a little bit of a badass, she's very confident, self-assured, but she's super playful and super tongue-in-cheek. She laughs the whole way through the video. She's watching cartoons, and you know she doesn't take herself too seriously.

"I don't think I've ever done a video using so much color and freedom and fun," she added. "There's some unexpected twists and turns. There's cars blowing up, but it's really done in a very fun and playful, tongue-in-cheek way, in almost a comedic sense, if you will. And I had such fun playing that character."

Aguilera, however, isn't new to the bad-girl game. She's dabbled in the role several times, including her saucy turns in her videos for "Dirrty," "Fighter" and "Not Myself Tonight." But that's not all she is.

"The term bad girl should never be taken so seriously," she said. "It's definitely taken with a grain of salt, and I would never title myself as that. Maybe confident, self-assured, which is a message all women should take to heart and be themselves."

Source: MTV