[VIDEO] RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE: A COURSE IN GAY MIRACLES - GAY DIVAS OF THE DECADES - A HERSTORY

[SMART-PHONE FRIENDLY]

[NEWS] CHRISTINA AGUILERA ANSWERS BURNING QUESTIONS: 'I DON'T BELIEVE IN REGRETS'

I think you already know her name. And just in case you forgot how comfortable Christina Aguilera is in her own skin, she's dropped a new music video for "Your Body," the first single off her upcoming album, Lotus. I'm loving the use of pastel colors and the vintage prop styling, all of which suggests a soft and feminine approach, but no less confident than her Dirrty days- if you're going to rock pink and lavender hair, you may as well do it with panache.

And she does.

If the rest of the album sounds this good, Xtina will be claiming her spot at the top of the charts come November 13. Ke$ha, you've been warned.

An avid art collector (her home is filled with originals by D*Face, Shephard Fairey, and Banksy, including a funny one by the latter of a famously prudish Queen Victoria siting on another woman's face), Aguilera has paid special attention to the visuals on this album, hiring hipster street style photographer Mark Hunter a.k.a The Cobrasnake, who, coincidentally, got his start as an asistant to Fairey. The look differs wildly from what Alix Malka shot for Aguilera's 2010 album Bionic, which was aesthetically very sharp and futuristic and cool, as was the music itself, even if it underperformed commercially when compared to Xtina's other albums.

Aguilera has defended her last album recently, calling it "ahead of its time" (peep the new Billboard cover story) but I just think it was misunderstood, and apparently I'm not the only one who feels that way.

The Voice coach was recently honored at the ALMA Awards, where she chatted with us on the carpet, turning heads in a black, curve-hugging Michael Kors gown.

As she puts the finishing touches on the album, which she says is symbolic of a flower "that can withstand even the harshest conditions and still remain strong and beautiful," 31-year-old Aguilera was game to answer some burning questions via e-mail - some that deal with her childhood, others than touch on her current state of mind, as well as how she changed after becoming a mother (Aguilera has said that she struggled with the decision to divorce music exec Jordan Bratman in 2010, but that ultimately she did what she felt was best for their son, Max, now 4).

Of course, I'll be tailoring them to each subject. In Xtina's case, I wanted to know what's behind the new album and I mixed in some lighter questions with the deeper ones.

Out of a list of more than 30 questions, these are the ones she picked.

[NEWS] 'BURLESQUE' CASTMATE FEELING THE PAIN

Kristen Bell is in a lot of pain these days.

"I've started dance rehearsals and my neck is sore and my inner thighs are so sore," Bell told me at last night's Vanity Fair-hosted launch of Guess?'s new T-shirt benefiting Invisible Children.

No, the actress is not training for a stint on Dancing With the Stars. She's getting ready to start shooting Burlesque, director Steve Antin's upcoming drama in which she and Christina Aguilera costar as rivals at a Hollywood burlesque club owned by a former dancer played by Cher.

Rounding out the cast is Twilight stud Cam Gigandet, Julianne Hough and Stanley Tucci.

So just how much skin will Bell and the other young starlets be flashing in the film? Sounds like a lot, but...

"My character is fun and sexy but not a stripper," Bell said. "There is no nudity, and there are no pasties and G-strings."

Her costumes include Madonna-esque cone bras and "Marilyn Monroe boy shorts—the high-waisted panties kind of thing," Bell explained.

"It's very artistic burlesque," she said. "Burlesque is a tease. It's not meant to really give that much away because that wouldn't be considered a tease. It would be considered giving away the goods."

Dancing aside, Bell may end up—gulp!—singing with Xtina. It's not something the former Veronica Mars star is looking forward to.

"There's a competition between the two of us," she said. "I really want to sing and she's allowed to sing at the club so we fight...In the end when all is well, they may sing together. I almost wish they wouldn't, because I would rather just listen to Christina."

Source: E!