EU / UK Summer Series

EU / UK Summer Series, also called Summer Series, was the first promotional tour by American singer Christina Aguilera, in support of her three-part Spanish-language ninth studio album, Aguilera (2022).^[1] The tour was announced following the release of the EP La Fuerza, the album's first part, with the first three UK shows going on sale on February 4, 2022. It began on June 25, 2022 in Mallorca, Spain, and concluded on August 6, 2022 in Brighton, England, lasting eight shows across Europe. Union J served as the opening act for the UK shows.

EU / UK Summer Series

Tour by Christina Aguilera
Location	Europe
Associated album	Aguilera
Start date	June 25, 2022 (2022-06-25)
End date	August 6, 2022 (2022-08-06)
Legs	1
No. of shows	8 in Europe
Supporting act(s)	Union J
Christina Aguilera concert chronology
The X Tour (2019) EU / UK Summer Series (2022) Christina Aguilera at Voltaire (2023–2024)

Five of the tour's eight shows were part of Aguilera's headlining set on several different music festivals, such as the Cap Roig Festival in Barcelona and the Starlite Festival in Monaco. The opening show in Mallorca was Aguilera's first performance in Spain since The Stripped Tour (2003). The tour is Aguilera's first tour after the COVID-19 pandemic, following The X Tour (2019).

Background

Following the cancellation of her Las Vegas concert residency, Christina Aguilera: The Xperience, Aguilera began recording her three-part ninth studio album, Aguilera, which was released on May 31, 2022 to critical acclaim.^[2] Released in three, separate parts,^[3] Aguilera announced the first three shows of the tour, taking place in the England between August 2 through August 5, 2022 following the release of the album's first part, La Fuerza in January 2022.^[4] In early May, Aguilera was the announced as a headliner for the Mallorca Live Festival 2022.^[5][6] The second EP off the album, La Tormenta was eventually released and later reissued along with La Fuerza as part of Aguilera, which was released on May 31, 2022. Aguilera was announced as a performer at the Monte Carlo Summer Festival on July 24, 2022.^[7]

The tour primarily consists of festival shows, with the only exception being the shows in Scarborough, Liverpool and London. For these shows, English boy band Union J served as the opening act. Aguilera's show on June 25, at the festival in Marcolla marked the first time she performed in Spain in almost twenty years, since her performance in Barcelona on The Stripped Tour in 2003.^[8][9]

Reception

The set garnered critical acclaim. Writing for The Guardian, Dave Simpson gave the opening night of the second leg in Scarborough show four stars, calling it "an 80-minute audiovisual extravaganza" and complimenting the wide range of genres included and the "dazzling effect" of her voice.^[10] Elle May Rice of the Liverpool Echo gave the show at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool a five star rating, complimenting its costuming, versatility and Aguilera's ability to keep "the crowd captivated to the last second".^[11] The Mancunion's Jay Darcy called Aguilera's performance an "electrifying showcase of her artistry and success", and complimented the show's "dazzling and dramatic" nature.^[12] In a four star review for i, Alim Kheraj called the London set at The O2 Arena "worthy of her pop legend status", calling Aguilera "a born show woman" and praising her "chest-tightening" vocals. However, Kheraj went on to criticize the minimal staging and "muddled" sound production, giving credit to Aguilera's catalogue and stripped vocals for carrying the show.^[13] Another four-star review came from Stephen Dalton of The Times. Dalton praised Aguilera for her vocal abilities, writing: "her baroque, hyperbolic, melismatic vocal technique is the real genie in the bottle here".^[14] Louise Griffin from Metro considered the EU / UK Summer Series "a sensational show".^[15]

Set list

The following set list is obtained from the June 25, 2022 concert in Mallorca.^[16] It is not intended to represent all dates throughout the tour.

1. "Are You Ready to Get Dirrty?" (introduction; contains elements of "Your Body" and "Dirrty")
2. "Dirrty"
3. "Can't Hold Us Down"
4. "Bionic"
5. "Vanity"
6. "Genie in a Bottle"
7. "Ya Llegué" (interlude)
8. "Santo"
9. "Suéltame"
10. "Como Yo" (interlude)
11. "Pa Mis Muchachas"
12. "Feel This Moment" (contains elements of "Desnudate")
13. "Cristina" (interlude; contains elements "Tití Me Preguntó", "Pepas", and "Dirrty")
14. "Ain't No Other Man"
15. "Show Me How You Burlesque" (interlude)
16. "Express"
17. "Lady Marmalade"
18. "Beautiful"

Encore

19. "Fighter"
20. "Let There Be Love"

Notes

• "What a Girl Wants" and "Say Something" were added to the set list on July 23, 2022.
• "Moves Like Jagger" was added to the set list on August 2, 2022.
• During the show in Scarborough, singer Nelson joined Christina to perform "Say Something".^[10]
• Starting on August 3, 2022, "Candyman" was added permanently to the set list.^[12]
• During the show in London, Aguilera was joined onstage by Olly Alexander to sing "Say Something".^{[17][18][19][13]}

Shows

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, event, venue, opening act,^[20]

Date (2022)	City	Country	Event	Venue	Opening act
June 25	Mallorca	Spain	Mallorca Live Festival	Antiguo Aquapark	—
July 23	Calella de Palafrugell		Cap Roig Festival	Cap Roig Botanical Gardens
July 25	Marbella		Starlite Festival	Cantera de Nagüeles
July 29	Monte Carlo	Monaco	Monte Carlo Summer Festival	Salle des Etoiles
August 2	Scarborough	England	Theater concert	Scarborough Open Air Theatre	Union J
August 3	Liverpool		Arena concert	M&S Bank Arena
August 5	London			The O2 Arena
August 6	Brighton and Hove		Brighton Pride	Preston Hall Park	—
Total

Cancelled shows

List of cancelled concerts, showing date, city, country, event, venue and reason for cancellation^[21]

Date (2022)	City	Country	Event	Venue	Reason
July 22	Valencia	Spain	Diversity Valencia Festival	City of Arts and Sciences	Festival cancellation

See also

• List of Christina Aguilera concerts

Notes

References

1. "How Top Latin Grammy Nominees Bad Bunny, Rosalía, Rauw Alejandro, Christina Aguilera & Jorge Drexler Stack Up". Pollstar. Oak View Group. November 15, 2022. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
2. Elliott, Sam (September 30, 2020). "Christina Aguilera calls off her November Xperience Las Vegas comeback". mirror. from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
3. Ahlgrim, Callie. "Christina Aguilera teases the release of her new Latin album — but fans shouldn't expect the new music all at once". Insider. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
4. "Christina Aguilera to begin UK tour in Scarborough". BBC News. August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
5. Moore, Sam (May 3, 2022). "Muse lead line-up for Mallorca Live Festival 2022". NME. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
6. "Mallorca Live Festival line up". Majorca Daily Bulletin. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
7. Denman, Amy (July 24, 2022). "Christina Aguilera to perform at Monte Carlo Summer Festival". Daily Mirror. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
8. "Mallorca Live Festival Kicks Off Next Week with Muse, Christina Aguilera, Editors, Metronomy, Peggy Gou, Jeff Mills, The Blessed Madonna and more". Werk.re. June 17, 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
9. Kuner, Dilip (July 1, 2022). "Aguilera Tops The Bill: It's Party Season on Mallorca and this Week it was the turn of Music Stars to Descend on the island". The Olive Press. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
10. Simpson, Dave (August 3, 2022). "Christina Aguilera review – copper-bottomed crowdpleasers by the seaside". The Guardian. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
11. Rice, Elle May (August 4, 2022). "Christina Aguilera fans belt out Lady Marmalade at Liverpool gig". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
12. Darcy, Jay (August 12, 2022). "Live Review: Christina Aguilera at M&S Bank Arena". The Mancunion. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
13. Kheraj, Alim (August 8, 2022). "Christina Aguilera review, O2 Arena, London: She may be a heritage act, but she's still a born pop diva". i. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
14. Dalton, Stephen (August 4, 2022). "Christina Aguilera review — whips, warbles and a gloriously overblown spectacle". The Times. Times Newspapers Limited/News UK. Archived from the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
15. Griffin, Louise (August 3, 2022). "Xtina has arrived! Christina Aguilera kicks off UK tour with sensational Scarborough show". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
16. "Christina Aguilera Setlist at Mallorca Live Festival 2022". setlist.fm. setlist.fm.
17. Karageorgi, Nicole (August 4, 2022). "Christina Aguilera tour, tickets, support act, expected timings, setlist". MyLondon. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
18. "Christina Aguilera setlist at London's O2 arena, ticket prices and songs explained". NationalWorld. August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
19. Robledo, Jordan (August 6, 2022). "Christina Aguilera and Olly Alexander perform a showstopping rendition of Say Something". Gay Times. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
20. Perrin, Louise (July 27, 2022). "Union J join global superstar Christina Aguilera for Scarborough OAT show". The Scarborough. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
21. Mathias, George (July 27, 2022). "Diversity festival in Spain's Valencia goes under leaving many without refunds". Olive Press News Spain. Retrieved January 19, 2023.