Christina Aguilera’s ‘Lotus’ album cover

Christina Aguilera entitled her latest album Lotus because it represents her resilience in the face of numerous challenges. Unlike its namesake, however, the record wasn’t able to remain steady on the tumultuous charts and it quickly sank to the bottom of Walmart’s bargain bin. Now, Aguilera has been offered a lifeline.

Amazon is currently offering Lotus on sale for a humble $1.99 (down from a previous $16.75 price tag), thus creating an interesting paradox for Aguilera’s public image. Although the cheap price of the album, which has long since fallen off the Billboard 200, indicates the company’s bid to boost demand for the slow-seller and reduce the embarrassing number of cobweb-covered units currently in stock, it may gave Aguilera another chance at denting the charts.

Remember, Bruno Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox vaulted to the top of the Billboard 200 after being priced at $1.99 by Amazon in early March so the sale of Lotus may improve the album’s performance on the lineup. Also, as I explained in our discussion of price cuts, Amazon’s move to slash the cost of the set can’t be blamed on label-driven initiatives to aid the failing diva. Well, unless people at RCA Records are willing to admit that they are subsidising the sale of Lotus and are prepared weather the risk of it failing – highly unlikely given the costs RCA already endured while funding this failure of a project.

To date, Lotus has sold a less than stellar 224K copies in the US so any improvement in its performance would surely be welcome. Yet, its price would have little impact on the decisions of consumers to buy the record if they simply aren’t interested. If Aguilera’s numerous singles and major live performances – 2012 American Music Awards, The Ellen Degeneres Show, The Voice (three times), 2012 People’s Choice Awards and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon – didn’t work then there is little hope.

Simply, if a $1.99 price tag can’t improve the sales of Lotus then it’s a sign that people have had enough of Aguilera’s wailing, bad attitude and tacky visuals. They just don’t want her body.

Thoughts?