Christina Aguilera Calls New Video "Unexpected"

September 25, 2012Last week, Christina Aguilera released a teaser clip for the video for her new single,"Your Body," which was shot in August with Melina Matsoukas in the director's chair. Matsoukas is known for her work with Beyonc, Rihanna and Lady Gaga, and Aguilera says she was drawn to the director because of her work with those other artists.

"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," she told MTV News. "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. 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. 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's new album, Lotus, is due in November. She recently tweeted that it willcontain an intro that will"set the tone for the whole record." She continued,"Conceptually I didn't target one particular sound/genre. Self expression and freedom [are album themes]. The album represents a rebirth for me."

The singer also will be taking a break from her role on The Voice in order to focus on touring and promoting her new album. Aguilera will step back for season four of the showin the spring, although she h! as promised to return in the future. "I am so proud of being part of the show from the beginning, all the work we've done, and proud of what the show stands for as a whole,"she remarkedin a statement. "I am a singer and performer first and I am so excited to get back to that love... By pursuing my first passion of music during the break, I am also able to come back and offer even more to my team on The Voice in the future."