Christina Aguilera says she's toned down the sexuality on her new double-disc album, "Back to Basics," but has no regrets about the sultry image she's projected in the past.
"The sexuality coming forward on this record is more softened," she says in the July 24 issue of Newsweek. "It's more pin-up, tongue-in-cheek. It's playful. People take sex far too seriously."
Aguilera said she was proud of the image she projected on her last album, "Stripped," in part because it elicited strong opinions.
"If you liked it, you wanted to root for me - 'Look, she's empowered.' If not, well, you'd stick all those labels on me."
Aguilera also told the magazine there was never a feud between her and a fellow ex-Mousketeer, Britney Spears.
"We were like best friends, but the media saw a navel and blond hair and had to create some drama," she said.