 A journal by Ann Powers for the "Los Angeles Times" said there are influences of Barbra Streisand, Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin on Aguilera's vocal style, opining that the "Aguilera's Streisand-esque tendencies" "[help Aguilera] figure out how to become the 'great singer' she's been dubbed since she released her first single, the wise-beyond-its-years 'Genie in a Bottle', at 18".Sasha Frere-Jones wrote in "The New Yorker", "Aguilera doesn't need to reincarnate Sarah Vaughan to be a serious singer.She already is one, in the tradition of nineteen-nineties pop and R&B, skillfully deploying melisma for razzle-dazzle".