PINK cowboy hats, flashing light bunny ears and plenty of dirrty-looking female outfits pepper the three-quarters full arena as the US diva emerges a little late for her Tyneside show three years and 20 minutes to be precise.

Fans waiting since 2003 for her re-arranged performance have seen her marry Jordan Bratman in the meantime and appear to drop her raunchy X-Tina image. Not a chance. Although the songs from new hit album Back To Basics are unfamiliar the main message is the track Still Dirrty which accompanies an incredible R&B clothes show as Aguilera changes Roberto Cavalli outfits after each diva delight.

The pace is punchy and opulently produced even if the sound engineers do the mighty-voiced blonde one few favours with a reverberating loudness which hammers against her backing musicians.

The awe-struck audience finally grasps a familiar friend as What A Girl Wants booms out as the eighth item on the set list as the high-heeled singer trots and cavorts around the stage in everything from a white suit and trilby hat to black and white basque. There are few explanations and fewer you can fully understand as Aguilera races through sets based on the 1920s, big dance R&B and then circus, complete with fire-eaters and trapeze artists. Its not until the finale that Lady Marmalade and all-time favourite Beautiful creeps in as a slightly faltering encore. Shes still got it, but seems a little confused about flaunting it.