Aguilera performed "Bionic" as an introduction to "Not Myself Tonight" on a number of occasions, including the 2010 MTV Movie Awards, The Today Show and VH1 Storytellers.
[1] During an interview with People in 2008, Aguilera stated that she was going to start recording new material for her forthcoming album at her home in Beverly Hills.
[10] Billboard declared "Bionic" to be "dub-tastic", and AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine applauded the song for its "future shock" quality.
[13] PopMatters critic Omar Kholeif simply described the track as "a thumping" number,[8] while Melinda Newman of HitFix deemed it "a futuristic song, with interesting beats".
"[16] On June 6, 2010, Aguilera performed "Bionic" for the first time at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards, held at Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California.
[17] Caryn Ganz from Rolling Stone opined that the way Aguilera began the performance was similar to Madonna during the latter's Sticky & Sweet Tour (2008–09).
[19] Then, Aguilera walked on the stage and "leather-clad" back-up dancers in silver and black outfits began to perform a dance routine.
[20] Tamar Anitai for MTV Buzzworthy was not impressed toward her performance, summarizing it "was all about her "I-I'm-still-a-diva" vocals, frenzied stage show, and adult-only innuendo... And then this happened".
[18] In a positive view, James Montgomery for MTV News praised her looking as "a 23rd-century queen" and the show "got millions of people all hot and bothered".
[20] James Dinh for MTV News named it "aggressive",[4] while Erika Brooks Adickman for Idolator called the performance a "hot-mess show wardrobe".
[23] Aguilera performed "Bionic" on numerous occasions throughout the years, including at a concert in Kuala Lumpur in 2014,[24] during her set at the 15th edition of Mawazine Festival in May 2016,[25] and at the Black Sea Arena in Georgia in July 2016.