Christina Aguilera Biography

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After Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera was the most popular female singer of the late-’90s teen pop revival. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Aguilera was a technically skilled singer with a genuinely powerful voice, belting out her up-tempo dance numbers and ballads with a diva’s panache. Born Christina Maria Aguilera on December 18, 1980, on Staten Island, her parents were of Irish and Ecuadorian stock and her father’s military career meant the family moved quite a bit during her childhood. 

They eventually settled in Philadelphia, where Aguilera began performing in talent shows at age six, with considerable success. She appeared on Star Search in 1988 (though she didn’t win) and in 1992 joined the cast of the Disney Channel’s The New Mickey Mouse Club, which also included Spears, future *N Sync members Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez, and Felicity star Keri Russell. After two years, Aguilera moved to Japan, where she recorded the hit duet “All I Wanna Do” with pop star Keizo Nakanishi. Returning to the U.S.

in 1998, Aguilera recorded the song “Reflection” for Disney’s Mulan; her performance helped earn her a record deal with RCA. Her self-titled debut album was released in the summer of 1999 and with teen-oriented dance-pop all the rage, the lead single “Genie in a Bottle” shot to the top of the charts for five weeks; the album also hit number one on its way to sales of over eight million copies in the U.S. alone.

The follow-up, “What a Girl Wants,” was the first number one single of the year 2000 and Aguilera consolidated her near-instant stardom by performing at the White House Christmas gala and the Super Bowl halftime show, and winning a Grammy for Best New Artist. Further hits followed in “I Turn to You” and another number one, “Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You).”

In September 2000, seeking a place in that year’s Latin pop boom, the part-Ecuadorian Aguilera recorded a Spanish-language album called Mi Reflejo, learning the lyrics phonetically since she didn’t speak Spanish. It was followed quickly by the holiday album My Kind of Christmas; both sold extremely well, a testament to Aguilera’s popularity. In the spring of 2001, Aguilera was featured — along with Pink, Mya, and Lil’ Kim — on the chart-topping blockbuster remake of Patti LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade” featured on the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Aguilera was by now a fixture at music industry awards shows; as she enjoyed her celebrity, a collection of old demos — recorded when she was 14 and 15 — was released under the title Just Be Free, despite Aguilera’s vehement objections.

Ms. Aguilera attempted to deter the mass media’s expectations when she issued her second studio album in fall 2002. Stripped, which appeared in October on RCA, was quickly criticized for its adult, yet confident approach. Aguilera’s look had gone from glossy to gritty. She appeared topless on the cover of the album and went nude for a fall issue of Rolling Stone. Debut single “Dirrty” revealed Aguilera’s new sexual power and became a chart smash.

In 2008 Aguilera was featured on the soundtrack to the film, Shine a Light, from a live recording of the song “Live With Me” with The Rolling Stones. To commemorate Aguilera’s ten years in the music industry, RCA Records released, Keeps Gettin’ Better: A Decade of Hits on November 11, 2008 exclusively at Target stores in the U.S.

The greatest hits included her first three number one singles, and other songs released from her previous three albums. “Lady Marmalade” and several Spanish singles from Mi Reflejo were included in the worldwide releases. The album’s only single, “Keeps Gettin’ Better”, was premiered at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, and debuted and peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, her highest debut on the chart. Aguilera was one of Billboard’s Top 20 Artists of the Decade in their year-end charts.

In 2008 she appeared in the Martin Scorsese documentary Shine a Light which chronicles a two day Rolling Stones concert in New York City’s Beacon Theatre. The film features Aguilera performing “Live With Me” alongside Mick Jagger. Shine a Light premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and was released worldwide on April 4, 2008.

Aguilera appeared as a guest judge on the sixth season of Project Runway on Lifetime Television. She and designer Bob Mackie were the inspiration for the challenge in which they had to design a stage outfit for Aguilera. She appeared as herself in the Judd Apatow-produced film, Get Him to the Greek. Aguilera also appeared alongside Eminem on the Entourage season 7 finale. She plays a client/friend of Ari Gold.

In 2009, Variety confirmed that she will be working in her first feature film, a musical, titled Burlesque, which began shooting in November 2009. Aguilera will portray a small town girl who “finds love, family and success in a Los Angeles neo-burlesque club”. The film, distributed by Screen Gems, will be directed by actor and director Steve Antin who also wrote the script, which was revised by Susannah Grant. The film will co-star fellow singer Cher as the club’s owner and headliner. The film will also feature Twilight star Cam Gigandet as her love interest, Stanley Tucci, and Kristen Bell. Aguilera will contribute as a writer for the film’s musical score and soundtrack which includes producers Danja and Tricky Stewart, and songwriters Claude Kelly and singer Sia. Burlesque is set for a Thanksgiving release this year and is now in post-production.

Aguilera began dating music marketing executive Jordan Bratman in 2002. Their engagement was announced in February 2005, and they married on November 19, 2005, in a Napa Valley estate. Aguilera confirmed she was pregnant on November 4, 2007 in an interview with Glamour magazine.

On January 12, 2008, Aguilera gave birth to her son, Max Liron Bratman, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. His Latin first name and Hebrew middle name roughly translate into “My Greatest Song”. Aguilera was reportedly paid $1.5 million by People magazine for her baby pictures, which according to Forbes places fifth on the list of the most expensive celebrity baby photos.

After a long hiatus, Aguilera’s fourth English studio album, Bionic, was released on June 8, 2010. The album’s producers included Tricky Stewart, Le Tigre, Switch, Ester Dean, songwriters Sam Endicott, Sia, Claude Kelly, Linda Perry and collaborations with M.I.A., Santigold and Peaches. “Not Myself Tonight” and “You Lost Me” peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Charts.

Bionic’s material consisted of many mainstream and pop records along with electronic and dance music. The album was released to mixed reviews from music critics, with Jon Pareles of The New York Times writing that the singer’s new music direction “makes her sound as peer-pressured as a pop singer can be.” Allison Stewart of The Washington Post described the album as being “noisy, robotic and overstuffed” and felt that one of the disc’s “greatest disappointments” is its “virtual abandonment” of Aguilera’s voice.

She concluded that Aguilera attempts “to do it all,” which was to try to “revel in her newfound domesticity, to wrest her crown from Gaga and to reestablish her sex kitten bona fides,” but overall thought that the plan back fired on Bionic. Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic commented on the contrary, finding that Christina is “not playing to expectations but simply acting as a natural diva and is all the more compelling for it.” Dan Martin of the NME even wrote, “Perhaps best of all is ‘Monday Morning.’ Written with Santigold and The Bravery’s Sam Endicott, it’s a Day-Glo disco jam that sounds like Gwen Stefani doing ‘Borderline’.” The album’s sales were underwhelming in the US compared to her previous releases selling 110,000 copies in its first week landing at #3.

The album has sold 228,000 units in the US to date. Aguilera was scheduled to go on tour for this album in the summer of 2010, but due to “inadequate rehearsal time,” has cancelled. She plans to reschedule for 2011. “You Lost Me” was released as the album’s second single.