Description

Britney Spears proved that the same goldmine that Madonna and Cyndi Lauper mined in the 1980s was again ripe for the picking, and she was immediately followed up the charts by another female teenybop sensation, Christina Aguilera. Closely aligned with Spears's style early on, Aguilera hit the charts in a major way in the late '90s. However, by the dawn of the new millennium, Aguilera had transformed herself from a bubblegum sensation to a raw and raunchy vamp (STRIPPED), and then to a mature, platinum blonde pseudo-traditionalist (BACK TO BASICS), positioning herself as a risk-taker with little connection to her Mousketeer past.

Biography

b. Christina Maria Aguilera, 18 December 1980, Staten Island, New York, USA. Aguilera was one of several US teen pop stars to rise to huge popular acclaim in the late 90s. Of Irish and Ecuadorian descent, her mother played violin and piano professionally while her father's position in the military resulted in the family travelling extensively around the world. Finally settling in Wexford, Pittsburgh, Aguilera began performing at school talent shows, before making her first professional appearance at the age of eight on the nationally syndicated Star Search show. When she was 10 she sang the national anthem for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates. She joined [Walt] Disney's Mickey Mouse Club at the age of 12, appearing alongside future pop stars JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake of 'N Sync, and Britney Spears. Aguilera spent two years with the Mickey Mouse Club before moving to Japan to record "All I Wanna Do", a hit duet with local pop star Keizo Nakanishi.
Back in the USA in early 1998, Aguilera recorded "Reflection" for the soundtrack of Disney's full-length animation Mulan. Her rapid ascent to stardom continued when she signed to RCA Records shortly afterwards. Her debut album was recorded with a host of leading songwriters and producers. "Genie In A Bottle", a lightweight urban pop number with an infectious hookline, went to the top of the US charts in July 1999. Written by UK-based songwriter Pam Sheyne, the single stayed at the top for 5 weeks, making it the biggest selling US single of the year. The other tracks on Aguilera's self-titled debut included upbeat dance anthem "Love Will Find A Way", soulful ballad "So Emotional", and the requisite Diane Warren blockbuster, "I Turn To You". The album entered the US album chart at number 1 in September. A month later "Genie In A Bottle' entered the UK singles chart at number 1. Aguilera proved herself a genuine rival for Spears" teen pop crown when she returned to the top of the US charts in January 2000 with "What A Girl Wants" and again in October with "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)". In a shrewd marketing ploy, she then released a Spanish-language collection of her hits, Mi Reflejo, and the seasonal My Kind Of Christmas. The singer enjoyed a transatlantic chart-topper the following summer with a cover version of LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade', recorded with Lil" Kim, Mya and Pink for the soundtrack of the movie Moulin Rouge.
Aguilera unveiled a new sexually-charged image on her second studio album, 2002's Stripped. The set was initially a commercial flop on both sides of the Atlantic, although it picked up momentum in the UK when Aguilera enjoyed surprise chart-toppers with the singles "Dirrty" (featuring Redman) and "Beautiful" (written by Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes fame). The latter also broke into the US Top 5 and helped push Stripped back up the charts. Further transatlantic hit singles from the album included "Fighter", "Can't Hold Us Down" and "The Voice Within", while "Beautiful" picked up a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
DISCOGRAPHY: Christina Aguilera (RCA 1999)***, Mi Reflejo (RCA 2000)**, My Kind Of Christmas (RCA 2000)**, Just Be Free (Platinum 2001)**, Stripped (RCA 2002)***.
VIDEOGRAPHY: Genie Gets Her Wish (RCA 1999), Out Of The Bottle (RCA 1999), My Reflection (Aviva 2001), Stripped Live In The U.K. (RCA 2004).
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Christina Aguilera: An Unauthorized Biography, Jackie Robb. Christina Aguilera, Anna Louise Golden. Christina Aguilera, Catherine Murphy. Christina Aguilera: The Unofficial Book, Molly MacDermot. Backstage Pass: Christina Aguilera, Jan Gabriel.

Encyclopedia of Popular Music
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