Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (/ˌæɡɪˈlɛərə/ AG-il-AIR-ə, Spanish: [kɾisˈtina maˈɾi.a aɣiˈleɾa];[1] born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Referred to as the "Voice of a Generation", she is noted for her four-octave vocal range, musical reinventions, sustaining high notes including use of the whistle register, and a signature use of melisma throughout her music. Recognized as an influential figure in popular music, she also became known for incorporating controversial themes such as feminism, sexuality, LGBT culture and the sex-positive movement into her work. Aguilera was also honoured as a Disney Legend, for her contributions to The Walt Disney Company.
For other uses, see Christina Aguilera (disambiguation).
Christina Aguilera
December 18, 1980
- Xtina
- Singer
- songwriter
- actress
- television personality
1993–present
Matthew Rutler (eng. 2014)
2
Vocals
After appearing on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club (1993–1994) as a child, Aguilera recorded "Reflection", the theme for the 1998 animated film Mulan and signed a record deal with RCA Records. She rose to fame in 1999 with her self-titled debut album and the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, "Genie in a Bottle", "What a Girl Wants" and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)". Aguilera also won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and followed with Mi Reflejo (2000) and My Kind of Christmas (2000); with the former becoming the best-selling Latin pop album of 2000. After gaining more control over her career, Aguilera sought a departure from her teen idol image and released Stripped (2002). Despite an initial mixed response, the album went on to become one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. Aguilera underwent another reinvention with the release of the critically praised old-school-music inspired Back to Basics (2006). Throughout these periods, she amassed numerous international successes, including the number-one single "Lady Marmalade", alongside "Beautiful", "Dirrty", "Can't Hold Us Down", "Fighter", "Ain't No Other Man" and "Hurt".
Throughout the early 2010s, Aguilera had a moderately successful period with the albums Bionic (2010) and Lotus (2012), with their respective lead singles, "Not Myself Tonight" and "Your Body", topping the Dance Club Songs chart. She also starred in the 2010 film Burlesque and contributed to its soundtrack, earning a Golden Globe Award nomination. Aguilera returned to the top of the charts with a string of collaborations, including "Feel This Moment", "Say Something", and "Moves like Jagger"; with the latter reaching number-one on the Hot 100, making Aguilera one of the few artists to reach the top spot over three decades. She found critical success with her follow-up albums Liberation (2018) and Aguilera (2022). Her concurrent ventures included a role in the series Nashville (2015), roles in the films The Emoji Movie (2017) and Zoe (2018), becoming an ambassador for the World Food Programme (WFP), performing two concert residencies and serving as a coach on the reality competition show The Voice (2011–2016).
Aguilera is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 90 million records sold worldwide.[2] Considered a pop culture icon and a triple threat entertainer, she has been named one of the greatest vocalists of all time by publications such as Rolling Stone and Consequence of Sound and has been hailed as one of the most successful artists to come out of the 2000s. In 2009, Billboard named her the twentieth most successful artist of the decade, and was ranked eighth on VH1's list of greatest women in music. Aguilera has since been regarded as one of the most influential Latin artists in the entertainment industry, having helped shape the "Latin explosion" in the music industry. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, two Latin Grammy Awards, six ALMA Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards (VMA), one Billboard Music Award, one Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Early life and education
Christina María Aguilera was born on December 18, 1980, in New York City, to Shelly Loraine (née Fidler) and Fausto Wagner Xavier Aguilera.[3] Her father is an Ecuadorian emigrant from Guayaquil while her mother has German, Irish, Welsh, and Dutch ancestry.[4][5] Fausto Aguilera was a United States Army sergeant, and Shelly Loraine was a violinist in the American Youth Symphony before becoming a Spanish translator.[6][7]
Due to Fausto's military service, Aguilera's family moved frequently, living in New Jersey and Texas.[8] In 1983, they moved to Japan and lived in Sagamihara for at least two years.[9] During her youth in Pittsburgh metropolitan area, Aguilera attended North Allegheny Intermediate High School before leaving there to be homeschooled to avoid bullying she experienced at school.[10][11]
In 1986, the family returned to the United States, and settled in Pennsylvania, where they welcomed her younger sister, Rachel, in 1986.[12] Aguilera has spoken out about her father's physically and emotionally abusive behavior.[13] She noted that this is what made her turn to music, noting that, "growing up in an unstable environment and whatnot, music was my only real escape".[14] In 1987, Shelly filed to divorce Fausto and moved with Aguilera and Rachel to her mother's home in Rochester, a suburb of Pittsburgh.[15] She later married James Kearns with whom she had a son named Michael.[16] In 2012, following decades of estrangement, Aguilera expressed interest in reconciling with her biological father.[17]
Aguilera moving to her grandmother's home allowed her to explore her grandmother's records, which featured mostly soul and blues singers and increased her interest in music.[18] She also began to practice singing in public and competing in talent contests.[19] Following numerous contests, she earned reputation in her neighborhood as the "little girl with a big voice" and received widespread attention from local television and radio programs.[20][21]
In 1990, she performed the popular song "A Sunday Kind of Love" on the reality competition show Star Search, but was eliminated during the semi-final round.[22] Aguilera was eventually invited to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, Pittsburgh Steelers football, and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games, and at the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals.[23][24]
Career
1993–1998: Career beginnings
In 1991, Aguilera auditioned for a position on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club (MMC), aired on the Disney Channel. She ran against 400 candidates, and while she made the shortlist she was ultimately rejected for not meeting the minimum age requirement.[25] One year later, in 1992, Aguilera received a call from one of the show's producers asking if she was still interested in becoming a "Mouseketeer". She once again competed for a spot (this time, against 15,000 candidates) and was selected to join the variety program the following year.[26] Her fellow cast members included Ryan Gosling, Keri Russell, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake.[27] During the show recordings—which included Aguilera performing musical numbers and comedy sketches—she moved with her family to Orlando, Florida.[28] In 1994, it was reported the series would not return for a new season.[29]
Aiming to begin a music career, Aguilera moved to Japan in 1997. She was selected to record a duet with Japanese singer Keizo Nakanishi, with whom she performed in concert shows around the country.[30] Their song, "All I Wanna Do", was released as a single but failed to reach commercial success.[20] In June 1997, Aguilera went on to Romania to represent the United States in a singers contest during the Golden Stag Festival, but she failed to win over the audience.[31]
Seeking a recording contract, Aguilera recorded numerous demo tapes directed to record labels, including Walt Disney Records, for which she sent a cover of "Run to You" by Whitney Houston.[32] She eventually was chosen to record "Reflection", the theme song from the animated film Mulan (1998), which reached number 15 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[33] Following the attention she received with "Reflection", Aguilera caught the ear of Ron Fair, the A&R executive from RCA Records, who consequently signed Aguilera to the label.[8] In late 1998, she began to record her debut studio album into which producers reportedly invested over $1 million worth of writers, producers and vocal lessons.[8]
1999–2001: Breakthrough with debut album
In May 1999, Aguilera released "Genie in a Bottle", the lead single off her long-awaited debut album, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks and became the second best-selling single of 1999.[34] The song became an international success, increasing Aguilera's popularity worldwide, topping the charts in over 20 countries.[35] The single also attracted the attention of conservatives including celebrities such as Debbie Gibson that spoke out against its lyrical content, and was eventually considered "too provocative" to be sung by a teen idol.[36][37] Due to the criticism, Radio Disney replaced the song with a censored version.[38] The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.[39]
Aguilera's self-titled debut album, Christina Aguilera, was released on August 24, 1999, to critical praise, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200.[40] It catapulted Aguilera into fame globally and sold over ten million copies in its first year.[41] It was later certified eight times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[42] and it has sold over 17 million copies worldwide.[43][44] Originally, Aguilera's desire was to create material directly inspired by R&B and soul, but the label opted for a more teen pop production due the genre's high financial return in the late 1990s.[45] At the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, Aguilera won the Best New Artist category for which Time credited the award for "[helping] certify her credentials as a real singer".[46]
Other activities
Business ventures
As a businesswoman, Aguilera has been selling her own products and investing in multiple companies. In 2008, she became co-owner of LAX nightclub at the Luxor Las Vegas alongside DJ AM.[574] In 2015, she founded the MX Productions & Investments in partnership with fiancée Matthew Rutler, for which they was included in the investors' group of Pinterest, DraftKings, Lyft and MasterClass enterprises.[575] Aguilera also joined the ownership group of Angel City FC, a National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) expansion team, and sexual wellness brand Playground.[576][577] In March 2015, Aguilera and Rutler signed a deal with Lions Gate Entertainment to developed both scripted and unscripted projects which eventually was acquired by ABC Family and Spike TV networks.[578][579] In 2022, she was named chief culture officer of alcoholic beverage company Fun Wine.[580]
In 2007, Aguilera signed a long-term deal with Procter & Gamble (P&G) and created the Christina Aguilera Fragrances, which has been sold in North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe.[581][582] In addition to scents, the brand manufactures body lotions, body sprays, and deodorants whose products was ranked among the United Kingdom best-sellers in 2007, 2009 and 2010.[583] In January 2016, the line was reported to sold over $80 million.[584] Her fragrances also received numerous accolades, including at the Duftstars Awards and FiFi Awards.[585][586] During São Paulo Fashion Week in 2011, Aguilera debuted her first clothes line which was mostly sold in Brazilian department stores C&A.[587] In partnership with American Greetings, she featured in customized birthday video cards which was sold online in 2021 and eventually won a Clio Awards.[588]
During her career, Aguilera has been involved in marketing initiatives and endorsed numerous brands including Sears, Levi's, Skechers, Mercedes-Benz, Virgin Mobile, Orange UK, Sony Ericsson, Oreo, SweeTarts, Just Eat, Lieferando, Menulog, and Merz Aesthetics.[589] In 2001, she starred in a series of television advertising to Coca-Cola, which was aired in Latin America and the United States. Media outlets reported the deal signed by Aguilera to worth up £50 million.[590] Aguilera also shot a global scale advertising campaign alongside South Korean singer Rain to promote Pepsi during the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[591] Other Aguilera's endorses included a clothing line by Versace in 2003, and a collection of sterling silver pieces designed by Stephen Webster in 2008.[592][593] On June 28, 2004, she received £200,000 to open the summer sale at the London's department store Harrods.[594] In 2008, Aguilera also was paid $1.5 million to submit pictures of her first child to People, becoming the ninth most expensive celebrity baby photograph ever taken.[595]
Personal life
Aguilera met dancer Jorge Santos backstage, while filming one of her music videos in 2000 and dated him until September 2001.[620] She began dating music executive Jordan Bratman in late 2002. Their engagement was announced in February 2005.[621] On November 19, 2005, they married in a private ceremony on an estate in Napa County, California, during a traditional Jewish ceremony.[622] Aguilera wore a flamenco-style wedding dress by Christian Lacroix and they exchanged wedding bands designed by jeweller Stephen Webster.[623][624] She gave birth to their son in 2008.[625] In September 2010, the couple had separated.[626] She filed for divorce on October 14, 2010.
In November 2010, Aguilera began dating production assistant Matthew Rutler, whom she met while filming the musical Burlesque.[627] Aguilera was arrested for public intoxication in March 2011, while Rutler was booked for driving under the influence.[628] However, the charges were dropped against Rutler the following month.[629] In 2014, they became engaged on Valentine's Day.[630] Later that year, Aguilera gave birth to their daughter.[631]
Aguilera was raised Catholic, although she was learning about Judaism in the mid 2000s.[632] In 2022, she opened up about depression and anxiety, stating "I experienced a lot of trauma in my childhood [...] I've definitely had struggles in the past with depression and anxiety. It's a constant battle to overcome a mind that is anxious, a mind that is always second-guessing".[633] Aguilera has also been sharing about insecurity and struggling with body image early in her career.[634]
In 2007, Aguilera purchased a Mediterranean-style mansion in Beverly Hills for $11.5 million, which she sold for $13.5 million in March 2013.[635] Shortly afterwards, she acquired a house in the Mulholland Estates' private enclave, at the Santa Monica Mountains, for $10 million and currently resides with her family.[636] In 2000, Aguilera was among the biggest moneymakers in the music business with over £65 million earned with albums sales, merchandising and licensing deals according VH1.[637] In January 2008, she was ranked 19th on Forbes' list of Top-Earning Women in Music of 2007 with earnings of $20 million.[638] The previous year, she was also included on their list of richest women in entertainment industry, with an estimated net worth of $60 million.[639] In August 2022, Aguilera's net worth was reported to be $160 million.[640]
Studio albums