Christina Aguilera

Birthname: Christina Maria Aguilera
Date of birth: 1980-12-18
Birthplace: Staten Island, New York, USA
Height: 5' 2 5"
Nationality: American
Profession: actress, musician 

Christina Maria Aguilera (born December 18 1980) is a four-time Grammy Award-winning American pop singer and songwriter. She was signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection" for the film Mulan, and her bubblegum pop-oriented debut album Christina Aguilera (1999) was a critical and commercial success: it produced four hit singles, including "Genie in a Bottle", and helped Aguilera win a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2000. A Latin Pop album Mi Reflejo which won a 2001 Latin Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album and a Christmas album My Kind of Christmas released during this period also sold strongly. In 2001, she participated in collaboration projects for Ricky Martin's Sound Loaded album and the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack, which she won another Grammy Award for Lady Marmalade in the category Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 2002.
Aguilera took creative control over her second studio album Stripped (2002), which produced the hip-hop-influenced "Dirrty" and the award-winning (including the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance) "Beautiful". It received mixed reviews, and Aguilera's increasingly sexual image during its promotion became the subject of criticism, controversy and ridicule. She contributed to several other artists' songs in 2004 and 2005 and married record executive Jordan Bratman. Her third studio album Back to Basics (2006), which was preceded by the hit single "Ain't No Other Man", included elements of soul, jazz and blues music and was released to good sales and positive critical reception.

Biography

Early life and career

Aguilera, a military brat, was born in Staten Island, New York to Fausto Wagner Xavier Aguilera, a U.S. Army sergeant, and Shelly Loraine Fidler, a Spanish teacher. Aguilera's father was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, while her mother, a Newfoundlander, has German, English, Irish and Dutch ancestry. Aguilera's parents met while Fausto was serving at Earnest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland. They were both Catholics. Her parents married when her mother was 20 years old and her father 31. Aguilera lived with her father and mother until she was 6 or 7 years old. When her parents divorced her mother took her and her younger sister Rachel to her grandmother's home in Rochester, Pennsylvania, a blue-collar suburb of Pittsburgh. According to Aguilera and Fidler, her father was very controlling, as well as physically and emotionally abusive, which was reflected in her songs, "I'm OK" in Stripped, and "Oh Mother" in Back to Basics. Christina Aguilera relives her violent past", Dotmusic/Yahoo! News (June 20, 2000) Since then, Fidler has married a paramedic named Jim Kearns, and has changed her name to Shelly Kearns. Helligar, Jeremy; Majewski, Lori. "Christina's World", Us Weekly, (February 3, 2003).
Aguilera's grandmother was the first person to recognize her vocal skills. Since Aguilera was a small child, she aspired to be a singer. She grew up admiring artists such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Barbra Streisand, Otis Redding, Madonna, Minnie Riperton, Bessie Smith, Anita Baker, Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Sade, Stevie Wonder, and Aretha Franklin. As a child she performed at block parties and in talent competitions, where she defeated her opponents. Aguilera soon gained media attention, and was known as "the little girl with the big voice".Dominguez, Pier (2002). Christina Aguilera: A Star is Made: The Unauthorized Biography. Amber Books. ISBN 0-9702224-5-9.
According to VH1's Driven, this label eventually backfired on her. When competitors learned they would be up against her in any given week, they immediately backed out, prompting insiders to claim it was "like sending a lamb to the slaughter." Her peers soon became jealous of her and would frequently subject her to ridicule, ostracism, and, in one gym class, attempted assault. Acts of vandalism around her house included the slashing of the tires on the family car. Eventually the family relocated and, by her own order, swore to secrecy about her talent lest another backlash occur.
On March 15 1990, she appeared on Star Search singing Etta James's "A Sunday Kind of Love", but failed to win. Soon after losing on Star Search, she returned home and appeared on Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV's Wake Up with Larry Richert to perform the same song again. People remarked that the then 10-year-old "sounded 20".
Throughout her youth in Pittsburgh, Aguilera sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey games, Pittsburgh Steelers football and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball] games. Her first major role in entertainment came in 1993 when she joined the Disney Channel's variety show The New Mickey Mouse Club. Her co-stars included Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Rhona Bennett (who later became a member of En Vogue), Ryan Gosling, and Keri Russell. According to the documentary Driven, Aguilera's Mickey Mouse Club co-stars called her "the Diva". One of her most notable performances was of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing"..

1998-2001: Pop music beginnings

In 1998 she sang the High "E" (second "E" above middle "C") in full voice on a cover of Whitney Houston's "Run to You" which she recorded with an old tape recorder in her bathroom. She was then selected to record the song "Reflection" for the Disney animated production of Mulan (1998). Recording "Reflection" led to Aguilera earning a contract with RCA Records during the same week. "Reflection" peaked within the top twenty on the Adult Contemporary Singles Chart, and it was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Original Song" in 1998.
Under the exclusive representation of Steve Kurtz, Aguilera's self-titled debut album Christina Aguilera was released in the United States on August 24, 1999. It reached the top of the Billboard 200 and Canadian album charts, shipping over 8 million copies in the United States alone.
Her singles "Genie in a Bottle", "What a Girl Wants" and "Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" topped the Billboard Hot 100 during 1999 and 2000, and "I Turn to You" reached #3. Aguilera won the "Best New Artist" award at the 2000 Grammy Awards, and she was nominated for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for "Genie in a Bottle". According to the album's songwriters who appeared on the documentary Driven, Aguilera wanted to display the range and audacity in her voice during the promotion of the album, and performed acoustic sets and appeared on television shows accompanied only by a piano.Reid, Shaheem "Christina Aguilera Sues to stop release of early recordings". MTV News (May 21, 2001) Instead, the two parties came to a settlement to release the album. Aguilera lent out her name, likeness and image for an unspecified amount of damages. Many of the details of the lawsuit remain confidential. When the album was released in August 2001, it had a photograph of Aguilera when she was fifteen years old.
Although Aguilera's debut album was very well-received, she was dissatisfied with the music and image her management had created for her. At the time, Aguilera was marketed as a bubblegum pop artist, because of the genre's upward financial trend. However, she publicly mentioned plans of her next album to have much more depth, both musically and lyrically.Strauss, Neil "The Hit Girl", Rolling Stone (July 6, 2001) Steve Kurtz's influence in matters of the singer's creative direction, the role of being her exclusive personal manager and overscheduling had in part caused her to seek legal means of terminating their management contract.
In October 2000 Aguilera filed a Breach of Fiduciary Duty lawsuit against Kurtz for improper, undue and inappropriate influence over her professional activities, as well as fraud. According to legal documents, Kurtz did not protect her rights and interests. Instead, he took action that was for his own interest, at the cost of hers. The lawsuit came about when Aguilera discovered Kurtz used more of her commissionable income than he was allotted, and had paid other managers to assist him. She also petitioned the California State Labor Commission to nullify the contract. After terminating Kurtz's services, Irving Azoff was hired as her new manager.Zahlaway, Jon: "Christina Aguilera sues former manager", liveDaily, (October 17, 2000) The change in management marked a new change in how Aguilera was marketed, as well as what music she would do in the future.
Kurtz countersued later that month for breach of contract, claiming that the singer violated the same agreement she had sued to void. In the lawsuit, he included others close to Aguilera, alleging their intent to sabotage his business relationship with Aguilera. He also singled out Azoff for being in violation of the terms of Kurtz's contract.Zahlaway, Jon: "Christina Aguilera slapped with counter-suit", liveDaily, (November 2, 2000)

2002-2003: Stripped Era

On October.29, 2002, after much delay, Aguilera's second full-length English album, Stripped, was released selling more than 330,000 copies in the first week and peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200. The majority of Stripped was co-written by Aguilera (who had recently signed a global music publishing deal with BMG Music Publishing), and was influenced by many different subjects and music styles, including rhythm and blues, gospel, soul, balladry, pop rock, hip-hop and jazz. The album was not received as well as her debut by most critics, and Aguilera's vocals were overlooked as she began to cultivate a more sexually provocative image. After the release of the album, she took part in photoshoots for magazines such as Maxim, Rolling Stone and CosmoGirl!. Many of these photographs featured her nude or semi-nude. She denied that this change was a matter of publicity, claiming that the image better reflected her true personality than did the image she cultivated back in 1999. It was during this time Aguilera referred to herself as "Xtina", stating that it was a "reflection of her darker self".
Initially, the raunchy image had a negative effect on Aguilera in the U.S. While the video for "Dirrty" became a huge hit on MTV, it disappointed on the U.S. singles chart. However, the single was a huge hit worldwide, reaching number one in several countries. The album reached the top five on the UK, U.S. and Canadian album charts, though it was initially considered a "sophomore slump". The second single, "Beautiful", became a huge radio hit and three more singles from the album ("Fighter", "Can't Hold Us Down" featuring Lil' Kim, "The Voice Within" were released in the following two years and were huge hits helping the album stay on the charts for the next two years. Stripped stayed on the U.S. and UK album charts until well into 2004, and went on to be certified 4x Platinum in the U.S., ending up at number ten on Billboard's year-end album chart. Kelly Clarkson's second single "Miss Independent" was co-written by Aguilera, having been half-finished for Stripped. ""
In June, Aguilera joined Justin Timberlake on the final leg of his international Justified tour, held in the U.S. This portion of the tour became a co-headliner called the Justified & Stripped tour. In August an overhead lighting grid collapsed from the ceiling of the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, causing major damage to the sound and video equipment below. Because the collapse occurred hours before the performance, only a few stagehands were injured, but a few shows were cancelled or postponed. In the fourth quarter of that year Aguilera continued to tour internationally without Timberlake, and changed the name of the tour to the Stripped tour. She also dyed her hair black. It was one of the top-grossing tours of that year, and sold out most of its venues. Rolling Stone readers named it the best tour of the year. ""
In light of the tour's success, another U.S. tour was scheduled to begin in mid-2004 with a new theme and featuring Chingy as an opening act. The tour was scrapped because of Aguilera's vocal cord injuries suffered shortly before its opening date. It was later reported by the British tabloid newspaper The Sun that low ticket sales and lack of new material were actually the major contributing factors in the tour's cancellation. Aguilera has since denied the report. In a tribute to Madonna's performance at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards' ceremony, Aguilera performed a kiss with the singer-actress at the 2003 edition of the ceremony in August. The incident occurred during the opening performance of Madonna's songs "Like a Virgin" and "Hollywood" with fellow popstar Britney Spears.Duerden, Nick: "The Good, the Bad and the Dirrty", Blender Magazine, (December 2003) Later that year she hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time and addressed the critcism she received that year.
During 2003, Christina also became the face of the fashion house Versace.

2004-2005: Stripped activities

A January 2004 ZOO magazine (a British men's tabloid magazine) article reported that Aguilera is possibly bisexual. The article quotes her stating in an interview: "I find it hornier looking at women than men. Sorry, I love experimenting with my sexuality. If that means girls, then so be it." The article also reports that Christina enjoys casual sex: "I have casual sex, I love casual sex. But that doesn't mean I'm incapable of keeping my legs together".Christina Aguilera: "I love experimenting with my sexuality", Gay.com UK, (January 22 2004)
Aguilera later decided to embrace a more mature image; this move was met with more praise than criticism, with articles using punch lines such as "From Crass to Class". She eventually dyed her hair cherry blonde and recorded a jingle, "Hello", for a Mercedes-Benz ad, becoming the new face of Mercedes-Benz. Shortly after, she dyed her hair blonde and cut it short, and took on a Marilyn Monroe look; many of her fans believe she is one of the main proponents (along with Dita Von Teese, Gwen Stefani and Ashley Judd) in bringing back the 1920s-1940s Hollywood glamour look.

In the run-up to the 2004 United States presidential election, Aguilera was featured on billboards for the "Only You Can Silence Yourself" online voter registration drive run by the nonpartisan, non-profit campaign "Declare Yourself". In these political advertisements Aguilera was shown with her mouth sewn shut, to symbolize the effects of not voting. She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss the importance of voting.
In late summer 2004 Aguilera released two singles. The first, "Car Wash", was a remake of the Rose Royce disco song recorded as a collaboration with rapper Missy Elliott for the soundtrack to the film Shark Tale. The second song is also a collaboration, but this time as a second single from one of Nelly's double-release albums, Sweat, titled "Tilt Ya Head Back". Both singles failed commercially in the U.S., but did considerably better in other parts of the world. After much delay, Aguilera's first DVD live-recording from a concert tour, Stripped Live in the UK, was released in November 2004. In late December she officially released a fragrance, Xpose, which has only been available in a few European countries.
Aguilera collaborated with jazz artist Herbie Hancock on a cover of Leon Russell's "A Song for You" recorded for Hancock's album Possibilities, released in August 2005. Aguilera and Hancock were later nominated for the Grammy Award for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". Aguilera went back to her Mickey Mouse Club roots when she helped open the 50th Anniversary for Disneyland by performing "When You Wish upon a Star", and she also collaborated with Andrea Bocelli on the song "Somos Novios" for his album Amore, released in early 2006. She performed at "Unite of the Stars" charity banquet in Johannesburg, South Africa in late 2005 with stars such as Diana Ross and Westlife in aid of Unite Against Hunger, and she also performed at the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund at the Coca-Cola Dome in November.

2006-present: Back to Basics

In March 2006 Aguilera signed a contract with European cellphone operator Orange to represent the company and promote the new Sony Ericsson Walkman phones across Europe. She was featured in a Pepsi commercial alongside Arab singer Elissa as well as Korean pop singer Rain in May; the spot aired during the 2006 World Cup.

Aguilera also posed nude for a Marilyn Monroe-inspired photoshoot in the May 2006 issue of GQ magazine, in which she was also interviewed. She expressed disappointment in fellow singer Mariah Carey, saying, "She was never cool to me... to the point that one time we were at a party and I think she got really drunk, and she had just really derogatory things to say to me." Carey responded in a press release, "It is sad yet predictable that she would use my name at this time to reinvent past incidents for her promotional gain." Aguilera then released her own statement claiming, "My intentions were not to upset Mariah with any statements that were published or taken out of context. I have all the respect in the world for her."Lehner, Maria; '' People Magazine, (May 16, 2006)
Aguilera's third English studio album Back to Basics, which was released on August 15, 2006, went to #1 in 15 countries. Lead single "Ain't No Other Man" was a substantial success, reaching #6 in the U.S. and the top three in the UK. Aguilera described the double-CD as "a throwback to the 20s, 30s, and 40s-style jazz, blues, and feel-good soul music, but with a modern twist."Moss, Corey; Cornell, Jeff "Christina Makes Her Comeback Twice As Nice By Expanding Basics Into Double LP" MTV News, (June 6, 2006) Producers on the album include DJ Premier, Kwamé, Linda Perry, and Mark Ronson. One track, "F.U.S.S.", was written as a response to the animosity between Aguilera and Scott Storch during the recording of Stripped. She received writing credit for every track and was the executive producer for the album, which debuted at number one in the U.S."Aguilera Takes No. 1 Amid All-New Top Five". Retrieved August 23, 2006 and the UK. The album introduced the public to Aguilera's era-inspired alter-ego, Baby Jane. It was reported that one of her dancers gave her the name; in an interview with MTV she stated rapper Nelly gave her the name, but she never stated the reason for it.
"Back To Basics" has sold more than 930,000 copies to date in the United States.
Aside from promoting her own album, Aguilera teamed up with Diddy on a track, titled "Tell Me", from his album, "Press Play". The single was released in Autumn 2006 and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Pop 100 at numbers 55 and 50 respectively.
In September 2006 she announced her "Back To Basics Tour" with eighteen European dates scheduled to begin on November 17 and end on December 17. This tour will also see her return to Ireland including Belfast's Odyssey Arena, the first since her Stripped tour came to the city in 2003."Aguilera announces Euro tour" Retrieved September 11, 2006 Following this contrary to her previous plans to tour blues and jazz clubs for a more intimate setting, she will tour North America in a 41- date concert kicking off February 20 in Houston and wrapping up on May 5 in Florida. But she insist that the Jazz Tour will push through sometime after. "We're definitely going to mix it up, change it up, do some things that are not on the record, do some favorite classics of mine," Aguilera said in an interview with MTV. "We're really going to have fun and experiment with new ideas and interesting places to go to that have a throwback appeal and vibe." Also British band Nizlopi have been confirmed as Christina's support act at Wembley arena on 29th and 30th of November. Christina won the 2006 Best Female Artist in MTV Europe Music Awards.
Meanwhile, "Hurt" is released as the 2nd single of Back To Basics. It is currently #21 on the Billboard Hot 100, it has been on the charts for 2 months now.

Personal life

During 2000, Aguilera was rumored to have been with MTV VJ Carson Daly, although both parties denied it, the relationship was of much discussion after the release of Eminem's The Real Slim Shady. The line, "Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs
so I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst and hear 'em argue over who she gave head to first," suggested a romance between the two. Aguilera called the comments "disgusting" and "untrue", and further fueled the other rumored relationship with Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. Both Christina and Eminem later made peace at an award show backstage.
She dated Brooklynite dancer Jorge Santos for two years until the relationship ended in September 2001. She would later reveal in 2006's issue of The Advocate that she dated someone with a gay past, undoubtedly referring to Jorge.
She began dating music executive Jordan Bratman in late 2002. After dating him for almost three years, their engagement was announced in February 2005.Singer Christina Aguilera to wed", BBC News, (February 13, 2005) They were married on November 19 2005, in the Napa Valley. Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman Marriage Profile. The couple celebrated their one year anniversary in Dublin Ireland.

Charity work

Throughout her career, Aguilera has been involved with certain charities. She was the first celebrity to sign a letter from PETA to the South Korean government asking that the country stop its alleged "abuse of dogs killed for food". Her involvement in supporting the Defenders of Wildlife have also added to her donations with charities. Aguilera is still a major contributor in her hometown of Pittsburgh contributing regularly to the Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh. According to her official website, she toured the center and donated $200,000 to the shelter. She also has auctioned off front row seats and back stage passes for the Pittsburgh based charity . She also supports the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and Refuge UK.
Aguilera contributes in the fight against AIDS, by participating in AIDS Project Los Angeles' Artists Against AIDS "What's Going On?" cover project. In 2004 Aguilera became the new face for cosmetic company M·A·C and spokesperson for M·A·C AIDS Fund. Aguilera appeared in advertisements of the M·A·C's Viva Glam V lipstick and lipgloss. According to published reports, in November 2005, all of her wedding gifts were submitted to various charities around the nation in support of Hurricane Katrina victims. In addition, Aguilera contributed to YouthAIDS by posing for a joint YouthAIDS and Aldo Shoes campaign for "Empowerment Tags" in Canada, the U.S. and the UK. She was featured with one of three ubiquitous slogans, "Speak No Evil?" and was quoted saying, "HIV is something that people don't want to talk about, hear about, or face."
According to Billboard, singer Elton John hand-picked Aguilera, among others, for his Fashion Rocks concert benefiting his AIDS foundation. The show, which accompanies music and fashion to benefit the fight against AIDS/HIV, is televised annually and aired in September.

Vocal ability

In the MTV special All Eyes on Christina, John Norris said that Aguilera "has a four octave range". Aguilera possesses the ability to hit notes in the whistle register, as stated in a review of her song "Soar" from the album Stripped (at the 3:20 mark) in an Entertainment Weekly article, which mentions her "tackling that dog-whistle high note".