Things to know about the life and career of Christina Aguilera, who started her career as a Disney star and turned into a world-renowned star with her powerful 4-octave voice, songs and awards.
Her full name is Christina Maria Aguilera, she was born on December 18, 1980 in Staten Island, New York City. She was born the daughter of her mother, Spanish teacher Shelly Loraine Kearns, and her father, surgeon Fausto Xavier Aguilera, in the army. Her father was born in Ecuador and her mother is of German, Irish, Welsh and Dutch descent and was both Catholic. Her mother and her father divorced when she was 6 years old. She moved to Pennsylvania with her mother and younger sister Rachel. Aguilera, who said her father was both physically and emotionally aggressive, used music to escape from her turbulent home.
Aguilera, who practiced singing as a child, aspired to be a singer and her grandmother first discovered this talent. She won her first talent show at the age of eight when Whitney Houston sang "I Wanna Dance with Somebody". At the age of 10, she sang "A Sunday Kind of Love" on the competition show "Star Search" and sang the same song again on "Wake Up with Larry Richert". People came to know her as '10 year old girl who can sing like a 20 year old'. Later, Aguilera sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before taking the field several times in Pittsburgh before hockey, soccer, and baseball games.
One of Aguilera's most important breakthroughs was when she joined "The New Mickey Mouse Club", a television series featuring musical numbers and sketch comedy, where she performed until canceled in 1994. Her friends at this club included Ryan Gosling, Keri Russell, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. After the show ended, Aguilera recorded her first song "All I Wanna Do" as a duet with Japanese singer Keizo Nakanishi.
Aguilera returned to the US in 1998 to seek a recording contract. Aguilera, who sang a cover version of Whitney Houston's "Run to You", was chosen to sing "Reflection", the theme song for the animated movie "Mulan" (1998) upon discovery. The song was released in June 1998 and peaked at number 15 on the charts. That same year, it was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for 'Best Original Song'.
After this recording, she caught the attention of RCA Records and soon signed a deal. In June 1999, she released the lead single "Genie in a Bottle", a song from her debut studio album. The song elevated Aguilera to stardom and topped many charts. Aguilera's eponymous debut album "Christina Aguilera" was released in August 1999 and peaked at number one on the Top 200 charts. She won the Best New Artist award at the Grammy Awards in February 2000.
Aguilera's next two studio albums, "Mi Reflejo" and "My Kind of Christmas", were released in September 2000 and October 2000, respectively. Tracks from her debut album included new songs as well as Spanish versions of her English songs, and the album topped the charts for 19 consecutive weeks. In 2001, she won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album. Aguilera embarked on her first concert tour, 'Christina Aguilera in Concert', to support their album. In 2000, Billboard magazine named her as Top Female Pop Artist of the Year.
Aguilera, along with Pink, Mýa and Lil' Kim, decided to reinterpret Labelle's song "Lady Marmalade" (1974) for the album featuring the soundtrack of the movie "Moulin Rouge". The track stayed at number one for five weeks and became the first track in history to top the chart for more than a week. It earned all four artists Grammy Awards for 'Best Collaboration in Pop'. Dissatisfied with her music and image, the artist cut off contact with her manager and then signed with Irving Azoff as the new manager.
Aguilera released "Dirrty" as the first single from her fourth studio album, "Stripped". Her sexy image in the video clip was talked about a lot, but she could not achieve the same success in the charts. Released in October 2002, the album brought together many musical genres. The album peaked at number two, despite receiving mixed reviews from music critics. It became the second best-selling album of the 2000s.
The album's second single, "Beautiful", received great acclaim and became the album's top hit song. The song won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 Grammy Awards. During the promotion of the album, Aguilera developed a new image by dyeing her hair black and getting a few tattoos and piercings. Billboard magazine declared her the Top Female Pop Artist of 2003.
Aguilera, who took a more mature image in 2004, appeared with blonde curly hair and retro style makeup. She became the new face in the advertisements of the mercedes-benz brand and she made a single called "Hello" for this brand. In 2005, she collaborated with Herbie Hancock on the single "A Song for You". Both artists were nominated for "Best Pop Collaboration" at the Grammy Awards. Aguilera's fifth studio album "Back to Basics" was released on August 15, 2006. While recording, she was inspired by the works of classical blues and soul singers such as Otis Redding, Millie Jackson and Nina Simone. The album received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at number one.
At the Grammy Awards in February 2007, she won the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the song "Ain't No Other Man". Aguilera embarked on the 'Back to Basics Tour' to support Back to Basics. The tour became the highest-grossing female solo tour of 2007. In commemoration of her ten-year career in the music industry, Aguilera released her best hit album, Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits, in the US exclusively through Target in November 2008. The album peaked at number nine on the charts. The following year, Billboard magazine promoted her as the 20th most successful artist of the 2000s.
Aguilera's sixth studio album, "Bionic," was released in June 2010. Reactions to the album were mixed. While Aguilera's experimentation with new styles was praised, it was considered forced and unnatural. The album peaked at number three on the charts.
Aguilera co-starred with Cher in the musical film "Burlesque" (2010), written and directed by Steve Antin. The film was a success at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics. She served as the coach for the first three seasons of the television competition series "The Voice" from April 2011 to December 2012. In the first season, Aguilera was featured on Maroon 5's single "Moves like Jagger", which topped the charts.
In September 2012, Aguilera released "Your Body" as the lead single from her seventh studio album, which peaked at number 34 on the charts. This was followed by the album "Lotus" in November 2012, she. The album peaked at number seven on the charts. In 2013, Aguilera was featured on Rapper Pitbull's song "Feel This Moment", which peaked at number eight on the charts. Later, she collaborated with A Great Big World on the song "Say Something". The song was certified six times platinum by the RIAA and earned Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.
On June 16, 2016, she released a song called "Change," which she dedicates to the victims of the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting and Christina Grimmie, who was fatally shot in Orlando the day before the nightclub shooting. Proceeds from the song were donated to the National Compassion Fund to benefit the victims' families.
Aguilera began work on her eighth studio album in the summer of 2015, and the album's lead single "Accelerate" was released on May 3, 2018. The song became Aguilera's tenth number-one song on the charts. This was followed by the single "Twice" and the duet single "Fall in Line" with Demi Lovato. Then, "Like I Do" was released as the third and final single of the album. At the 61st Grammy Awards, "Fall in Line" was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, while "Like I Do" was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Performance.
Aguilera went on her first tour in 10 years called "The Liberation Tour" to promote her album. And made the headlines of "Christina Aguilera: The Xperience", her first concert residence. In November 2020, she announced that she was ending her business relationship with her manager of 20 years, Irving Azoff, and signing a management deal with Jay Z's entertainment agency Roc Nation. On December 7, 2021, Aguilera also won her first Music Icon award at the 47th People's Choice Awards.
In early 2021, Aguilera announced that her ninth studio album will be in Spanish. The album titled "Aguilera" was first released on May 31, 2022. The musical aspect of the album also included different genres of Latin music. Aguilera received great acclaim from music critics after the album was released. And has been on several year-end lists by some publications.
On November 10, 2022, Time Studios announced that it has partnered with company Roc Nation to produce a new documentary about Aguilera. Ting Poo will direct the documentary, which has been quietly under production for 18 months, and will chronicle Aguilera's life story in exclusive, previously unseen footage.
The album "Aguilera" and its songs received a total of seven nominations at the Latin Grammy Awards. The album earned two more nominations for Best Latin Pop Album and Best Immersive Sound Album at the Grammy Awards in February 2023. She will star in the Usher's Lovers and Friends festival in Las Vegas on May 6, 2023.
Private life
Aguilera was in a relationship with backup dancer Jorge Santos from 2000 to 2002. Following the breakup, she formed an emotional bond with music producer and manager Jordan Bratman in 2002. The couple got engaged in February 2005 and married in Napa Valley on November 19, 2005. On January 12, 2008, the couple's son, named Max, was born. Announcing their separation on October 12, 2010, the couple divorced on April 15, 2011.
Aguilera met Matthew Rutler on the set of her work as a production assistant in 2009. The two started dating after Aguilera filed for divorce. The couple got engaged on February 14, 2014 and gave birth to their daughter, Summer Rain Rutler, on August 16, 2014.
Aguilera, who has been nominated for many awards and owns most of them, is also known for her philanthropy and the importance she gives to helping each other, as well as all her achievements. She has tried to make donations to foundations, associations, charities and collected donations. Aguilera's powerful voice of 4 octaves and albums sold more than 45 million times continue to attract all the attention. She ranked 58th on the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" list, making she the youngest person on the list.