Aguilera, Christina

▪ American pop singer

in full  Christina Maria Aguilera 

born Dec. 18, 1980, Staten Island, N.Y., U.S.

      American pop singer who emerged during the teen pop explosion of the late 1990s and experienced almost instant commercial success.

      Along with Britney Spears (Spears, Britney) and Justin Timberlake, Aguilera got her musical start on the Disney Channel's The New Mickey Mouse Club. After recording the song "Reflection" for the Disney movie Mulan (1998), Aguilera signed a recording deal and released a self-titled debut album of dance-oriented pop music in 1999. Both the album and Aguilera's first single, "Genie in a Bottle," quickly climbed to the top of the Billboard pop charts.

      Aguilera's next albums took varying paths but revolved around her powerful voice and exploited her looks and charisma. Emphasizing her Ecuadorian ethnic heritage, she capitalized on the Latin pop music boom by mastering enough Spanish to release Mi reflejo (2000). My Kind of Christmas (2000) followed. In 2001 Aguilera collaborated with fellow singers Pink, Mya, and Lil' Kim on a popular cover version of Patti LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade." Soon after, Aguilera released Stripped (2002), on which she cast off her ingenue image and took on a more provocative sexualized persona, epitomized by her hit single "Dirty." Reminiscent of the work of Etta James (James, Etta) and Billie Holiday (Holiday, Billie), Back to Basics (2006) pays tribute to Aguilera's jazz and blues influences. She has received numerous accolades and awards for her music, including several Grammys.

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