Christina Aguilera

biography

Christina Aguilera was born on December 18, 1980 in Staten Island, New York and her family later settled in Pittsburgh. By the time she was five she knew all the songs from The Sound of Music and performed them at neighborhood block parties. It wasn't long before Christina Aguilera was a national anthem performer at professional sporting events in the area.

Christina Aguilera's first major appearance was on the television show Star Search, when she was just nine years old. Unfortunately, she didn't win. This setback didn't stop a determined Christina Aguilera who dove into the music of Etta James, Billie Holiday and Barbara Streisand. When Christina Aguilera was 10 she went to an open audition for The Mickey Mouse Club. She didn't make it that time around, but two years later Disney invited Christina Aguilera back. Christina Aguilera got a part and became a Mouseketeer with now-famous Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez (of *NSYNC ) and Keri Russell from Felicity. Christina Aguilera sang, danced and performed her heart out during her two years on the show.

Christina Aguilera caught the eye of manager Steve Kurtz, who hooked her up with an RCA exec. He was amazed by her voice offered Christina Aguilera a record deal when she was 15. As luck would have it, around the same time he received a call from a friend who worked at Disney who was looking for someone to sing Reflection, the lead song in the upcoming animated flick, Mulan. His first thought was his new singer Christina Aguilera. She got the gig and the song was eventually nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture. In 1999 Christina Aguilera released her hugely successful self-titled album, which features Genie In A Bottle. Since then, Christina Aguilera has released a Spanish album, Mi Reflejo, a Christmas album called My Kind of Christmas, as well as her newest album Stripped. Christina Aguilera knows what a girl wants and she's not afraid to go after it!

quotes

• Britney and I show a little tummy and it's like, 'Oh My God.' But N'Sync or Backstreet Boys will do repeated pelvic thrusts to an audience of pre-pubescent girls and nobody says anything!
• Certain people want to see me solely as a pop act, but there are many different sides to Christina Aguilera besides the pop girl.
• I don't want to be just a straight pop singer. I'm a vocalist and that's what I want to be seen as in the long run.
• I got along better with the guys than with the girls. Only two girls came up to talk to me. Later I found out they were telling their boyfriends, 'If you talk to her, I'll kill you.' It's always rough with that high school thing.
• I love doing normal things - movies, shopping, going out with friends, writing, reading, taking hot bubble baths - that's a big one for relaxation. I also love to go to art and history museums.
• I think everybody should have a great Wonderbra. There's so many ways to enhance them, everybody does it.
• I want a bad boy in public, and a pussy cat at home!
• I'm always nervous before I go on stage, but once I'm out there everything is great and it's my favorite place to be.
• I'm an ocean, because I'm really deep. If you search deep enough you can find rare exotic treasures.
• I'm not just another bimbo.
• I'm not really religious but very spiritual. I give money to this company that manufactures hearing aids on a regular basis. More people should really hear me sing. I have a gift from God.
• It's been quite a roller coaster ride, but I've grown and learned a lot about myself... The greatest thing is being able to interact with fans and touch people's lives...For that I give thanks.
• It's definitely a dream come true to be recognized and to be able to sign autographs. But, it's also a lot of hard work and can be draining. If you don't know already, you will quickly learn who your real friends are.
• It's frustrating always being compared to Britney because we are two very different artists... We both dance and sing but people have not yet had enough time to realise that there is a huge difference between us. If she wants to go and do something, I'll want to do the opposite.
• My elementary school days were miserable. After Star Search, the jealousy got really bad that our neighbors slashed our tires.
• My parent's divorce and hard times at school, all those things combined to mold me, to make me grow up quicker. And it gave me the drive to pursue my dreams that I wouldn't necessarily have had otherwise.
• Pop is actually my least favorite kind of music, because it lacks real depth.
• So, where's the Cannes Film Festival being held this year?
• The roughest road often leads to the top.
• The schedule is crazy - it's all suitcases and hotel rooms and you just go nonstop. It's a crazy lifestyle, it really is.
• Whatever I do, it's my business. It's not my job to parent America.

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