Christina Aguilera first started performing at the age of six in school talent shows and was nicknamed the "girl with a big voice." She appeared in Star Search at age 8 and used her second place winnings to buy a sound system to sing at the park. At the age 10, she began
singing the National Anthem for the Pittsburg Steelers at the starting of the game
and became a Mousketeer along with other vocal talents such as Britney Spears,
Justin Timberlake and J.C. Chasez of NSYNC. In 1997, Christina was performing in
places such as Japan, where she recorded a single with Keizo Nakanishi called
All I Wanna Do and as quoted "I wanted my own album recorded and
released before I graduated High School."
In 1998, Christina auditioned to sing Reflection, for Mulan, a Disney animated film. The makers of the film wanted someone 'who could hit a high E above middle C,' according to her. She won the part to sing the song, and the song quickly went to the Top 15. RCA was quick to sign a record contract, which was signed the week she recorded Reflection which eventually won a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture.
In 1999, her self titled debut album was released, which saw three number one hits, those being Genie In A Bottle, What a Girl Wants, and Come On Over. The latter being the first #1 hit of the new millenium.
Christina also achieved two Grammys one for Best New Artist, and she released a Spanish language album, along with a Christmas album. She then teamed up with Mya, Pink, and Lil' Kim for a single Lady Marmalade for the hit movie Moulin Rouge. After two years she finally released her second album titled Stripped. The album produced such hits as Dirrty, Fighter, and Can't Hold Us Down, which featured Lil'Kim. The album was recorded over an eighteen month period, but was concieved after her first album and the Moulin Rouge single.
The album is exactly as the title sounds, stripped, stripped of her "teen idol persona, and shows us what's left is as real as it gets" as her website proclaims. In the end, "This music is who I am," she says, "You can take it or leave it, but I'm not going to change, not for anyone." Christina's newest album is a tribute to the fans, as she says, for the people who has made her a household name. And with that enthusiasm, Christina's popularity will surely go on.
