Christina Aguilera

Birth

1980

Christina María Aguilera is an American singer/songwriter who was born on December 18, 1980 in Staten Island, New York.

Career Beginnings I

1990

She was known locally as "the little girl with the big voice". She aspired to be a singer, singing in local talent shows and competitions. She won her first talent show at the age of 8, in which she performed Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody". She appeared on Star Search singing Etta James' "A Sunday Kind Of Love", getting eliminated during the semi-finals.

Mulan

1998

She covered Whitney Houston's "Run To You" and sent it to Walt Disney Pictures in hopes of being selected to record the theme song "Reflection" for their animated film Mulan, which she did. The song peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart.

Genie In A Bottle

1999

After the recording of "Reflection", Aguilera attracted attention of RCA Records' Ron Fair and was signed with the label quickly afterwards. They decided the lead single off the album would be "Genie in a Bottle", a trendy pop and R&B track released in June 1999. The single was a major commercial success, peaking atop the Billboard Hot 100 and record charts of 20 other countries.
It has sold over 7 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling singles worldwide.

Best New Artist

2000

Following the success of the single, her debut album was released in August to commercial success, peaking at number one on the Billboard 200 and being certified eight times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album helped Aguilera win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist

Best Female Pop Vocal Album

2001

She released an album in Spanish called Mi Reflejo, which topped the Billboard Top Latin Albums for nineteen consecutive weeks and was certified six times platinum in the Latin field by the RIAA. It won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album.

Lady Marmalade

2002

Despite her early success, she was displeased with the music and image her management had aligned her to, feeling unable to control her own image. Her first take on more artistic control was expressed in the Moulin Rouge! cover of "Lady Marmalade", contributing with Pink, Mya and Lil Kim. Originally opposed by RCA executives for being "too urban", Aguilera insisted on recording the song. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 and earned a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Stripped

2003

She leaned towards a new artistic direction that she felt had more musical and lyrical depth. She named the album Stripped and explained that the title represented "a new beginning, a re-introduction of [herself] as a new artist in a way".
The album was preceded by the single "Dirrty", which was released to shed her teen pop image and express her sexuality and aggression. The album was a commercial success and it earned her a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Back To Basics

2006

Back to Basics was released in August 2006. The double album, according to Aguilera, was "a throwback to the 20s, 30s, and 40s-style jazz, blues, and feel-good soul music, but with a modern twist". The single "Ain't No Other Man" won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, where Aguilera performed a rendition of "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" in tribute of James Brown.

Liberation

2018

Following the success of Back to Basics, Christina released two more studio albums (Bionic) in 2010 and (Lotus) in 2012 respectively. Though these struggled to position themselves on the Billboard chart.
In 2018, she released Liberation and embarked on tour for the first time in ten years. The album debuted at 6 on the Billboard 200, becoming her seventh US Top 10 album.