Christina Aguilera Pic
by Patrick Austin

In the late 90's Christina Aguilera catapulted to superstardom during the teen-pop revival. Unlike her contemporaries, Christina was a technically skilled singer with a powerful voice, belting out her dance numbers and ballads with a diva's panache.

Christina Maria Aguilera was born on December 18, 1980. Her parents were of Irish and Ecuadorian background and her father's career in the military meant the family moved quite a bit during her childhood.

Eventually, they settled in Philadelphia, where Christina began performing in talent shows at age six, with great success. She appeared on Star Search in 1988 (though she didn't win) and in 1992 joined the cast of the Disney Channel's The New Mickey Mouse Club, which also included Britney Spears(another pop icon). This is a Christina Aguilera
pic from her younger years:

After two years, Aguilera moved to Japan, where she recorded the hit duet "All I Wanna Do" with pop star Keizo Nakanishi. Returning to the U.S. in 1998, Christina recorded the song "Reflection" for Disney's Mulan, which helped her earn a record deal with RCA. Her self-titled debut album was released in the summer of 1999 and with a dance-pop feel that was all the rage. The lead single was "Genie in a Bottle" which shot to the top of the charts for five weeks; the album also hit number one on its way to sales of over eight million copies in the U.S. alone. This is the Christina Aguilera pic for the cover of her self-titled album:

The follow-up, "What a Girl Wants," was the first number one single in the year 2000 and helped consolidate her as a superstar. She continued her hot streak with performances at the White House and Super Bowl halftime show. To top it all off, she went on to win a Grammy for Best New Artist. More hits followed in "I Turn to You" and another number one, "Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You)." This is a Christine Aguilera pic from the "Come on Over Baby" video:

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In September of 2000, the part-Ecuadorian Aguilera recorded a Spanish-language album called Mi Reflejo, learning the lyrics phonetically since she did not speak Spanish. She quickly followed that up with the holiday album "My Kind of Christmas"; both sold extremely well.

In the spring of 2001, Aguilera was featured in the chart-topping remake of "Lady Marmalade" featured on the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Christina was by now a fixture at music industry awards shows. This is the Christina Aguilera pic with her all glammed up for the music video:

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In the fall of 2002, Aguilera released her second studio album "Stripped", which appeared in October on RCA. It was quickly criticized for its adult content. Her look had gone from glossy to gritty. She appeared topless on the cover of the album and went nude for a fall issue of Rolling Stone. The debut single "Dirty" revealed Christina's new sexual power and became a mega hit. This is the Christina Aguilera pic from that album:

Christina Aguilera pic from the Rolling Stone Cover: