Christina Aguilera, The #101 Artist of the Rock Era

"Her voice is breathtaking."

"A legend."

"Beautiful woman and awesome voice."

"One of the greatest singers in history.  Her vocals are off the chart."

"A truly brilliant artist.  Respect."

"Absolutely amazing and exceptional."

"She's got such a powerful voice."

"One of the best singers in the world."

"What a great talent!"

"Can't deny that voice."

Christina Aguilera was born in New York City on December 18, 1980.  Her family moved often due to her father's military service in the U.S. Army.  Christina's parents divorced when she was six years old and Christina, her younger sister Rachel, and her mother moved into her grandmother's home in Rochester, Pennsylvania.

It was her grandmother who exposed Aguilera to soul and blues, which Christina would listen and sing along to.  Christina was inspired to be a singer and won a talent show at age eight singing Whitney Houston's "I Wanna' Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)".  Aguilera competed in the show Star Search two years later.  She performed the U.S. national anthem several times before football, baseball, and hockey games in the Pittsburgh area.  

Christina briefly attended North Allegheny Intermediate High School before being homeschooled.  In 1991, Aguilera auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club, and joined the television show two years later, performing with fellow cast members Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Ryan Gosling.  

When the show was canceled in 1994, Aguilera moved to Japan and recorded "All I Wanna' Do" with Japanese singer Keizo Nakashani.  In 1998, Christina moved back to the U.S. with the goal of earning a recording contract.  She sent a cover version of Houston's "Run To You" to Disney and was selected to record the theme song "Reflection" for the animated movie Mulan.  The single reached #15 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

 

RCA signed Aguilera to a contract on the basis of that success.  Christina released the single "Genie In A Bottle" in advance of her self-titled debut album in 1999.  It was an instant hit, reaching #1 in 21 countries and selling over seven million copies.

 

Aguilera's album also reached #1  in both the U.S. and Canada.  It has now sold over nine million copies in the U.S. and 17 million worldwide.  "What A Girl Wants", featured in the classic movie What Women Want, was another smash hit on the album, reaching #1 in the U.S. and New Zealand, #3 in the U.K., and Top 10 nearly everywhere.

 

Aguilera captured Best New Artist honors at the Grammy Awards.  "I Turn To You" soared to #3 and became her third straight Gold single.

 

Christina released the single "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You", a #1 smash in the U.S. and #2 in New Zealand and another Gold record.

In 2000, Aguilera supported Come on Over and Do Something, which aimed to "encourage kids to get involved in their communities and make a difference."  She also signed a letter from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to the South Korean government to urge them to stop killing dogs for food.

Christina released the albums Mi Reflejo and My Kind of Christmas in 2000.  The former, a Spanish-language album, was a huge hit on the Latin Album chart, reaching #1 for 19 weeks.  Her Christmas album sold over one million copies.

 

Aguilera spent nearly a year touring North America, Europe, South America, and Japan.  Christina won a Billboard Music Award for Top Female Pop Act of the Year.  She teamed up with Ricky Martin for "Nobody Wants To Be Lonely", another #1 in New Zealand that hit the Top 10 in most countries but stopped short at #13 in the United States.

Despite her success, Christina didn't feel her manager, Steve Kurtz, was promoting her in the right way and Irving Azoff became her new manager.

 

Christina, Pink, Lil' Kim, and Mya recorded a remake of Labelle's smash "Lady Marmalade" for the movie Moulin Rouge!  It was a smash, reaching #1 for five weeks  in the U.S. and also topping charts in the U.K., Australia, Germany, New Zealand and Ireland and earned a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.  

Now more in control of her career, Aguilera released the album Stripped.  Co-writing most of the songs and serving as executive producer, Aguilera released "Dirrty" as the first single in 2002, a #1 in both the U.K. and Ireland.  

 

"Beautiful" raced to #1 in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland and #2  in the U.S., went Gold, and won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Stripped reached #2 on the Album chart and has sold over 4 million copies in the U.S., another 2 million in the U.K., and 10 million total.  "Fighter" landed at #3 in the U.K. and Canada.

Christina joined fellow Mickey Mouse Club alum Justin Timberlake on tour.

Aguilera captured a Billboard Music Award for Top Female Pop Act in 2003.

In 2004, Christina recorded a part for the animated movie Shark Tale, and she and Missy Elliott covered Rose Royce's "Car Wash" for the film, although it was not near as successful as the original.  Christina and Herbie Hancock's version of "A Song For You" was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the Grammy Awards.

 

Aguilera married Jordan Bratman in 2005.  The following year, she released the album Back to Basics, featuring the lead single "Ain't No Other Man".  It went to #2 in the U.K. and #6  in the U.S., sold over two million copies, and won the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Back to Basics was a #1 album in nearly every country in the world and has topped five million in sales.  Christina supported the album with a world tour which was the highest-grossing solo female tour of 2007 ($48.1 million). "Hurt" also went Gold and rose to #1 in New Zealand.

 Christina's "Beautiful" was included on the album Love Rocks, with proceeds going to the Human Rights Campaign. 

 

In 2007, Christina became the spokesperson for "Rock the Vote" and encouraged young people to vote.  After giving birth to her first child, a son, Aguilera appeared in the documentary Shine a Light.  Christina also released her compilation album Keeps Gettin' Better:  A Decade of Hits.  The title song hit #4 in Canada and #7 in the United States.

Aguilera became the global spokesperson for World Hunger Relief in 2009; she has helped raise over $148 million for the program and other hunger relief organizations in 45 countries.  After the devastating 2009 earthquake in Haiti, Christina donated a signed Chrysler 300 which was auctioned to raise money for relief efforts.

In 2010, Aguilera was appointed as U.N. ambassador for the World Food Program and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  She released the album Bionic to only moderate success, and then starred with Cher in the movie Burlesque, recording eight songs for the movie soundtrack.  

Aguilera performed the U.S. national anthem at Super Bowl XLV in 2011, and later performed at the Grammy Awards in a segment that paid tribute to legend Aretha Franklin.  Christina divorced her husband in April.

 

Aguilera was a coach on the television series The Voice in 2011 and 2012.  Christina collaborated with Maroon 5 for the smash hit "Moves Like Jagger", a #1 smash in the U.S. and either #1 or #2 in nearly every country in the world.

The single was one of the top hits of the year, selling over 12 million copies in the U.S. alone.  In 2012, Aguilera released Lotus, which reached #7 on the Album Chart and yielded the single "Your Body".

 

Christina won the People's Voice Award at the 2013 People's Choice Awards.  Aguilera and Pitbull reached #8 with "Feel This Moment", a two-million seller.  

Christina also collaborated with Alejandro Fernandez and A Great Big World, the latter song ("Say Something") selling over 12 million copies and earning Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the Grammy Awards.

Aguilera received the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2013 for her outstanding work around the world.  Christina was engaged to Matthew Rutler in 2014 and gave birth to the couple's daughter in August.  Aguilera starred in the television series Nashville in 2015.  

In 2016, Christina recorded "Change", which she dedicated to victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting.  In 2018, Aguilera starred in the movie Zoe.  She released the album Liberation, which became her seventh Top 10 album.  "Fall In Line" (with Ty Dolla Sign and 2 Chainz) was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

"Like I Do" with GoldLink was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Performance.  Aguilera toured the U.S. and Europe and also headlined a 25-date residency in Las Vegas.  

In 2019, Christina received the Disney Legends Award. 

Aguilera has won five Grammy Awards.  She has scored 27 career hits with 11 reaching the Top 10 and 5 going to #1.  Seven of her songs have attained Platinum status with 12 going Gold.