From The Mickey Mouse Club to Major Singing Sensation: Christina Aguilera
Christina Maria Aguilera was born December 18th, 1980. Her first appearance on television was in 1990 as a contestant on Star Search, after which she starred in the Mickey Mouse Club (along with Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake). since then she is the second top selling single artist of the 2000s behind Madonna. many have called her the best-selling music artists of all time as her album sales are estimated to be over 50 million units. Rolling Stone Magazine placed her at #58 out of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time of and the only artist on the list under the age of 30. Aguilera has 4 Grammy’s and a celebrity networth of $90 Million.
Aguilera was born in a suburb of New York to Fausto Wagner Xavier Aguilera, a sergeant in the U.S. Army at the time, and Shelly Loraine, a Spanish teacher. Her parents divorced when she was seven years old. Aguilera’s life prior to her parents divorced was marred by physical and emotional abuse. She sings about her traumatic childhood in “I’m Ok” on Stripped and “Oh Mother” on Back to Basics. Christina has spoken in the past about her childhood and credits her drive and passion for music to growing in a home with domestic violence.
As a child, Aguilera wanted to be a singer and performer. She entered talents shows and singing competitions. Aguilera’s first album self titled “Christina Aguilera” was released in 1999, topping the American Billboard charts. It sold over 17 million copies worldwide, garnering her a Grammy Award for best new Artist. in 2002 she released “Stripped” her fourth studio album. It sold more than 300,000 copies in the first week, peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200. during performances from the “Stripped” album, her image was much more adult. Publicity photos from that time showed her nude or semi nude. One Rolling Stone cover showed her wearing only boots and a well-placed guitar. at this time she referred to herself as “xtina”, getting a tattoo of her nickname and several piercings. “Stripped” was one of the most belling albums of 2004, selling 4.2 million copies. “Dirty and “Beautiful” were two of the most popular songs from the album. in 2006, Christina released “Back to Basics”, it debuted at #1 on Billboard charts and topped the charts in fourteen countries. Back to Basics sold 4.5 million units worldwide.
In 2005, Aguilera married Jordan Bratman and in January 2008 they welcome their first child Max Liron Bratman. It was reported that Aguilera was paid $1.5 million by People Magazine for her son’s baby pictures; the 6th most expensive celebrity baby photos. in April, 2011 she and Bratman divorced.
Aguilera’s major musical influences have been blues singer Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Nina Simone.
From The Mickey Mouse Club to Major Singing Sensation: Christina Aguilera
