Christina Aguilera Gets Back to Basics

She’s won five Grammy’s, including a Latin Grammy, and has albums selling all over the world, tallying 25 million. You’ve seen her sweet and innocent, and you’ve seen her dirrrty; you’ve witnessed her as a dark and brooding brunette and a vivacious blushing blond, and yet, the question remains: who IS Christina Aguilera?

A native of Staten Island, Christina Aguilera grew up in Pennsylvania, where she performed in local talent shows before appearing on Star Search in 1992 when she was just a hair shy of twelve years old. Her amazingly strong and fierce singing ability blew audiences away; they all wondered: how is this powerful and incredible singing voice coming out of this tiny little girl? After the appearance on Star Search, Christina joined the cast of The New Mickey Mouse Club, a show on the Disney Channel for young adults and pre-teens. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled in 1994. Lucky for Christina, she was called on to sing the solo vocals for the 1998 song Reflection, for the Disney animated feature film Mulan. Her self-titled debut album would be released a year later in the summer of 1999, with “Genie in a Bottle” being her first single.

Even though her single did well, Christina was disappointed with the little amount of input she had put into the album. On her official website, she reportedly chalks this up to being young and inexperienced in the field of being a recording artist. Having just signed with RCA records, she was willing to receive help from anyone who was offering, or as she puts it, “When you're seventeen years old, green and inexperienced, you're grateful for any guidance and direction you can get.”