One of the most accomplished performers of the last decade, Christina Aguilera has sold well over 25 million albums worldwide and cultivated a fan base that crosses generational, racial and gender lines. Now, segueing from the audacious sexuality of her second studio album, Stripped, the chameleon-like performer pays tribute to the music that has inspired her with her third studio album Back To Basics (RCA Records).
Back To Basics has made Aguilera the biggest-seller in the SoundScan era for a female artist, passing Streisand’s 2-CD “The Concert” release in ’94. Her debut single, “Ain’t No Other Man,” off her double platinum album, was a huge success, along with her second single “Hurt,” while her third single “Candyman” continues to climb the charts.
Aguilera has garnered rave reviews for her current 41-city North American tour. The tour kicked off in Houston, Texas and has stopped in Los Angeles, Boston, Phoenix, Vancouver, Las Vegas and New York among others. The “Back to Basics” 2007 North American Tour features a unique stage design that allows Christina’s fans unprecedented access to the stage with unbelievable sight lines as well as three distinct stage scenes, illuminated by more than 600 moving lights, and a state-of-the-art hydraulic system. Aguilera has assembled an acclaimed production team for her concert tour featuring choreographer and director, Jamie King (Madonna, Janet Jackson, Prince) and Roberto Cavalli, who is the tour’s exclusive costume designer. Working together, the team created a modern inventive vision fused with elements of retro glamour.
Aguilera’s backstory is well-known. A native of Staten Island, the pre-teen began performing in local talent shows while growing up in Pennsylvania. In 1992, after appearing on “Star Search.”
She joined the cast of the Disney Channel’s “The New Mickey Mouse Club.” In 1998 Aguilera’s song “Reflection” for Disney’s Mulan led to a record deal with RCA and the release of her self-titled debut album in Summer, 1999. The album quickly hit 1 on the strength of its first dance/pop single, “Genie In A Bottle” (which dominated the charts for five weeks) and other chart toppers including “What A Girl Wants.” It was a feat she would repeat the following year with Mi Reflejo, the smash Spanish-language version of her debut, followed by her hit holiday release, My Kind Of Christmas.
In 2001 Aguilera joined forces with Pink, Mya and Lil’ Kim on the smash “Lady Marmalade” single and video. That eye-popping slice of ear candy kept her front and center in the international spotlight even as she began, slowly and steadily, to lay the groundwork for her second album, Stripped. Released in October 2002, it sealed her status as an international superstar while transforming her previous squeaky-clean image into a fully sexualized woman with lots on her mind. Along with the superheated funk of the album’s provocative debut single, “Dirrty,” came such standout tracks as “Beautiful,” “Can’t Hold Us Down” and “Make Over.”
Earning her first of four Grammy Awards in 2000 for Best New Artist, her subsequent trophies came in 2001 for “Lady Marmalade” (Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals), in 2003 for “Beautiful” (Best Female Pop Vocal Performance) and in 2007 for “Ain’t No Other Man (Best Female Pop Vocal Performance), winning a Grammy for each of her albums. Among countless other honors, she is also the recipient of a 2001 Latin Grammy Award for Mi Reflejo (Best Female Pop Vocal Album), a 2000 Billboard Music Award for Female Artist of the Year, and two 2004 Rolling Stone Music Awards (Best Female Performer, Readers’ Pick; and Best Tour, Readers’ Pick, “Justified and Stripped”). Voted Sexiest Teen Idol in a VH1 poll, Aguilera’s beauty and charisma have also led Teen People to list her among its “25 Hottest Stars Under 25” and Maxim to crown her Best International Female Singer (2000), one of the Sexiest Women of the Year (2003) and 1 on their “Hot 100” List (2003). Aguilera has also been honored with two NRJ Awards (Best International Female, Best International Album) as well as a 2007 MTV Europe Award (Best Female Artist).
Today, while devoting the lion’s share of her time to recording and touring, the 26-year-old is active in a range of philanthropy. A major contributor to the fight against AIDS, Aguilera has participated in the “What’s Going On?” cover project for AIDS Project Los Angeles’ Artists Against AIDS. In 2004 she became the new face for MAC cosmetic company and spokesperson for the MAC AIDS Fund. More recently she became involved in awareness campaigns with Youth AIDS and ALDO. She also sponsors and is actively involved in the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh for battered women and children.
