Christina Aguilera

Birth name :      Christina María Aguilera Born December 18, 1980 (1980-12-18) (age 28)
  Staten Island, New York,
  United States

Origin :             Wexford, Pennsylvania,
  United States

Genres :            Pop, R&B, soul

Occupations:     Singer, songwriter, actress, producer, video director

Years active:     1998–present

Labels :             RCA Records

Christina María Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is an American pop musician. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994. Aguilera signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection" for the film Mulan. She came to prominence following her debut album Christina Aguilera (1999), which was a commercial success spawning three number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. A Latin pop album, Mi Reflejo (2001), and several collaborations followed which garnered Aguilera worldwide success, though she was displeased with her lack of input in her music and image.

After parting from her management, Aguilera took creative control over her second studio album, Stripped (2002), which received mixed reviews and produced substantial sales. The second single, "Beautiful", was a commercial success and sustained the album's sales amidst controversy over Aguilera's sexual image. Aguilera's third studio album, Back to Basics (2006), included elements of soul, jazz, and blues music, and was released to positive critical reception.

Aside from being known for her vocal ability, music videos and ever-changing image, musically, she includes themes of dealing with public scrutiny, her childhood, and female empowerment in her music. Apart from her work in music, she has also dedicated much of her time as a philanthropist for charities, human rights and world issues. Aguilera's work has earned her numerous awards, including four Grammy Awards and one Latin Grammy Award, amongst eighteen nominations. She has become one of the most successful recording artists of the decade, selling more than 43 million records worldwide.

Early life and career

Aguilera was born in Staten Island, New York, to Fausto Wagner Xavier Aguilera, a Sergeant in the U.S. Army at the time, and Shelly Loraine (née Fidler), a teacher of the Spanish language. Aguilera's father was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador and her maternal grandmother emigrated from County Clare, Ireland. Her father was stationed at Earnest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Japan. Aguilera lived with her father and mother until she was seven years old. Aguilera grew up hearing Spanish and thus understands the language, although she is more fluent in English. When Aguilera's parents divorced, her mother took her, and her younger sister Rachel, to her grandmother's home in Rochester, Pennsylvania, a town outside of Pittsburgh. According to both Aguilera and Fidler, her father was very controlling, as well as physically and emotionally abusive. She later wrote about her difficult childhood in the songs "I'm OK" in Stripped, and "Oh Mother" in Back to Basics. Although her father has written to Aguilera, she has ruled out any chance of reuniting with him. Since then, Fidler has married a paramedic named Jim Kearns, and changed her name.

As a child, Aguilera aspired to be a singer. She was known locally as "the little girl with the big voice", singing in local talent shows and competitions. According to VH1's Driven, whenever competitors learned they would be up against her in any given week, they would immediately withdraw, prompting insiders to claim it was "like sending a lamb to the slaughter." Her peers soon became jealous of her and would frequently subject her to ridicule, ostracism, and, in one gym class, attempted assault. Acts of vandalism around her house included the slashing of the tires on the family car. Eventually, the family relocated to another suburb in the Pittsburgh area (this time, Wexford) and took to secrecy about Aguilera's talent lest another backlash occur. She attended Marshall Middle School near Wexford and North Allegheny Intermediate High School until she was later home schooled.

On March 15, 1990, she appeared on Star Search singing "A Sunday Kind of Love", but lost the competition at number 2. Soon after losing on Star Search, she returned home and appeared on Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV's Wake Up with Larry Richert to perform the same song. People remarked that the then ten-year-old "sounded 20."

Throughout her youth in Pittsburgh, Aguilera sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, Pittsburgh Steelers football and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games. Her first major role in entertainment came in 1993 when she joined the Disney Channel's variety show The New Mickey Mouse Club. Her co-stars included Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell, the show lasted another year until its cancellation. According to the documentary Driven, Aguilera's co-stars called her "the Diva". One of her most notable performances was of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing".

At the age of fourteen, Aguilera recorded her first song, "All I Wanna Do", a hit duet with Japanese singer Keizo Nakanishi. In 1997, she represented the United States at the "Golden Stag" International Festival with a two-song set.

Music career

1998–2001: Pop music beginnings and Christina Aguilera

In 1998, Aguilera sang the High "E" in full voice (and again on the song "Candyman" from her Back To Basics album for a full 8 seconds) (E₅) on a cover of Whitney Houston's "Run to You" which she recorded with a tape recorder in her bathroom. She was then selected to record the song "Reflection" for the Disney production of Mulan (1998). Recording "Reflection" led to Aguilera earning a contract with RCA Records the same week. "Reflection" peaked within the top twenty on the Adult Contemporary Singles Chart, and it was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Original Song" in 1998. Under the exclusive representation of Steve Kurtz, Aguilera's self-titled debut album Christina Aguilera was released on August 24, 1999. It reached the top of the Billboard 200 and Canadian album charts, selling eight million copies in the U.S. and over seventeen million copies worldwide. The album is also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list of The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales. Her singles "Genie in a Bottle", "What a Girl Wants" and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" topped the Billboard Hot 100 during 1999 and 2000, and "I Turn to You" reached #3. According to the album's songwriters, Aguilera wanted to display the range and audacity in her voice during the promotion of the album, and performed acoustic sets and appeared on television shows accompanied only by a piano. She ended the year on MTV's New Year's Special, as she performed and was MTV's first artist of the millennium. At the 42nd Grammy Awards Aguilera received a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy nomination for "Genie in a Bottle" and despite earlier predictions, she won the award Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Aguilera's manager Kurtz told MTV that Christina was talking about recording a Spanish-language album even before she recorded her debut album. In 2000 Aguilera started recording with producer Rudy Pérez in Miami. Later in 2000, Aguilera, first emphasized her Latin heritage by releasing her first Spanish album, Mi Reflejo on September 12, 2000. This album contained Spanish versions of songs from her English debut as well as new Spanish tracks. Though some criticized Aguilera for trying to cash in on the Latin music boom at the time. According to Pérez, Aguilera was only semi-fluent, while recording. She understood the language, because she has grown up with her father, who is a native of Ecuador. He added "Her Latin roots are undeniable". The album peaked at #27 on the Billboard 200 and went number one on the Billboard Latin charts for a record 20 weeks. In 2001, it won Aguilera a Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album. The album went Gold in the US. She also won the World Music Award as the best selling Latin artist that year. Aguilera also released a Christmas album on October 24, 2000 called My Kind of Christmas. It peaked at #28 on the Billboard 200, and has been certified Platinum in the US. Ricky Martin asked Aguilera to duet with him on the track "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" from his album Sound Loaded; released in 2001 as the album's second single. The single reached number one on the World Chart.

In 2001, Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink were chosen to remake Labelle's 1975 single "Lady Marmalade" for the film Moulin Rouge! and its soundtrack. The single Missy Elliott produced hit number one on the Hot 100 for five weeks and was the most successful airplay-only single in history. It also reached number one in eleven other countries amd earned all four performers a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Aguilera's appearance in the music video was compared to that of Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider. The video won two MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year in 2001, where Aguilera accepted the award saying, "I guess the big hair paid off."

That year a single emerged into record stores called "Just Be Free", one of the demos Aguilera recorded when she was around fifteen years old. When RCA Records discovered the single, they advised fans not to purchase it. Months later, Warlock Records was set to release Just Be Free, an album which contains the demo tracks. Aguilera filed a breach of contract and unfair competition suit against Warlock and the album's producers to block the release. Instead, the two parties came to a settlement to release the album. Aguilera lent out her name, likeness and image for an unspecified amount of damages. Many of the details of the lawsuit remain confidential. When the album was released in August 2001, it had a photograph of Aguilera when she was fifteen years old.

Although Aguilera's debut album was very well received, she was dissatisfied with the music and image her management had created for her. Aguilera was marketed as a bubblegum pop singer because of the genre's upward financial trend. She mentioned plans of her next album to have much more depth, both musically and lyrically. Aguilera's views of Steve Kurtz's influence in matters of the singer's creative direction, the role of being her exclusive personal manager and overscheduling had in part caused her to seek legal means of terminating their management contract. She revealed while recording her then upcoming album, "I was being overworked. You find out that someone you thought was a friend is stealing money behind your back, and it's heartbreaking. I put faith in the people around me, and unfortunately, it bit me in the butt." Kurtz was terminated and Irving Azoff was hired as her new manager.

2002–2003: Stripped era

On October 29, 2002, after much delay, Aguilera's second full-length English album, Stripped, was released, selling more than 330,000 copies in the first week and peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200. Unlike previous work, the album showcased Aguilera's raunchier side. The majority of Stripped was co-written by Aguilera (who had recently signed a global music publishing contract with BMG Music Publishing), and was influenced by many different subjects and music styles, including contemporary R&B, gospel, soul, balladry, pop rock, and hip hop. The majority of the album was produced by Scott Storch and singer-songwriter Linda Perry who produced her more personal records. Rockwilder and singer Alicia Keys also contributed a track each. Upon initial release, the album was very well-received by critics, although Aguilera's vocals were overlooked as she began to cultivate a more sexually provocative image. After the release of the album, she took part in photoshoots for magazines, many of these photographs featured her nude or semi-nude. Her cover for Rolling Stone, featured the singer only wearing boots and a well-placed electric guitar. It was during this time Aguilera referred to herself as "Xtina", even getting a tattoo of her nickname on the back of her neck and several piercings.

Initially, the raunchy image had a negative effect on Aguilera in the U.S., especially after the release of her controversial "Dirrty" music video. She denied that this change was a matter of publicity, claiming that the image better reflected her true personality than did the image she cultivated back in 1999. While the video for "Dirrty" became very popular on MTV, it disappointed on the U.S. singles chart. However, the single was a hit worldwide, reaching number one in the UK and Ireland. The second single, "Beautiful" received critical praise. The classically influenced ballad reached number one in several countries and peaked at #2 in the US. "Beautiful" earned Aguilera the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Three more singles ("Fighter", "Can't Hold Us Down" featuring Lil' Kim, "The Voice Within") were released in the following two years and were hits that helped the album stay on the charts for the next two years. Stripped stayed on the U.S. and UK album charts well into 2004, and went on to be certified four-times platinum in the U.S. with over thirteen million copies sold worldwide. It appeared at number ten on Billboard's year-end album chart. Kelly Clarkson's second single "Miss Independent" was co-written by Aguilera, having been half-finished for Stripped.

Aguilera joined Justin Timberlake that June on the final leg of his international Justified tour, held in the U.S. This portion of the tour became a co-headliner called the Justified/Stripped Tour. In August, an overhead lighting grid collapsed from the ceiling of the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, causing major damage to the sound and video equipment below. Because the collapse occurred hours before the show, only a few stagehands were injured, but a few shows were cancelled or postponed. In the fourth quarter of that year, Aguilera continued to tour internationally without Timberlake, and changed the name of the tour to the "Stripped World Tour". She also dyed her hair black. It was one of the top-grossing tours of that year, and sold out most of its venues. Rolling Stone readers named it the best tour of the year. That same year she hosted the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards and was a special guest performer with the Pussycat Dolls' dance troupe performing at the Roxy Theatre and Viper Room in Los Angeles. She also appeared on a Maxim spread alongside them, her second Maxim cover that year set record sales for the issue making it the top selling issue to date. By the end of the year she topped the annual Hot 100 list later saying, "We had fun working with certain clothes, or the lack thereof."

After much delay, Aguilera's first DVD live-recording from a concert tour, Stripped Live in the UK, was released in November 2004. In light of the tour's success, another U.S. tour was scheduled to begin in mid-2004 with a new theme. The tour however was scrapped because of the vocal cord injuries Aguilera suffered shortly before the tour's opening date. In a tribute to Madonna's performance at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards, Aguilera performed a kiss with the singer-actress at the 2003 edition of the ceremony in August. The incident occurred during the opening performance of Madonna's songs "Like a Virgin" and "Hollywood" with fellow popstar Britney Spears.

2004–2007: Artistic development and Back to Basics

Aguilera later decided to embrace a more mature image; this move was met with more praise than criticism, with articles using punch lines such as "From Crass to Class." She eventually dyed her hair cherry blonde and recorded a jingle, "Hello", for a Mercedes-Benz ad. Shortly after, she dyed her hair flaxen blonde and cut it short, and took on a Marilyn Monroe look; she is one of the main proponents (along with Dita Von Teese, Gwen Stefani, and Ashley Judd) in bringing back the 1920s-1940s Hollywood glamour look.

In late summer 2004, Aguilera released two singles. The first, "Car Wash", was a remake of the Rose Royce disco song recorded as a collaboration with rapper Missy Elliott for the soundtrack to the film Shark Tale. The second song was also a collaboration, but this time as a second single from one of Nelly's double-release albums, Sweat, titled "Tilt Ya Head Back". Both singles failed commercially in the U.S., but did considerably better in other parts of the world. Aguilera collaborated with jazz artist Herbie Hancock on a cover of Leon Russell's "A Song for You" recorded for Hancock's album Possibilities, released in August 2005. Aguilera and Hancock were later nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. She helped open the 50th Anniversary for Disneyland performing "When You Wish upon a Star", and she also collaborated with Andrea Bocelli on the song "Somos Novios" for his album Amore.

Aguilera's third English studio album, Back to Basics, released August 15, 2006, debuted at #1 in the U.S., the U.K. and eleven other countries. Aguilera described the double CD as "a throwback to the 20s, 30s, and 40s-style jazz, blues, and feel-good soul music, but with a modern twist." The album received generally positive reviews, although many critics commented on the album's length saying, "At one disc, this would have been nothing short of masterful." The critically acclaimed lead single "Ain't No Other Man" was a substantial success, reaching #2 on the World Chart, #6 in the U.S., and #2 in U.K. Producers on the album included DJ Premier, Kwame, Linda Perry, and Mark Ronson. One track, "F.U.S.S.", was written as a response to the animosity between Aguilera and her former producer Scott Storch. In an interview she said, "That's a way of burying my experience with him. When I tried to work with him again, he made uncalled-for demands. It was disappointing that someone would get affected like that." She co-wrote all the album's tracks and was the executive producer. The follow-up singles did very well in different regions, "Hurt" in Europe and "Candyman" in the Pacific. She co-directed both music videos, the former with Floria Sigismondi who directed her "Fighter" video, and the latter, "Candyman", with director/photographer Matthew Rolston which was inspired by The Andrews Sisters. According to Sony BMG, Back to Basics has sold nearly five million units worldwide.

In late 2006 Aguilera collaborated with Sean "Diddy" Combs on a track, titled "Tell Me", from his album Press Play. She also began the "Back to Basics Tour" in Europe followed by a 41-date North American tour in early 2007. After this, she toured Asia and Australia, where it was supposed to end on August 3, however she canceled her dates in Melbourne and her final two in Auckland due to an illness. Her extravagant arena tour included cabaret, three-ring circus and juke joint sets and 10 piece costumes designed by Roberto Cavalli. The tour grossed nearly $50 million by the end of the year in North America and several millions worldwide in her Europe and Australia dates. It was the most successful US tour by a female in 2007. In early 2008, she released her concert DVD Back to Basics: Live and Down Under.

At the 49th Grammy Awards, Aguilera again won the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Ain't No Other Man". She made a noteworthy performance at the ceremony paying tribute to James Brown with her rendition of his song "It's a Man's Man's Man's World". In January 2007, she was named the 19th richest woman in entertainment by Forbes, with a net worth of US$60 million.

Aguilera performed "Steppin' Out With My Baby" with Tony Bennett on his NBC special Tony Bennett: An American Classic and on Saturday Night Live. They performed at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards where both specials received Emmys. "Steppin' Out" was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

2008–present: Keeps Gettin' Better and forthcoming album

In 2008 Aguilera was featured on the soundtrack to the film, Shine a Light, from a live recording of the song "Live With Me" with the Rolling Stones. The film's soundtrack was released on April 1, 2008. To commemorate Aguilera's ten years in the music industry, RCA Records released, Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits on November 11, 2008 exclusively at Target stores in the US. The greatest hits included her first three number one singles, and other songs released from her previous three albums. "Lady Marmalade" and several Spanish singles from Mi Reflejo were included in the worldwide releases. The album's lead single, "Keeps Gettin' Better" was premiered at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards and was her highest debut peaking at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Australian singer-songwriter Sia, was one of the first of confirmed producers for her forthcoming album. The following year she launched her online radio station which is part of Clear Channel's iheartradio revealing details about her upcoming projects. There she revealed that she worked with M.I.A., Santigold and Ladytron adding, "The overall versatility of this record is truly something special for me. The result was just crazy magic. There truly is something for everyone to enjoy on the record." She will also be working with Goldfrapp and Tricky Stewart who revealed that the album is finished adding, “She’s mixing it up again. She’s singing R&B again, she’s doing pop. She’s doing it all, but she’s found a way to make it all meet in the middle because she’s so many different things. She’s a real serious musician.” He also revealed that the album is set for release next year due to her upcoming musical film, Burlesque set for filming this year. He and producer Danja will also contribute to the film's soundtrack.

Artistry

Vocal ability

Aguilera who is a soprano, has rivaled many of her other contemporaries and has been referred to as the "voice of her generation" and a blue eyed soul singer. In the MTV special All Eyes on Christina, John Norris said that Aguilera "has a four-octave vocal range". Aguilera also topped COVE's list of the 100 Best Pop Vocalists with a score of 50/50 and came fifth in MTV's 22 Greatest Voices in Music. Aguilera has also been known to sing in the high whistle register, high Belt (music) and Alto voice. A review in an Entertainment Weekly article mentions her "tackling that dog-whistle high note" at the 3:20 mark in the song "Soar" from her album Stripped. Her rendition of "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" at the 49th Grammy Awards ranked third in the Grammy's Greatest Moments List behind Celine Dion's performance of "My Heart Will Go On" and Green Day's performance of "American Idiot". In an interview, Dion described Aguilera as "probably the best vocalist in the world." During the work on Back to Basics, DJ Premier explained, "She really represents true music and true singing. She can belt out notes. She has true lungs." Rolling Stone ranked Aguilera at 58 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, the youngest singer on the list.

Since her debut in 1999 Aguilera has been compared to the likes of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. A review in the Los Angeles Times compared Aguilera's vocal stylings to Barbra Streisand, Gladys Knight, and Aretha Franklin adding, "Aguilera's Streisand-esque tendencies are a good thing; they’re helping her figure out how to become the "great singer" she's been dubbed since she released her first single, the wise-beyond-its-years "Genie in a Bottle", at 18." Although praised for her vocals, Aguilera has been labeled for oversinging in her songs and concerts. Longtime producer and writer, Linda Perry, commented on working on the record, "Beautiful", saying, "I tried to keep it straight. I told her to get rid of the finger waves. Every time she'd start going into "hoo-ha", I'd stop the tape. I'm like, 'You're doing it again.'" Perry ended up using the first take saying, "She had a hard time accepting that as the final track. It's not a perfect vocal -- it's very raw. She knows her voice really well, and she knows what's going on. She can hear things that nobody else would catch."

Themes and musical style

The constant theme in Aguilera's music and lyrics is love, although she has written on other subjects including spirituality, female empowerment, and grief. Aguilera has also written about her childhood in two of her records which dealt with domestic abuse. In an interview Aguilera admitted she feels responsible to reveal her most vulnerable feelings and to share the darker sides of her life adding "People that can relate might not feel as alone in the circumstance." She has been noted to constantly changing her sound in her music and lyrical content. Originally marketed as a bubblegum pop singer during the late 90's pop scene, she quickly departed into a broad range of musical genres for her follow-up album Stripped. A review states, "Clearly afflicted with Premature Serious Artist Syndrome, Aguilera wants to demonstrate the range of her interests - vampy soul, quasi-metal, piano-bar intimacy, quiet-storm R&B, bounce-bounce hip-hop, and semi-exotic rock, all of it dutifully accomplished." Although by many she is still considered a pop and contemporary R&B singer despite her range of genres. A review in Allmusic states, "no other teen-pop singer of her era has a better track record than Christina." The majority of the songs are characterized by Aguilera's loud vocals, though she has used breathy and soft vocals. Aguilera has often cited that she prefers working with producers that other artists haven't approached, saying "I don't necessarily go to the main people that are the No. 1 chart-toppers in music." Her 2006 release, Back to Basics included producer DJ Premier known for his work with Gang Starr. The New York Times exclaims, "Her decision to work with the low-key DJ Premier was also a decision to snub some of the big-name producers on whom pop stars often rely."

Influences

One of Aguilera's major influences and idol is blues singer Etta James, whose classic song "At Last" has been covered by Aguilera throughout her career. Aguilera says, "Etta is my all-time favorite singer. I've said it for the last seven years — since I had my first debut record out — in every interview. I mean, all of Etta's old songs, countless songs I could name, I grew up listening to." The majority of her album, Back to Basics, pays tribute to James and other pop standard singers who many originated from the 1950s. In her early years she listened to vintage jazz, blues, and soul music. The album included an unreleased song, "Slow Down Baby", which sampled a Gladys Knight & the Pips song. A review in The Guardian declared, "Practically everything recorded before Aguilera was born blurs into one amorphous genre, which she categorises, somewhat inadequately, as "fun music". Aguilera has also named Madonna and Janet Jackson as two of her biggest influences "for being re-inventive and being brave as strong females, to explore whatever, even if they do get bad press. It's just like they were fearless." Her other musical influences include Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Nina Simone.

Aguilera cites the musical The Sound of Music and its lead actress, Julie Andrews as an early inspiration for singing and performing. She mentioned the "Golden age of Hollywood" as another inspiration in which she says, "I'm referencing Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Carole Lombard, Greta Garbo, Veronica Lake". In her music video for "Ain't Nor Other Man" she plays her alter ego, "Baby Jane" in reference to the film Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? The film's stars included actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The third single off Back to Basics, "Candyman" was inspired by the 1941 song, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by The Andrews Sisters which was played during World War II. She was also inspired by pin-up girls and several paintings by Alberto Vargas. Aguilera has expressed interest in cultural icons Nico, Blondie and artists Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. She has often worked with photographer and close friend, David LaChapelle who once worked with Warhol. Chapelle has shot many of Aguilera's music videos, magazine shoots and advertisements. She is also a fan of graffiti artist Banksy. In 2006 she purchased three of Banksy's works during a private art exhibition, one of them included a pornographic picture of Queen Victoria in a lesbian pose with a prostitute. Fashion has also been a part of Aguilera's music career and image which she has used as a form of expression during performances and music videos. In 2003 she became the muse and inspiration for Donatella Versace's 2003 fall line. Versace also designed pieces her tour the following year. Aguilera is also a fan of Roberto Cavalli, John Galliano, Marc Jacobs, and Alexander McQueen whose designs she has worn throughout her career.

Film and television

In 1991 Aguilera auditioned for a role on The New Mickey Mouse Club, however she did not meet the age requirements. Two years later she joined the cast performing musical numbers and sketch comedy until the show's cancellation in 1994. Since then Aguilera has done numerous television appearances, in 1999 she made a cameo appearance performing on an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. She hosted a Saturday Night Live episode in 2004 prior which included a Sex & The City skit where she portrayed Samantha Jones revealing to everyone she was a man the entire time. Prior to this she appeared as a musical guest for episodes hosted by Christopher Walken in 2000, Salma Hayek in 2003 and then again in 2006 with Alec Baldwin. In regards to acting in film, she's mentioned in several interviews that she intends to pursue edgy acting roles similar to Angelina Jolie. She voiced a small singing part in the animated film Shark Tale playing a rastafarian jellyfish in the film's closing musical number. The film's stars included, among others, Jolie herself.

In 2008 she appeared in the Martin Scorsese documentary Shine A Light which chronicles a two day Rolling Stones concert in New York City's Beacon Theatre. The film features Aguilera performing "Live With Me" alongside Mick Jagger. Shine A Light premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and was released worldwide on April 4, 2008. Aguilera appeared as a guest judge on the sixth season of Project Runway on Lifetime Television. She and designer Bob Mackie were the inspiration for the challenge in which they had to design a stage outfit for Aguilera. She will appear as herself in the upcoming Judd Apatow film, Get Him to the Greek.

Burlesque

In 2009, Variety confirmed that she will be working in her first feature film, a musical, titled Burlesque, scheduled to begin shooting in late 2009. Aguilera will portray a small town girl who "finds love, family and success in a Los Angeles neo-burlesque club".The film, distributed by Screen Gems, will be directed by actor and director Steve Antin who also wrote the script, which was revised by Susannah Grant. The film will co-star fellow singer Cher as the club's owner. The film will also feature Twilight star Cam Gigandet as her love interest, Stanley Tucci, and Kirsten Bell. Burlesque is set for a Thanksgiving release next year and is currently in production in Los Angeles.

Products and endorsement

In 2000, Aguilera was the face for make-up line Fetish where she worked in choosing colors and packaging for the line. She ended her contract the following year. Throughout her career Aguilera has endorsed several brands, including Skechers, Mercedes-Benz, Verizon Wireless, and soft drink giants Coca-Cola in 2001, and Pepsi in 2006. She became the muse and model for fashion house Versace appearing in a campaign for the 2003 fall line. In 2004 Aguilera earned £200,000GBP (about $500,000USD) for opening the summer sale at London's Harrods store which took in record breaking profits during the four week period. Aguilera signed a contract with European cell phone operator Orange to promote the new Sony Ericsson Walkman phone during the 2006 World Cup.

In 2008 jewelry designer Stephen Webster and close friend of Aguilera released "Shattered", a collection of sterling silver pieces, through Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. Aguilera, who inspired the collection, was featured as a Hitchcock heroine saying, "Working together on this campaign and collection has been an incredible experience. I am honored to be a part of it all." They reprised their work together for Webster's 2009 spring line.

Aguilera released two fragrances throughout Europe, the first one Xpose, was released in late 2004 and sold relatively well. Through Procter and Gamble Aguilera released her signature fragrance, Simply Christina in 2007. In Christmas 2007, the fragrance became the number one perfume in the UK, and Germany where it topped sales for the year. The perfume won as the people's choice for favorite celebrity fragrance at the annual UK Fifi Awards 2008. She released her third fragrance, Inspire, accompanied with a body care collection, on September 1, 2008. The perfume hit shelves in the US, Canada, Latin America, Asia and Northern and Eastern Europe. It is Aguilera's first fragrance released outside of Europe. Her worldwide ad campaign included a television ad shot by David LaChapelle and was released in the US through Macy's department stores. The release coincided with Macy's 150th anniversary which featured Aguilera in commemorative photos.^r She released her fourth fragrance By Night in October.