Christina Aguilera Biography
A modern take on vintage jazz, soul and blues from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, her third studio album is wildly inventive, whose throwback style creates a sound thats gritty and raw. The album reunites her with producer Linda Perry and offers new collaborations with producers such as DJ Premier. The upbeat first single, Aint No Other Man, will be world-premiered on the MTV Movie Awards on June 8 prior to its debut on June 12.
This is a concept album that follows a bold vision, explains Aguilera. The touchstones are Billie Holiday, Otis Redding, Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald what I used to call my fun music when I was a little girl.
The double album, Back To Basics utilizes an orchestra, choir, string quartet and jazz horns, as well as techniques that, according to GQ, blends a vintage-soul sound with state-of-the-art beatsmanship to form a throwback/hip-hop showcase for her outsize voice. I Got Trouble incorporates a scratchy blues feel, while Candy Man recalls the tight harmonies of all-girl groups from the 30s and 40s Save Me From Myself is an emotionally naked, raw-sounding song dedicated to her husband. Thank You, dedicated to her fans, features DJ Premier splicing bits of Genie In A Bottle with fan voicemail messages. Also sure to appeal to Aguilera fans is the risqu song Nasty Naughty Boy (which has a 20s burlesque feel) and the sassy club track Still Dirrty.
Aguileras 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 Channels The New Mickey Mouse Club, alongside such future stars as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Keri Russell. In 1998 Aguileras song Reflection for Disneys 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. Along with the superheated funk of the albums provocative debut single, Dirrty, came such standout tracks as Beautiful, Cant Hold Us Down and Make Over.
Earning her first of three Grammy Awards in 2000 for Best New Artist, her subsequent trophies came in 2001 for Lady Marmalade (Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals) and in 2003 for Beautiful (Best Female Pop Vocal Performance). 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, Aguileras 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) and one of the Sexiest Women of the Year (2003).
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. The critically-acclaimed lead single "Ain't No Other Man" was a substantial success, reaching #2 on the United World Chart, #6 in the U.S., and #2 in U.K. 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." 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.
Aguilera described her forthcoming album as "short, sweet and completely different" from Back to Basics, although she did not elaborate on the style of the album. Fans eagerly await her new offering.
