Christina Aguilera (born December 18, 1980,Staten Island,New York, U.S.) is an American pop singer who emerged during the teen pop explosion of the late 1990s and experienced almost instant commercial success.

Along withBritney Spears andJustin Timberlake, Aguilera got her musical start on theDisney Channel’sThe New Mickey Mouse Club. After recording the song “Reflection” for the Disney movieMulan (1998), Aguilera signed a recording deal and released a self-titled debut album of dance-orientedpop music in 1999. Both the album and Aguilera’s first single, “Genie in a Bottle,” quickly climbed to the top of theBillboard pop charts, and she won theGrammy Award for best new artist in 1999.

Aguilera’s next albums took varying paths but revolved around her powerful voice and exploited her looks andcharisma. Emphasizing her Ecuadoran ethnic heritage, she capitalized on the Latin pop music boom by mastering enough Spanish to releaseMi reflejo (2000).My Kind of Christmas (2000) followed. In 2001 Aguileracollaborated with fellow singers Pink, Mya, and Lil’ Kim on a popular cover version of LaBelle’s 1974funk classic “Lady Marmalade.” Soon after, Aguilera releasedStripped (2002), on which she cast off her ingenue image and took on a more provocative sexualized persona, epitomized by her hit single “Dirrty.” Reminiscent of the work ofEtta James andBillie Holiday,Back to Basics (2006) paid tribute to Aguilera’s jazz andblues influences.

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Aguilera returned to dance pop withBionic (2010), though the album was considered a commercial disappointment, as was its follow-up,Lotus (2012). Her 2018 release,Liberation, earned glowing reviews. She later contributed the songs “Haunted Heart” and “Loyal Brave True” to the soundtracks forAddams Family (2019) andMulan (2020), respectively. In 2019 she began a residency show titledXperience at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Aguilera received numerousaccolades and awards for hermusic, including several Grammy Awards.

In 2010, after appearing in various cameo roles on film, Aguilera starred oppositeCher in themusical dramaBurlesque, as a young small-town woman with dreams of becoming an entertainer. The following year she became a judge on the televisionsinging competitionThe Voice; she remained with the show until 2016. During this time Aguilera continued to act. Her notable TV credits included a guest role (2015) onNashville. She also appeared in such films asPitch Perfect 2 (2015) andLife of the Party (2018) and voiced the character of Akiko Glitter inThe Emoji Movie (2017).