biography
I don't know how many of you remember the old Star Search talent-contest program, but most of us who were subjected to it back then (channel-surfing wasn't what it is today) spent most of our time trying to figure out which was worse: the "talent" or Ed McMahon. At the age of 8, future teen sensation Christina Aguilera appeared on the program (you can be sure VH1 wasted no time in digging up the clip to air on Before They Were Rock Stars). But that was just the beginning: At age 10, she sang the national anthem for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and from ages 12 to 14 she appeared on the new Mickey Mouse Club show alongside other future stars Britney Spears and J.C. and Justin of *NSYNC. Her duet with Japanese pop star Keizo Nakanishi on "All I Wanna Do" also allowed her video exposure and even a tour of Japan.
Aguilera returned to the U.S. in 1998 in time to audition for the singing part of "Reflection" in the Disney film Mulan; her living room boombox demo of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Run To You" was Fed-Exed by her manager to Disney, and within a week she had the Disney job and a solo deal with RCA Records. Talk about timing!
Aguilera's 1999 self-titled debut was recorded with a variety of hot-shot producers, including Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers (*NSYNC), Travon Potts (Monica), and Guy Roche (Brandy). Hit-songwriter-for-hire Diane Warren gave her the ballad "I Turn To You," while "Genie In A Bottle" was produced by ex-System David Frank and Steve Kipner. Not surprisingly, Christina Aguilera shot all the way to number one in its first week of release and maintained a spot in the upper reaches of the Billboard charts for weeks. That same year, Aguilera took home a Grammy for Best New Artist.
After appearing on a number of teen award programs, releasing Christmas and Spanish-language albums, and being compared countless times to her less vocally gifted ex-MMC castmate Britney Spears, Aguilera seemed to go to great pains to refashion herself as a sort of R&B/street baby diva, starting with her often bizarre fashion sense: Gone were the cute CosmoGirl outfits and straight flaxen locks, replaced by bizarre shredded getups that barely covered her private parts and cornrows or Dee Snider perms. This landed her on many worst-dressed lists, but she was merely young artist trying to find herself, and that meant growing up--and making mistakes--in public. One career move that certainly wasn't a mistake was her participation in the Moulin Rouge soundtrack's remake of LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade" with Pink, Mya, Lil' Kim, and Missy Elliott: The superstar collaboration showcased her powerful vocals and was one of the biggest singles of 2001.
At age 21, Aguilera continued do her own thing with her long-awaited sophomore album, Stripped, much of which she co-wrote. The album's first single, "Dirrty," featured a rap by Redman and a scandalous, envelope-pushing video. Whether this new direction will ultimately widen her audience or alienate her fanbase still remains to be seen, but it's certain that Stripped is helping her stand out from the teen-pop pack.
Written
Rob O‘ Connor
克里丝蒂娜 生平简介 （翻译）
不知道有多少人记得这个以前的寻找明星这个才艺展示节目，在我们那个年代，大部分人都看这个节目（当年没有遥控器，频道也没有这么多，换台可不是像现在一样） ，我们一边看，一边把大部分时间花在决定更糟糕，是那些所谓的“才艺 ”还是 Ed McMahon. 在8岁那年，年轻的，却令人眼前一亮的 克里斯蒂娜，安格莱拉 在这个寻找明星节目上亮相。（可以肯定的是 VH1<一家公司，类似CNN， MTV>在克里斯蒂娜成名之后，以最快的速度把当年她表演的片断找出来，并在'他们成名之前"这个节目中播放），克里斯蒂娜10岁那年，就为匹兹堡（宾夕法尼亚州，西南部城市，美国钢铁中心）的铁人队在比赛前演唱国歌。从12到14岁，她参与演出了迪斯尼的节目，"米老鼠俱乐部" ，同时演出的还有小甜甜——布兰妮，J.C 还有超级男孩的组合中的贾斯廷。克里斯蒂娜和日本流行歌星Keizo Nakanishi的2重唱“ 我想做的就是” 让她在日本知名度爆升 ，更在日本举行巡回演出。
安格莱拉 于1998年重返美国，为迪斯尼公司的动画片，花木兰丽的主题曲《Reflection “心的映像”》做准备；她的经纪人把放在她房间的扬声器里的一段克里斯蒂娜翻唱惠妮 休斯敦的" I wanna run to you 我想向你奔去" 的样本唱片快递给迪斯尼公司，在唱片寄出不到一个星期，克里斯蒂娜拿到了迪斯尼的合约，同时还有另一分和RCA 唱片公司的合约。
1999年，克里斯蒂娜的第一张个人专辑，在众多炙手可热的明星，制作人的帮助下，闪亮登场。其中包括 Carl Sturken和Evan Rogers (*NSYNC), 还有Travon Potts (Monica), 与 Guy Roche (Brandy). 流行音乐作曲家 Diane Warren 为她写了那首著名的歌曲 ”I turn to you, 同时前系统（ex-system) 的 David Frand 和 Steve Kipner 为她写了“Genie in a bottle（瓶中的精灵）”。果然，克里斯蒂娜 安格莱拉，在新专辑发布的第一个星期就登上的了美国音乐排行榜（billboard,广告牌，这里指排行榜）第一的位置，并在榜上停留了好几个星期。同年，安格莱拉获得格莱美最佳新秀奖。
在获得了许多青年歌手的奖项，以及发行了圣诞节和西班牙语专辑，被人们用唱功以及嗓音稍差的布兰妮和她不断比较之后，安格莱拉似乎是想费大力气去改变人们对她，R&B(节奏蓝调）/street baby diva( 街道小天后）的定位。 她开始穿很古怪的流行服饰，乖巧可爱的城市女孩的服装不见了，取而代之的是一些刚刚好够遮盖她重要部位的破布组成的服饰，梳成一条条辫子的或者烫成D字型的头发。她在这方面的所做所为让她 再次登上许多的排行榜---最差衣着品味排行榜，不过她只是一个寻找自己的灵魂的青年歌手 ，寻找的过程，不可避免会在公众场合出错。在这段时间里，她也做出了一个正确的决定，就是在红磨坊的电影原声大碟里与Pink ，Mya， Lil'Kim， Missy Elliott，等巨星合唱‘Lady Marmalade （女士果酱 ）“，克里斯蒂娜在这首明星共同打造的单曲，显示出她富震撼力的嗓音，这首单曲也成为2001年最流行，最热门的单曲之一。
在21岁那年，克里斯蒂娜埋头于众人期待她的第二张专辑 ’脱衣舞者”，她参与了这张专辑的大部分创作。主打歌“Dirrty” ，邀请了 说唱乐手，Redman 鼎力加盟，音乐电视中的许多画面都是极具挑逗性，挑战尺寸极限的。不管这种尝试会不会带给她更多的观众，还是观众的流失，这张新专辑，确实使她从一大堆青年流行乐中脱颖而出。
Written
Rob O‘ Connor
翻译 Manly Ming
