From ‘Stripped’ to the Superbowl: Looking at the Career of Singer Christina Aguilera

By: Kaitlyn Boisvert
Posted In: Entertainment

“Longtime pop singer Christina Aguilera shocked multiple onlookers when she botched the lyrics of the national anthem during the opening reception of Superbowl XLV. People were horrified and outraged. Tabloids immediately posted online articles that highlighted the incident. Within an hour, a video of Aguilera’s disastrous performance was uploaded onto YouTube, and people wrote insulting comments regarding her error. Some even went as far as going onto her own YouTube channel to express their hatred. “Christina Aguilera can’t sing!” one comment read. Another said: “She is a complete disgrace to our country.”

Within a few days of the event, Aguilera’s embarrassment received great coverage by the media. Despite her apology for the error, people still lauded her for it. Comedians such as Conan O’Brien poked fun at her performance and famous figures such as Simon Cowell insulted her singing abilities.

Although the piece was cringe-worthy, especially with the line mix-up and her over-emphasizing too many words, Aguilera should not automatically be written off as a singer with no talent or integrity. She has already proved herself to possess both, as both a singer and an artist. After more than a decade of being in the music industry, Aguilera has made a great impact upon the music world, by producing four albums and charming the world with her talents. With a powerful voice that can rise up to four octaves, Aguilera expresses talent and empathy rare to find within the music industry. What is perhaps so endearing about her is that she writes a wide variety of songs-songs that are catchy, like “Genie in a Bottle,” songs that are inspiring, like “Fighter” and songs that move the heart, like “Hurt.” Such is a rare feat among artists, especially in this current generation.

Her career has been highlighted with a lot of success, yet Aguilera has also met a lot of unfair criticism and never truly gained the attention she deserved. Although her vocal talents surpass many of her contemporaries, Aguilera was always considered just second best. When she first appeared on the scene, she faced a lot of comparisons to current pop sensation Britney Spears. Many people accused her of copying Spears’ style and looks. She was more known as the artist who emulated the pop princess, rather than being known for her own self, music, and singing talents. Thankfully, Aguilera proved herself more as an artist to be reckoned with through the release of her second album, “Stripped.” The album’s single “Beautiful” garnered multiple praise and love from critics and fans alike. Aguilera won a Grammy for the song, and it would be one of her signature songs. It is songs like these that made Aguilera so sensual, heart-breaking and unique when compared to the rest of the artists within the industry.

Aguilera’s strongest career point, and perhaps the age where she produced her greatest work, was in 2006 at the release of her third studio album “Back to Basics.” This album presented a new Aguilera — one who channeled a style that reflected the soul of the 1940s and glowed with a newfound strength and confidence. She was at a very good point in her life, having married Jordan Bratman, and her happiness greatly reflected through her music. She produced very upbeat and fun songs, such as “Ain’t No Other Man” and “Candyman,” tunes that drew upon a classy sexiness and a highly energetic Aguilera. It is though this album she presented talents and range that she had never shown the world before. While she wrote very upbeat songs that emphasized happy love and joyful living, Aguilera also offered very beautiful and poignant songs that could move many to tears. Her single “Oh Mother” reflects the domestic abuse she and her mother experienced from her father, as well as her current goal to support her mother and move on from such a traumatizing experience. The power ballad “Hurt” perfectly captures the pain of losing a loved one and attempting to cope. It was these sentimental and heart-breaking songs that further proved Aguilera as a true artist with great power and emotion.

Unfortunately, Aguilera’s life and music career fell apart after the release of “Back to Basics.” Although she did give birth to a beautiful boy named Max, her marriage with Bratman began to wane. Her career was also a bit in jeopardy — she had taken a long hiatus in singing, and her name was no longer in lights. She did make a comeback in 2010, with the release of her fourth studio album “Bionic,” but her new work was not well-received and the album was a financial failure. As an artist who was compared to Britney Spears when she first arrived on the scene, now she was accused of trying to emulate current pop sensation Lady Gaga, even though Aguilera had been in the business far longer than Gaga had. People posted flaming comments online saying that Aguilera was over and that she was not nearly up to par as Lady Gaga.

Although “Bionic” was perhaps her best work, Aguilera still presented a lot of songs that were catchy and signature Aguilera. The album did not deserve all of the negative criticism that it received. Yes, it may have been a bit sloppy with its intended theme and messages, but it still presents an interesting array of songs that have an electric beat to them and are fun to dance along to. The songs “I’m Not Myself Tonight,” “Woohoo,” “Glam” and “I Hate Boys” are all perfect examples of such songs. While they present Aguilera’s trademark vocal talents, they also present a new Aguilera to the world — one that is daring, dangerous and fun. Then, Aguilera follows upon her common formula of offering songs that go beyond just being catchy and acts as a ballad that presents heart-breaking themes. One such example is “You Lost Me,” a very exquisite song where Aguilera sings very mournfully-allowing audiences a close glimpse into her heart. It stands as one of the strongest pieces in the entire album.

What is also another endearing bit in “Bionic” are the short audio recordings of her son Max, who is absolutely adorable in his innocence and obvious love for his mother. With all these combined qualities, “Bionic” is a very fine product of Aguilera’s work, and is definitely an underrated album.

Aguilera met with even more ill luck after this. Shortly following the release of “Bionic,” Aguilera filed for divorce from her husband of three years. She met with more failure through her acting debut in the film “Burlesque.” Although critics did praise her performance, the film itself received only mixed reviews. Then Aguilera experienced a more problems within her personal life. She allegedly developed a drinking problem. After her brief visit to Newport in December, workers at the local Panera Bread claimed that she, “looked awful and trashy-almost unrecognizable.”

Hopefully Aguilera is only in a rough period within her life, and will work to sort things out and escape it for the sake of her career and for the sake of her son. Although she has hit quite a few snags recently, she also has a bit of hope for recovery and redemption. She is currently dating a new man, and is scheduled to perform at the upcoming Grammys with fellow artists Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch, Martina McBride and Yolanda Adams. The performance will hopefully redeem Aguilera’s image, and help people forget about her mess-up at the Superbowl. Although her career may not be as strong in this point of time, Aguilera is too talented to be cast aside as an old icon that is no longer in style.