by Angella Gailey

Created on: December 06, 2011   Last Updated: December 11, 2011

Love her or hate her, Christina Aguilera has a voice that wows audiences and sales records. With over 25 million albums and three Grammy awards, she has come a long way from The New Mickey Mouse Club.

Christina Maria Aguilera was born on December 18, 1980 in Staten Island, New York into a very troubled life. Her father, Fausto Xavier Aguilera, was an abusive husband, and her mother, Shelly Loraine Fidler, would not end the marriage until Aguilera was six. She would then move her and her younger sister Rachel to Rochester, Pennsylvania.

It became evident at a young age that Aguilera had inherited her mother’s (who was an experienced violin and piano player) talent for music. Aguilera had a big voice, and by the time she started elementary school, she had been in a number of local talent shows. Because of the backlash from students, and even parents, who were jealous of her talent, her mother eventually decided to have her home schooled. In 1990, at the age of 9, she made her first television performance on Star Search performing Etta James’ “A Sunday Kind of Love;” she would take home second place.

Not letting that get her down, Aguilera auditioned for, and won, a spot on The New Mickey Mouse Club in 1993. She would appear on the show with other future stars such as Justin Timberlake, Brittany Spears, Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell. She was on the show until 1995, when she moved to Japan with her mother. While there she recorded the hit single “All I Wanna Do,” with Japanese pop star Keizo Nakanishyi.

She returned to the states in 1998 and was promptly picked to sing “Reflection” on the soundtrack for the Disney film, Mulan. Her concert debut came at Lilith Fair, an all female concert. She then signed with RCA records. That same year she released her self-titled album. It would sell more than 8 million copies, it would also generate such hits as “Genie in a Bottle,” and “What a Girl Wants.”

Because her years on The Mickey Mouse Club had left her with a squeaky clean image the likes of Annette Funnicello and Frankie Avalon, Aguilera seemed determined to shatter that image. She would team up with Pink, Li’l Kim, and Mya for a super sexy version of Patti LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade.” She would then go on to release her second album, Stripped in October 2002. She appeared practically nude on the CD’s cover, in her videos and on a number of men’s magazines. Many

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