CHRISTINA AGUILERA:

The Girl, The Image, The Music

Since the re-emergence of pop, we've seen teen pop stars rise like waves of the sea, swallowing up all conventional music and dominating the air waves with their mushy love ballads, and pre-teen values. But Christina Aguilera stands out from the pack because of the one thing that is most lacking in most of these pop stars'---a phenomenal voice.

In the teen pop music world, what sells is the look; the blonder the tresses and the barer the mid-riff the more albums the artist is likely to sell. That is not to say, she has not ascribed to some of these marketing gimmicks. However, Christina Aguilera has managed to distinguish herself with her extraordinary vocal skill, hence displaying immense musical talent and sheer star power that has made her face one recognized the world over.

Her main asset---her voice---enables her to crossover from pop, R&B, jazz, and just recently Latin pop. She recently released her first Spanish Language album titled “Mi Reflejo” (meaning my reflection) in September, 2000. A pop collaboration with Latin heartthrob Ricky Martin with "Nobody wants to be Lonely" landed them on Billboard hot 100 chart singles late last year; and her recent collaboration with fellow rising female Pop sisters, Mya, Pink, Missy Elliot, and the infamous but talented rapper Lil' Kim, on the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, with the "Lady Marmalade" remake has secured her a ticket on this years Hot 100 for one of the hottest dance tracks for the summer, aptly securing a no.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 tracks. Despite the diversity of these music genres, you can tell that Christina's voice still feels very much at home in the notes and is not in a strange territory, accenting high notes, and rising to those decibels to emphasize the song's intensity and dynamic effect.

Christina's path to success has not been easy but its been worthwhile. The former MMC member, who, believe it or not, lost a talent contest when she was 7 years old, has had a tough journey in her climb through the ranks to establish herself as a teen pop princess.

Her concert tour of the Summer of 2000 failed to win over a sold out crowd. The tour was also plagued with its series of disasters during its first week. Her tour bus was burglarized and items, though not belonging to her, were taken. Concerts were canceled in Boston and Virginia. 

The 2000 MTV Video Music Awards had her nominated for 5 different awards including Best New artist in a video. At the end of the evening she failed to win even a single award. Her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards was highly ignored by the press. They carefully overlooked the fact that the performance, though it had its slight hitches (Christina’s voice cracked intermittently due to laryngitis), was a remarkable one as it saw her combine her musical talent with a tinge of rock singing with Rock band Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst.  Christina, proved once again that she was ready to make the crossover to Modern Rock as well.

Also, notable in this performance was the fact that she chose not to lip-synch. Judging from the fact that she was ailing with laryngitis at the time and had been advised against any voice strain by her doctors, you would think she would desist from the use of a live microphone for her performance like some other microphone challenged performers.

But that's not Christina's style. She doesn't lip-synch her concerts or her performances. She has a beautiful voice and she wants to prove to the world that it would be her trademark, at all and any expense. A week later, she went on to perform, once again against doctors' orders at the 1st Latin Grammy awards.

As if things couldn't get any worse, E! Online’s Fashion Police  went on to name her as one of the Worst Dressed people of 2000, grouping her in the likes of rap artist Lil’ Kim.

Then there is the alleged rivalry between her and co-teen pop princess Britney Spears; a rivalry which Christina has denied repeatedly. It was further intensified by the co- endorsements by the two soft drink giants each taking a teen diva to represent their product, in large high numbered commercials. Coca Cola claimed Christina, while Pepsi glamorized Britney. 

She has already proven her worth as a diva when she performed as the only token female in the VH1 “Men Strike Back” concert in 2000. A performance which saw her render jazz tunes with such soulful ease you would forget that she is only 20 years old. Then her crossover to the Latin pop world saw her being nominated for a Latin pop Grammy for her single “Genie in a Bottle”, which she unfortunately lost. She was able to garner the Best Female artist at the Billboard Music awards beating out a long list of female music favorites, including the much favored country crooner Faith Hill. Then, she got another set of Grammy nominations earlier this year for both "Best Latin album, and Best Female Pop vocals for "What a Girl Wants". Sadly, she left that evening empty handed but her rendition of Latin medleys adorned in her celebratory blonde braids was not ignored in the lack luster evening's events. However, a few months later, she went on to win an Award at the World Music awards for Best Female Latin Artist, performing with the nights star, Ricky Martin, and warming her way into the hearts of the adoring millions watching the world over. These are all stepping stones in registration of a mega star.

I believe we have a star in our hands, a talented young lady and a remarkable singer who should be given the recognition and respect she deserves as an artist. Granted that her image and persona might not be going down well with some of her fans, young and old, and people have come to a grounded conclusion that she displays the traits of a Pop "bitch", snubbing her fans and musical cohorts alike. However, we should learn to put aside all the garnishes: the lavish platinum tresses, exaggerated display of mid-riffs and miniature outlandish dressing, to regard her with an objective eye, stripping ourselves of any prejudices whatsoever. The state of Pop music today is in such a dicey field that images, and repertoires have become part and parcels to molding the musician and not the quality of the music or artist's talent. This time I think, we should get back to our roots and appreciate the talent in Christina, undiluted and untapped, and accept that her diva status would soon come to be.

Christina plans to record her sophomore effort in 2001 or beyond, the release date is still tentative. What she has said is that this time she wants to make the album more personal, adding her feelings, and carving her niche into the lyrics to give it a more personal touch, reflecting the travails this soul sister has gone through since her breakout. We understand, for there is no hurry in reclaiming a prize. In the meantime, her collaborations with numerous artists, adding her tremendous vocals to penning some of the best songs this year, will continue to extend her legacy as we wait on salivating for her next album. We can only hope it would go on to emphasize what has already been proved.