Christina Aguilera "Christina Aguilera"

Christina Aguilera is the debut studio album by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was released on August 24, 1999, by RCA Records. After recording "Reflection", the theme song for the 1998 Disney film Mulan, RCA laid the foundation for the album immediately and started presenting Aguilera with tracks for her debut album, which they originally decided would have a January 1999 release. Its music incorporates dance-pop and teen pop genres, with a few songs featuring strong elements from soul and contemporary R&B. Contributions to the album's production came from a wide range of producers, including David Frank, Ron Fair, Guy Roche, Robin Thicke, Diane Warren, Matthew Wilder and Aaron Zigman.

The album received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising Aguilera's vocal performance, technique and comparisons towards Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. It was later included on the List of 200 Definitive Albums in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 253,000 copies. The album was certified octuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold over nine million copies in the US and is one of the best-selling female albums. It remains Aguilera's best-selling album, with sales of over 14 million copies worldwide. The album earned Aguilera the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards.

The album spawned four hit singles; "Genie in a Bottle" peaked atop the record charts in 21 countries, including the US Billboard Hot 100, while two subsequent singles, "What a Girl Wants" and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", also topped the chart and "I Turn to You" reached number three. Furthermore, Aguilera embarked on her debut headlining concert tour in 2000.

Christina Aguilera approached record label RCA Records, then having financial difficulties, and was told to contact Disney. After being given the opportunity to record the theme to the 1998 film Mulan named "Reflection" it was reported she had gained a record deal with RCA with Aguilera saying "I landed a record deal simultaneously as I landed the Mulan soundtrack. I had just turned seventeen years old, and during the same week, I just landed both. I recorded the Mulan soundtrack first and then a few months later I was out in L.A. recording the record for about six months". When asked about the song and Aguilera, RCA executive Ron Fair commented,

She is a badass genius of singing. She was put on this earth to sing, and I've worked with a lot of singers. ... When Aguilera met with us, she didn't care that she was auditioning for a record deal; she got into a performance zone that you see in artist much more mature than she is.

After she was asked to hit a musical note required for "Reflection", she thought that the song could be the gateway into an album deal. Aguilera spent hours recording a cover of Whitney Houston's "Run to You", which included the note she was asked to hit. After successfully hitting the note, which she called "the note that changed my life", she was given the opportunity to record the song. To record the song, she flew to Los Angeles for roughly a week. Despite growing increasingly exhausted during the recording sessions, when she heard that a 90-piece orchestra would be arriving to record the instrumental she begged to stay and witness the event. She later called the experience "amazing". Due to the success around the recording of "Reflection", RCA wished for Aguilera to record and release an album by September 1998 to maintain the "hype" surrounding her at that time. The label laid the foundation for the album immediately and started presenting Aguilera with tracks for her debut album, which they later decided would have a January 1999 release. "Reflection" was written and produced by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel, whom later co-wrote with Aguilera "We're a Miracle".

Christina Aguilera was released on August 24, 1999, in the United States by RCA Records. Aguilera made many appearances on television shows in order to promote the album, such as The Rosie O'Donnell Show and TRL. Additionally, she performed "Genie in a Bottle" at the 1999 Teen Choice Awards. In December 1999, a full-length home video titled Genie Gets Her Wish was released. The video includes interviews with her from backstage, in the studio and on the road, also featuring Aguilera's rendition of Mel Torme's Yuletide classic "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)". Later on, in 2000, Aguilera performed at the Super Bowl XXXIV as a halftime performer. Aguilera also attended the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, where she and Fred Durst performed together. Aguilera performed "Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", wearing a tight ruby red outfit with black and red streaks in her hair, and near the end, Durst walked onstage and performed part of his band Limp Bizkit's song "Livin' It Up" with Aguilera. After eliciting charged reactions from his fans, Durst stated: "I already told you guys before, I did it all for the nookie, man." Aguilera denied Durst's statement, saying Durst "got no nookie". During late 2000, Aguilera traveled to Brazil to promote the album, where she did many interviews and performances on Brazilian television, including Domingão do Faustão, Programa Raul Gil and Planeta Xuxa.

On April 28, 2000, Aguilera announced her first tour, titled Christina Aguilera in Concert, which commenced on July 31, 2000, and went on to visit 37 cities, with a total of 81 shows. The tour was sponsored by Sears and Levi's. Aguilera released a statement about the tour, saying: "Headlining my own tour means creative control and a high-energy, let-loose show. It's designed with my band and dancers to be a visually exciting mix of my big hits and some special surprises", adding: "Plus, my sponsors, Sears and Levi's, are giving fans lots of ways to get involved with the tour, like exclusive CDs and posters, a chance to win a backstage pass to hang with me and a cause-related program called 'Come On Over and Do Something' that was created specifically for the tour." About the tour's setlist, she claimed: "I'll be doing songs from my debut album. But I've changed so much from doing that at 17, so we'll put a whole new twist on things from my album. ... There will be a lot of blues and soul inflections, which is what I've wanted to do more of for a long time." One feature of the shows she described involved getting the crowd excited with her hit "What a Girl Wants" and then switching to a piano-and-vocal-only song by her idol, blues legend Etta James.

In August 2019, Aguilera announced the re-release of Christina Aguilera in order to commemorate its 20th anniversary. The album was reissued on cassette and picture disc on October 4, while its double-disc special edition (originally released in October 2000) had been made available for digital download and streaming on August 23. Furthermore, the orange-colored vinyl edition was released exclusively at Urban Outfitters on August 23.

Track listing

Christina Aguilera – Standard edition

1. "Genie in a Bottle" 3:36
2. "What a Girl Wants" 3:52
3. "I Turn to You"  4:33
4. "So Emotional" 4:00
5. "Come On Over (All I Want Is You)" 3:09
6. "Reflection" 3:33
7. "Love for All Seasons" 3:59
8. "Somebody's Somebody" 5:02
9. "When You Put Your Hands on Me" 3:35
10. "Blessed" 3:05
11. "Love Will Find a Way" 3:55
12. "Obvious" 4:00

Total length: 46:27

Note: Pressings after the single release of "What a Girl Wants" replace the original 3:52 album version with the 3:35 remix from the music video. The insert does not reflect these changes, with the original lyrics and 3:52 track time still listed. When the album was officially re-released in 2000 to include the new radio version of "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", the "What a Girl Wants" lyrics and track time remained unchanged in the booklet, despite still using the newer video mix.

Producers: Johan Aberg, David Frank, Ron Harris, Robert Hoffman, Khris Kellow, Steve Kipner, Travon Potts, Paul Rein, Guy Roche, Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken, Robin Thicke, Diane Warren, Matthew Wilder, Aaron Zigman

Executive producer: Ron Fair, Diane Warren

Associate producer: Doreen Dorian

Engineers: Johan Aberg, Paul Arnold, Ali Boudris, David Frank, Dan Garcia, Ron Harris, Mike Hatzinger, Al Hemberger, Phil Kaffel, Steve Kipner, Doc Little, Mario Lucy, Michael C. Ross, Robin Thicke, Aaron Zigman,

Assistant engineers: Tom Bender, Joe Brown, Terri Wong, Christina Aguilera

Mixing: Rob Chiarelli, Jeff Griffin, Mick Guzauski, Tim Lauber, Peter Mokran, Dave Pensado, Robin Thicke, Tommy Vicari, Dave Way

Mixing assistants: Tony Flores, Jeff Griffin, Michael Huff, Tim Lauber

Digital editing: Jeff Griffin, Bill Malina

Mastering: Eddy Schreyer

A&R: Ron Fair, Elisa Yastic

Creative director: Jack Rovner

Programming: Johan Aberg, Airiq Anest, Ron Harris, Khris Kellow, Paul Rein, Guy Roche

Drum programming: Airiq Anest, Robert Hoffman, Khris Kellow

Synthesizer programming: Steve Porcaro

Arrangers: Ron Fair, Sherree Ford-Payne, David Frank, Khris Kellow, Steve Kipner, Travon Potts, Guy Roche, Brock Walsh, Matthew Wilder, Aaron Zigman

Vocal arrangements: Christina Aguilera, David Frank, Steve Kipner, Brock Walsh

Orchestral arrangements: Aaron Zigman