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Our top 10 Christina Aguilera Songs list showcases many of Christina Aguilera’s biggest hit songs over the past 20 years. Christina Aguilera was born Christina Maria Aguilera on December 18, 1980. She is a triple threat because she is a singer, songwriter and actress. When she was a little girl, she listened to soul and blues music. She won her first talent show when she was eight. She sang Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me).” She made an appearance on Star Search when she was 10. She was eliminated during the semi-final rounds. When she was 13, she joined a television show called The Mickey Mouse Club. She stayed on the sketch comedy show until its cancellation in 1994. Fellow musicians Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake were also on the show. When the show ended, Aguilera pursued her music career. She moved to Japan to record her first song. Her first song is “All I Wanna Do.” It features Japanese singer Keizo Nakanishi. In 1998, she returned to the United States to get a recording contract. She went to RCA Records, but she was told to go to Disney since RCA was having money troubles. She sent Disney her rendition of Whitney Houston’s “Run To You.” Disney picked Aguilera to sing “Reflections” in 1998. It was her first Top 20 hit. In 1999, RCA Records finally decided to sign her to the label.
RCA Records wanted Aguilera to be competition for Britney Spears. They wanted to capitalize off of the teen pop trend. She recorded “Genie in a Bottle” in June 1999. This is the single that made her a household name. After the success of the single, Aguilera released her eponymous CD. The album peaked at number one on the charts. It sold 8 million copies. This CD contains four Top 5 singles. The singles are “Genie in a Bottle,” “What a Girl Wants,” “Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)” and “I Turn to You.”
Christina Aguilera won a Grammy for Best New Artist in 2000. She released two CDs in 2000. She released Mi Reflejo and My Kind of Christmas within a month of each other. Mi Reflejo contains Spanish versions of her debut album. It also contains original songs. This CD was number one on the Latin charts for 19 weeks. It sold 6 million copies. She won a Latin Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album. Aguilera released her fourth CD in 2002 called Stripped.. She decided to change up her music style with this album. She wanted to separate herself from the teen pop genre. The CD contains the singles “Dirrty,” “Fighter,” “Beautiful,” “Can’t Hold Us Down” and “The Voice Within.”
Aguilera went back to the studio to record her fifth album. She released Back to Basics in 2006. She reinvented herself again by doing a more jazz and soulful album. This is a double CD. One disc contains jazz and soulful music while the other disc contains r&b and hip hop music. The singles are “Ain’t No Other Man,” “Hurt,” “Candy Man,” “Slow Down Baby” and “Oh Mother.” This CD sold over 3 million copies. She released her sixth studio album Bionic in 2010. She changed her style again. This CD contains electro-pop, future pop and r&b music. This CD didn’t do as well as the other CDs, but it did manage to go Gold.
The Back to Basics CD contained the singles “Not Myself Tonight,” “Woo Hoo,” “You Lost Me” and “I Hate Boys.” She released her seventh album Lotus in 2012. She returned to her pop roots while incorporating dance and rock. This CD contains the singles “Your Body” and “Just A Fool.” When Aguilera did this CD, she was a judge on the reality show The Voice. This CD didn’t perform well on the charts, but it did manage to go Gold. She took a six-year break before recording her eighth album Liberation in 2018. Critics mostly enjoyed the CD. The singles from this CD are “Accelerate,” “Fall In Line” and “Like I Do.” She got two Grammy nominations for the single “Like I Do.”
Christina Aguilera tried her hand at acting again. She appeared in her first starring role in the movie Burlesque in 2010. She guest starred on the show Nashville in 2015. She appeared in season three of the show. She was a voice in the animated movie called The Emoji Movie in 2017. She starred in the romantic sci-fi movie Zoe in 2018. She was on the reality show The Voice from 2011- 2016. Christina Aguilera was constantly compared to Britney Spears. She was also compared to fellow teen pop singers Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore. Aguilera managed to find a way to stand out among her musical peers. This top 10 list will consist of her numerous hits throughout the years.
# 10 – Dirrty ft. Redman
We open up our top 10 Christina Aguilera Songs list with the great track “Dirrty.” This was the lead single from her second CD entitled Stripped. This song is her way of showing the world that she was now in control of her image as well as her music. She wanted to show the world that she wasn’t a cookie cutter pop artist. “Dirrty” has a hip hop and r&b sound. This up-tempo song is about her expressing her sexuality. Lyrically, this song was different for her because she wasn’t singing songs of this raunchy nature. She was singing love songs before the release of this CD. Her voice is comparable to Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. She is definitely showing how much they are her inspiration is this song. She sings this song in her normal tone as well as her upper register. She also has a growl when she sings the verses. She is one of the queens of runs and she proves that in this song. She does a lot of runs in this song, which is surprising because of the subject matter. Aguilera and Redman seem like an unlikely pair since he is a rapper, but the two worked well together.
# 9 – Fighter
This is third single from her CD Stripped. This song mixes two genres. It is a mix of rock and R&B. Lyrically, the song is about a man who broke her heart and made her stronger. This is an anthem for people who want to be strong and empowered when their relationships turn sour. Aguilera showcases her amazing vocals on this anthem. She sings the song with a lot of passion. It is easy to tell in her voice that she has been through a lot of pain. Her vocals are layered because she sounds as if she is singing a duet with herself. She sings one part in an alto voice and sings the other in a soprano voice. She also showcases her power vocals throughout the chorus. The guitar is loud, but she was able to hold her own against the music. She does her famous runs towards the middle and end of the song. She holds little notes throughout the chorus and the fade out. She proved that she could pull off singing a rock song.
# 8 – Lady Marmalade ft. Pink, L’il Kim and Mya
This song is on the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Aguilera’s label didn’t want the singer to record the song, but she wanted to do it anyway. It was a great decision because the song was a number one hit. This is a cover of the song recorded by the group LaBelles. This is an up-tempo r&b, pop and rock song. This song features a lot of female artists. There were rumors that the artists didn’t get along with each other when they recorded the song. They managed to be professional because you would never know that they were going through personal issues based on the final project. Each artist had her chance to shine. Mya is under singing a little, but she does hold her own in her verse. Pink does a great job with her vocals. She does vocal tricks that she doesn’t do in her own songs. She holds notes and does runs throughout her part in the song. L’il Kim does a good job with her rap verse. The best was saved for last because Aguilera started her vocals belting. She clearly won the vocal battle in the song. Mya and Pink try to hold notes with her and couldn’t hold a candle to her.
# 7 – Genie in a Bottle
This song is featured on her debut CD. This is the first single off of the CD. This single helped make Aguilera a star. This is an up-tempo teen-pop, dance-pop and r&b song. This is a teen song with sexual innuendos. It is easy to get hooked as soon as you hear the first bars of the piano as well as the drum beat. It is impossible to sit still while listening to the song. The beat is so infectious and catchy that it’s easy to forget that the lyrics are sexually driven. She starts the song softly without using her runs in the first verse. The runs show up just before the hook. She also sings louder after the hook. She doesn’t use her power vocals the way she does in other songs, but it wasn’t needed in order for this song to be good. She doesn’t enunciate enough so it might be hard to understand what she is saying, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is a good song.
# 6 – What a Girl Wants
This is the second single from her debut CD. This midtempo song is mix of pop and r&b. This sounds like a slower version of “Genie in a Bottle.” The theme of the song is also similar to “Genie in a Bottle.” This song was originally recorded by the French singer Ophelle Winter in 1998. Unfortunately, Winter was never credited for singing the song. It was given to Aguilera to sing and she did a beautiful job with the song. She starts the song in her normal tone and then sings it in a higher octave after the chorus. She doesn’t overdo her vocal runs, which is a good thing because the song doesn’t need it. She does do power singing towards the end chorus and the fade out. She sounds very similar to Mariah Carey in this song.
# 5 – The Voice Within
This is the fifth single from her Stripped CD. This ballad is a mix of adult contemporary and pop. This is an inspirational song about trusting yourself and believing in yourself. The music is beautiful and soft which gives her voice a chance to stand out. She proves that she can compete with other female pop divas with big voices. This song is her version of Mariah Carey’s “Hero.” She even sounds like Carey in this song. She really sounds like Carey when she sings loudly and then ends the line in a falsetto. Aguilera’s runs make an appearance throughout the song. She does a lot of power singing, which is absolutely amazing. She has perfect vocal control. She’s able to make her voice soar and then bring it back down flawlessly. This song is perfect for radio and it is flawless.
# 4 – Reflection
This appears on Aguilera’s debut CD as well as the Mulan soundtrack. This is the singer’s debut single. This is a pop and adult contemporary ballad. It is a song about hiding who she really is. You can easily forget that this is a debut song because she sounds so professional. She has very strong vocals in this song. She controls her voice effortlessly. It is hard to believe that she is only 17 singing this song. She has big power vocals of a woman much older than she was when she recorded the song. She soars after the bridge and into the fade out of the song. She belts incredibly. After the way she performed this song, there is no surprise she was signed to a record label. RCA Records would have been crazy not to sign her after the way she sang this song.
# 3 – Hurt
This single is the second song from the Back to Basics album. This is an adult contemporary and pop ballad. This is a heartfelt ballad about blaming herself for causing someone she loved pain. This is about her hurting her father. This is her apology to him for blaming him for her parents getting divorced. The music is very melodic and haunting. She does a great job singing with the piano. She sings this with a lot of passion. It sounds very heartfelt. It’s easy to tell this song is very personal to her. You can imagine the story as she’s telling it to the listener. Her runs are on point as usual. She sounds like Mariah Carey when she sings softly. She also sounds like her when she vocally soars in the song. This song is so beautiful that it’s not a surprise that it sold a million copies.
# 2 – I Turn to You
This is the third single from her debut CD. This is an r&b and soul ballad. This is a cover of All-4-One’s version of the song. This is a song about her turning to someone when she needs help. She sings this song in a lower pitch and raises it to a higher pitch towards the bridge. Songwriter and producer Diane Warren wanted Aguilera to remake the song. Warren made the perfect choice by picking Aguilera to remake the song. The original version is good, but Aguilera’s version is better. She does a lot of vocal tricks that All-4-One didn’t do in their version. She belts beautifully throughout the remainder of the song. She doesn’t miss a note. She is in perfect pitch throughout the song.
# 1 – Beautiful
This song is the second single from her Stripped. CD. This is a soft rock, pop and adult contemporary ballad. This is an inspirational song about being beautiful no matter what people say or do to you. This song has a powerful message. Songwriter Linda Perry wrote a great song for Aguilera to sing. Aguilera poured her heart and soul out in the lyrics. She’s stated that she has been bullied and abused when she was a kid. Those feelings are pouring out of her as she sings the song. She uses runs as well as her power vocals in the song. She was able to control her vocals. She belts in the finale of the song and brings it to a close softly without missing a beat. She sounds like Mariah Carey when she sings in falsetto.
Top 10 Christina Aguilera Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2020
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