Early life and career

Aguilera, a military brat was born in Staten Island, New York to Fausto Wagner Xavier Aguilera, a U.S. Army sergeant, and Shelly Loraine Fidler, a Spanish teacher. Aguilera's father was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, while her mother, a Newfoundlander, has German, French, English, Irish and Dutch ancestry.

Aguilera's parents met while Fausto was serving at Earnest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland. They were both Catholics. Her parents married when her mother was 20 years old and her father was almost 32. Aguilera lived with her father and mother until she was 6 or 7 years old, when her parents divorced her mother took her and her younger sister Rachel to her grandmother's home in Rochester, Pennsylvania, a blue-collar suburb of Pittsburgh. According to Aguilera and Fidler, her father was very controlling, as well as physically and emotionally abusive, which was reflected in her songs, "I'm OK" in Stripped, and "Oh Mother" in Back to Basics. Since then, Fidler has married a paramedic named Jim Kearns, and has changed her name to Shelly Kearns.

Aguilera's grandmother was the first person to recognize her vocal skills. Since Aguilera was a small child, she aspired to be a singer. She grew up admiring artists such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Barbra Streisand, Otis Redding, Madonna, Minnie Riperton, Bessie Smith, Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Sade, Stevie Wonder, and Aretha Franklin. As a child she performed at block parties and in talent competitions, where she defeated her opponents. Aguilera soon gained media attention, and was known as "the little girl with the big voice".

According to VH1's Driven, this label eventually backfired on her. When competitors learned they would be up against her in any given week, they immediately backed out, prompting insiders to claim it was "like sending a lamb to the slaughter." Her peers soon became jealous of her and would frequently subject her to ridicule, ostracism, and, in one gym class, attempted assault. Acts of vandalism around her house included the slashing of the tires on the family car. Eventually the family relocated and, by her own order, swore to secrecy about her talent lest another backlash occur.

On March 15, 1990, she appeared on Star Search singing Etta James's "A Sunday Kind of Love", but failed to win. Soon after losing on Star Search, she returned home and appeared on Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV's Wake Up with Larry Richert to perform the same song again. People remarked that the then 10-year-old "sounded 20".

Throughout her youth in Pittsburgh, Aguilera sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey games, Pittsburgh Steelers football and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball] games. Her first major role in entertainment came in 1993 when she joined the Disney Channel's variety show The New Mickey Mouse Club. Her co-stars included Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Rhona Bennett (who later became a member of En Vogue), Ryan Gosling, and Keri Russell. According to the documentary Driven, Aguilera's Mickey Mouse Club co-stars called her "the Diva". One of her most notable performances was of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing". When the show ended in 1994, Aguilera began recording demos in an attempt to get signed to a record label.

2006–present: Back to Basics

In March 2006 Aguilera signed a contract with European cellphone operator Orange to represent the company and promote the new Sony Ericsson Walkman phones across Europe. She was featured in a Pepsi commercial alongside Arab singer Elissa as well as Korean pop singer Rain in May; the spot aired during the 2006 World Cup.

Aguilera also posed nude for a Marilyn Monroe-inspired photoshoot for the May 2006 issue of GQ magazine, in which she was interviewed. She expressed disappointment in fellow singer Mariah Carey, saying, "She was never cool to me... to the point that one time we were at a party and I think she got really drunk, and she had just really derogatory things to say to me."

Carey responded in a press release, "It is sad yet predictable that she would use my name at this time to reinvent past incidents for her promotional gain." Aguilera then stated, "My intentions were not to upset Mariah with any statements that were published or taken out of context. I have all the respect in the world for her."

Aguilera's third English studio album Back to Basics, which was released on August 15, 2006, went to #1 in 13 countries. Lead single "Ain't No Other Man" was a substantial success, reaching #6 in the U.S. and the top five in the UK. Aguilera described the double-CD as "a throwback to the 20s, 30s, and 40s-style jazz, blues, and feel-good soul music, but with a modern twist." Producers on the album include DJ Premier, Kwamé, Linda Perry, and Mark Ronson.

One track, "F.U.S.S.", was written as a response to the animosity between Aguilera and Scott Storch during the recording of Stripped. She received writing credit for every track and was the executive producer for the album, which debuted at number one in the U.S. and the UK. The album introduced the public to Aguilera's era-inspired alter-ego, Baby Jane. It was reported that one of her dancers gave her the name; in an interview with MTV she stated rapper Nelly gave her the name, but she never stated the reason for it.