When looking back at her work on her Spanish language album, the 'Genie in a Bottle' hitmaker reveals that she has been forced to fight for her last name her whole life.
- Jun 27, 2020
AceShowbiz - Christina Aguilera has gone candid about the battle for her last name. More than two decades after finding success with her debut single "Genie in a Bottle", the multiple Grammy winner confessed that she was once told by music executives to change her "too ethnic" name.
The 39-year-old singer made the revelation in a new interview with Billboard that was published on Friday, June 26. "I remember when I was first coming up, there was a big debate around me on changing my last name because all the businessmen around me thought it was too long, too complicated, and too ethnic," she spilled.
On what name the executives suggested at the time, the mother of two revealed, " 'Christina Agee' was an option, but that clearly wasn't going to fly. I was dead set against the idea and I wanted to represent who I really was." She went on to stress, "Being Latina, it is a part of my heritage and who I am."
It was not the first time Aguilera was told to change her surname though. "There was another time in my childhood when I was being asked to legally change my name to my stepfather's to be legally adopted and I was again dead set against it," she recounted. "I've been fighting for my last name my whole life."
During the interview, the "Burlesque" actress also looked back at the time she got the opportunity to embrace her Latin roots. Talking about her success with "Mi Reflejo," she gushed, "It was a beautiful thing to experience success in different markets and have a diverse fan base that grew in appreciating who I am."
"I am very proud of my Latin Grammy [for Best Female Pop Vocal Album] in honor of that album," she continued. "My message, as in all my music, stands for being fearless to explore who you are. It's never too late to open a new door. Although it's scary to dive into territory that isn't your first language, it still doesn't erase who I am and how I want to express myself in all aspects of what intrigues and inspires me."
If she got the chance to do another Latin album, Aguilera promises that she will explore "who I am now as a grown woman who doesn't have to cover my own English material in Spanish, but as a woman who can draw from my own personal experiences and express that with honesty." She added, "Having survived decades in this business, I am proud to tell the truth about what that means to me."
