Look up CASA or casa in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

CASA or casa may refer to:

Aviation[link]

• Civil Aviation Safety Authority - Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation of Civil Aviation
• Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA- Spanish aircraft manufacturer, became EADS CASA in 1999
• EADS CASA - Spanish aircraft manufacturer, formerly CASA, merged into Airbus Military in 2009

Geography[link]

• Casa, Arkansas
• Casa Diablo (disambiguation)
• Casa Grande (disambiguation)
• Casablanca, Morocco

Health[link]

• Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
• The automation technique Computer Assisted Semen Analysis, a technique used to automate some measurements taken as part of semen analysis
• Canadian Agricultural Safety Association
• Centres Against Sexual Assault, an NGO support network in Victoria, Australia

Science[link]

• Engineering Research Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere
• Chicago Air Shower Array
• Computational auditory scene analysis
• The astronomical image processing package Common Astronomy Software Applications, built on AIPS++

Music[link]

• B.U.G. Mafia prezintă CASA - a compilation album released by Romanian hip hop group B.U.G. Mafia in 2002
• Contemporary A Cappella Society - a charitable organization dedicated to fostering and promoting a cappella music of all styles

Miscellaneous[link]

• Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
• Capital Area School for the Arts
• Casa (TV channel), a Canadian television channel
• Cassiopeia A, a supernova remnant and the brightest extrasolar radio source in the sky
• Center for Adaptive Systems Applications
• Court Appointed Special Advocates
• Common Authentication Service Adapter
• Casa Condominio Residenza in Toronto
• CASA ratio

Other[link]

• Casa particular, a type of bed and breakfast in Cuba
• Casa (album), an album by Mexican band Natalia Lafourcade

See also[link]

• Kasa (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Natalia Lafourcade
Birth name	María Natalia Lafourcade Silva
Born	(1984-02-26) February 26, 1984 (age 28) Mexico City, Mexico
Origin
Genres	Rock, Pop, Latin
Occupations	Singer, Songwriter
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Sony-BMG
Associated acts	Natalia y La Forquetina
Website	lafourcade.com.mx
Notable instruments
Acoustic Guitar, Piano

Natalia Lafourcade (born Natalia Lafourcade Silva on 26 February 1984 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican pop-rock singer and songwriter. Her band's name is Natalia y La Forquetina.

Biography[link]

Since she was very young, Natalia had a great interest in music, partly because her parents were musicians (her father is the French-Chilean musician Gastón Lafourcade). At three years old she began to sing and at four, she realized that she wanted to be an artist.

She attended Instituto Anglo Español, a Catholic middle school. In her childhood and adolescence she studied painting, flute, theater, music, acting, piano, guitar, saxophone and singing. When she was 10, Natalia sang in a Mariachi group.

She lived many years in Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico, where she studied music with her mother, imitating artists like Gloria Trevi and Garibaldi.

In 1998, Natalia was part of a girl trio called Twist. The group was unsuccessful and they split up the following year.

Soon after, she began preparing to be a solo artist. When she was 17, Loris Ceroni gave Natalia the opportunity to be in a pop/rock group under his guidance, but when she wasn't sure, he encouraged her to go solo.

Although Lafourcade didn't join the group, Loris Ceroni produced her first LP under the label of Sony Music. It was recorded in Italy and was cowritten with Aureo Baqueiro. Sabo Romo played in 2 songs. Natalia Lafourcade is a mix of pop, rock, bossa-nova and Latin rhythms. It features the songs "Busca Un Problema", "Elefantes", "Te Quiero Dar", "Mirame, Mirate", and her biggest hit, "En El 2000".

In 2003, she was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the Best New Artist category (she lost to David Bisbal) for her debut album. Also, she collaborated on the soundtrack of the Mexican movie Amar te duele and "Un Pato" for the movie Temporada de patos.

In 2011 Natalia Lafourcade was nominated and won, for her work with Carla Morrison's Mientras tu dormías album, the Best New Producer of the Year award in the fourth edition of the Indie-O Music Awards.

Natalia y La Forquetina era[link]

In 2005, she released Casa, her second album, but this time as Natalia y La Forquetina (the name of her band). Produced mostly by Café Tacuba's Emmanuel del Real, Casa presents a more mature, rock-oriented sound while retaining pop and bossa-nova influences on a few tracks, such as lead single "Ser Humano" (pop-rock) and its follow-up "Casa" (pop-bossa-nova). Aureo Baqueiro returned to produce the few tracks not produced by del Real.

In 2006, after a tour through Mexico and parts of the U.S., on June 2, Natalia announced that she will be leaving La Forquetina to once again work as a solo artist. Natalia y la Forquetina's final show was played on August 18, 2006 in San Luis Potosí. Following the group's break-up, Casa won the Latin Grammy for Best Rock Album by a Duo or Group with Vocal in September.

Also in 2006, a documentary about the band was made, mostly showing the group on the road and their travels. The documentary was aired on MTV Tr3s in the fall of 2007.

In 2008 she played in Julieta Venegas' MTV Unplugged.

Natalia Lafourcade has also appeared on other songs with various other artists. These include Liquits' "Jardin", Kalimba's "Dia de Suerte", Control Machete's "El Apostador", and Reik's rendition of a Lafourcade song "Amarte Duele". Also she along with her former band have appeared on various compilation disks with previously unreleased tracks such as "Y Todo Para Que" on Intocable's X and on the Tin Tan tribute album, Viva Tin Tan, with the hit "Piel Canela". In 2011, she made a very clever and popular music video with Los Daniels called "Quisiera Saber."

Her last name is French and means "the forking" (of road).

After over a year that Natalia departed from La Forquetina, she recorded an instrumental album called The 4 Seasons of Love under Sony BMG label. She also wrote the Lyrics for "Tú y Yo" from Ximena Sariñana's self-titled album.

Discography[link]

Also, Natalia Lafourcade is the producer of the currently popular Mexican singer Carla Morrison.

References[link]

• Madrigal, Alex (March 25, 2009). "Encuentra su libertad Natalia Lafourcade experimenta nuevos ritmos en el estudio de grabación" (in Spanish). El Universal. http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/espectaculos/89026.html. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 

External links[link]

• Natalia Lafourcade on Myspace
• Natalia Lafourcade on Facebook
• Natalia Lafourcade's channel on YouTube
• Natalia Lafourcade on Twitter

Sam Raimi
Raimi at the premiere of Spider-Man 3, April 2007
Born	Samuel Marshall Raimi (1959-10-23) October 23, 1959 (age 52) Royal Oak, Michigan, U.S.
Other names	Celia Abrams R.O.C. Sandstorm Roc Sandstorm Alan Smithee Jr., Fake Shemp
Occupation	Actor, director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1977–present
Influenced by	John Carpenter, Alfred Hitchcock, Coen Brothers, Stanley Kubrick, The Three Stooges, Buster Keaton, Roger Corman, Wes Craven, Sergio Leone, John Woo
Spouse	Gillian Greene (1993–present)

Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi (October 23, 1959) is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror/comedy films the Evil Dead series, the action/superhero film Darkman, crime thriller A Simple Plan and supernatural horror Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, Legend of the Seeker (also the creator) and Spartacus: Blood and Sand. He is also the founder of Renaissance Pictures.

Early life[link]

Raimi, the fourth of five children, was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, and grew up in Birmingham, Michigan.^[1][2] He was raised in Conservative Judaism; his ancestors immigrated from Russia and Hungary.^[3] Raimi attended Groves High School, and Michigan State University and majored in English, leaving after three semesters to film The Evil Dead. He is Ted Raimi's older brother.

Film[link]

Raimi became fascinated with making films when his father brought a movie camera home one day and he began to make Super 8 movies with childhood friend Bruce Campbell. In college, he teamed up with his brother's roommate Robert Tapert and Campbell to shoot Within the Woods (1978), a 32-minute horror film which raised $375,000, as well as the short comedic film It's Murder!. Through family, friends, and a network of investors Raimi was able to finance production of the highly successful horror film The Evil Dead (1981) which became a cult hit and effectively launched Raimi's career. He began work on his second film Crimewave (1985), intended as a live-action comic book—the film was not successful, due in part to unwanted studio intervention. Raimi returned to the horror genre with the seminal Evil Dead II (which added slapstick humor to the over the top horror, showcasing his love of the Three Stooges). With his brother Ivan Raimi (and crediting himself as Celia Abrams), Sam Raimi also wrote Easy Wheels (1989), a parody of the Outlaw biker film genre. A long-time comic book buff, he then attempted to adapt "The Shadow" into a movie, but was unable to secure the rights, so he created his own super-hero, Darkman (1990). The film was his first major studio picture, and was only moderately successful, but through it he was still able to secure funding for Evil Dead III, which was retitled Army of Darkness and turned away almost totally from horror in favor of fantasy and comedy elements. Army of Darkness, the final movie in the Evil Dead trilogy, was a box office flop, yet on video became a cult classic.

In the 1990s Raimi moved into other genres, directing such films as the western The Quick and the Dead (starring Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman), the critically acclaimed crime thriller A Simple Plan (1998) (starring Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton), and the romantic drama For Love of the Game (1999) (starring Kevin Costner). Raimi achieved great critical and commercial success with the blockbuster Spider-Man (2002), which was adapted from the comic book series of the same name. The movie has grossed over $800 million worldwide, spawning two sequels: Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, both directed by Raimi and both grossing roughly $800 million each. After the completion of the third Spider-Man film, He planned on doing a Spider-Man 4 and 5 but he canceled it due to the script lacking. Raimi is slated to direct a film adaptation of The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. Prior to directing the Spider-Man films, Raimi lobbied to direct Batman Forever when Tim Burton was ousted from the director's chair, but was rejected in favor of Joel Schumacher, whose reputation at the time outshone Raimi's.

Raimi frequently collaborates with Joel and Ethan Coen, beginning when Joel was one of the editors of Evil Dead. The Coens co-wrote Crimewave and The Hudsucker Proxy with Raimi in the mid-1980s (though Hudsucker was not filmed for almost a decade). Raimi made cameo appearances in Miller's Crossing, The Hudsucker Proxy, as well as with Joel Coen in Spies Like Us. The Coen brothers gave Raimi advice on shooting in snow for A Simple Plan, based on their experiences with Fargo. He has also worked in front of the camera with Miller's Crossing as a coldblooded gunman, The Stand as a dimwitted hitman, John Carpenter's Body Bags in an unusual role as a gas station attendant (all three roles saw Raimi dying in distinct ways), and Indian Summer in what is perhaps his biggest role as a bumbling assistant to Alan Arkin. The film was written by his childhood friend writer-director Mike Binder and shot at the camp that they both attended when they were younger. He also produced The Grudge, The Grudge 2 and The Grudge 3. According to Entertainment Weekly, Raimi had expressed an interest in directing a film version of The Hobbit, the prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.^[4] In 2008, Guillermo del Toro was selected as the director, with Peter Jackson as the executive producer. Raimi may direct By Any Means Necessary, the next film based on the "Jack Ryan" CIA character created by Tom Clancy. Disney also approached him to direct W.I.T.C.H.: The Movie, based on the popular same-name comic.

Blizzard Entertainment announced on July 22, 2009 that Sam Raimi will be directing a film based on the Warcraft universe.^[5]

On 23 September 2009 he became the producer for the British supernatural thriller Refuge, which is directed by Corin Hardy and published by Mandate Pictures.^[6] He will produce the remake of the Danish thriller The Substitute, which will be directed by Scott Dickerson under his new Label Spooky Pictures.^[7] Raimi produced with his company Ghost House Pictures the British thriller flick Burst 3D, which is directed by Neil Marshall.^[8]

Raimi is set to direct Oz The Great and Powerful, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, which will be released in 2013 by Walt Disney Pictures.^[9]

On December 11, 2006, the website SuperHero Hype reported that director Sam Raimi and Michael Uslan will co-produce a new Shadow film for Columbia Pictures. On October 16, 2007, Raimi stated that: "I don't have any news on 'The Shadow' at this time, except that the company that I have with Josh Donen, my producing partner, we've got the rights to 'The Shadow.' I love the character very much and we're trying to work on a story that'll do justice to the character." On January 29, 2010, it was reported that Sam Raimi was searching for a new project after it was announced that the Spider-Man movie franchise would be rebooted without him. The Shadow was said to be at the top of his list. On Thursday, August 5, 2010, it was reported that Quentin Tarantino - who was attached as a co-writer for the script - has now been attached to direct as well. However, Tarantino declined this rumor, reportedly saying "That's totally made up."^[10]

On July 13, 2011 it was confirmed that Raimi along with Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert would produce the remake of Raimi's classic, The Evil Dead. Raimi will turn writing and directing duties over to first-time feature filmmaker, Fede Alvarez. Diablo Cody has been also brought in to revise/rewrite the script.^[11]

Television[link]

In addition to film, Raimi has worked in television, producing such series as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spin off Xena: Warrior Princess, both featuring his younger brother Ted Raimi and long-time friend Bruce Campbell, American Gothic, Cleopatra 2525, M.A.N.T.I.S., 13: Fear Is Real, Young Hercules, and Jack of All Trades. In 2008, it was announced at Comic-Con in San Diego that Raimi would be executive producing a new syndicated TV series called Legend of the Seeker, based on Terry Goodkind's best-selling The Sword of Truth fantasy series.^{[citation needed]} He is also the executive producer of Starz original television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand and Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.^[12]

Recurring trademarks, motifs, and partners[link]

In his film and television projects, Raimi's brother Ted Raimi and his friend Bruce Campbell often appear in on-screen roles, though these appearances are often just cameos. The trio have been working together since their college days. Both Ted and Bruce have appeared in all three Evil Dead and Spider-Man movies, as well as Hercules: the Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, which Sam produced. In the Dead films, Campbell plays the recurring star role of Ash, while Ted played various small parts every time. In the Spider-Man films, however, Ted plays Daily Bugle advertising manager Ted Hoffman, while Campbell has played different roles every time. In Hercules and Xena, Ted and Bruce played the recurring roles of Joxer and Autolycus. Raimi occasionally appears on-screen in his own movies, usually in similar fashion to the cameos made by his idol Alfred Hitchcock: A silhouette behind a projection screen (Spider-Man, in the wrestling scene), a passer-by with some kind of physical interaction with the film's protagonist (Spider-Man 2, as the student whose bookbag hits Peter Parker in the back of the head), a hitchhiking fisherman accompanied by Robert Tapert in The Evil Dead. Raimi also wears a suit with white shirt and tie on-set in another homage to Hitchcock. An adept fan will also notice Raimi's recurring usage of soda crackers as a back prop.

Raimi often works with film editor Bob Murawski, a fellow Michigan State University alumnus; among Raimi's films edited by Murawski include the Spider-Man movies, The Gift, and Army of Darkness. He also frequently collaborates with composer Joseph LoDuca, another acquaintance from Michigan who has provided the scores to most of his films. Raimi has included a 1973 yellow Oldsmobile Delta 88 automobile (nicknamed "The Classic") in every film including The Quick and the Dead ("Somewhere...somewhere hidden. Only I know. I'll never tell"). Bruce Campbell, at Comic-con 2005, revealed that a special covered wagon frame had covered the vehicle to maintain the motif of the film. The yellow Oldsmobile also appeared in Drag Me to Hell, driven by the elderly gypsy woman. A bottle of Maker's Mark also appears regularly in his movies.

Other Raimi screen-framing trademarks include:

• A distinctive camera shot where the camera follows a moving object (such as an arrow or a projectile weapon) at high speeds creating a first-person point of view from the object itself;
• A rapid dolly shot to bring a far-off object suddenly into the center of the shot or to pull back from the main focal object to show what is happening around the perimeter (sometimes called "push-pull");
• Montage sequences with overlapping close-up shots to establish a set of similar actions over elapsing time.
• Extreme closeups using a wide angle lens.

In the Making The Amazing documentary on the Spider-Man 2 DVD, both Tobey Maguire and Bruce Campbell jokingly describe Raimi's penchant for "abusing" actors: In order to get realistic closeups of a character getting hit by debris, Raimi usually stands just off-camera throwing items, swinging tree branches, etc., at the actor who is at the center of the shot. Scenes from the documentary show that Raimi is the one throwing popcorn at Peter Parker during the walk to the wrestling ring in Spider-Man and tossing gold coins around during the bank robbery scene in Spider-Man 2.

In many of Raimi's movies, the camera itself is part of the action onscreen. One of Raimi's most famous sequences involves a POV shot of actor Bruce Campbell being chased through a cabin by an unseen evil force.

Personal life[link]

Raimi has been married since 1993 to Gillian Dania Greene, daughter of actor Lorne Greene. They have five children. Three of the Raimis' children (daughter Emma Rose and sons Lorne and Henry) appeared as extras in Drag Me to Hell and Spider-Man 3 during the movie's climactic final battle.

Filmography[link]

As director[link]

As actor[link]

As producer[link]

Awards[link]

• Catalonian International Film Festival Prize of the International Critics' Jury 1981
• Catalonian International Film Festival Best Director Award 1990
• Catalonian International Film Festival Time-Machine Honorary Award 1992
• Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film Golden Raven Award 1993
• Fantasporto Critics' Award 1993
• Cognac Festival du Film Policier Special Jury Prize 1999
• Saturn Award Best Director Award 2004
• Empire Award Best Director Award 2004

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sam Raimi

• Sam Raimi at the Internet Movie Database
• Sam Raimi on The Hour
• Sam Raimi at FEARnet

Marisa Sannia (February 15, 1947 Iglesias, Sardinia, Italy - April 14, 2008 Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy) was an Italian singer from the island of Sardinia.^[1]. She started her career with success in pop music in the sixties. She later became an interpreter of songs, composer, an actress and then finally an artistic researcher. She is primarily noted for being a singer in the Sardinian language, which was of course respectfully her native tongue.

Sannia died in Cagliari at the age of 61 on April 14, 2008.^[1]

Biography[link]

Having been a basketball player with good level in Cus Cagliari (which also called the national), Marisa Sannia began her musical career in the early sixties, winning a competition for new items that allowed her to get a record deal with the Cetra Fonit.

Her talent was spotted by Sergio Endrigo and Luis Enriquez Bacalov that sought to tap into composing a piece for her debut recording "All or nothing" and promoting its participation in 1967, on television as "real Scala" and "Settevoci".

The recognition received by the television appearances allowed her to participate the same year two musicarelli: "Kids of yellow flag", "Stasera mi butto", alongside Giancarlo Giannini.

After a few discrete successes (A postcard, Be proud of me - award of record criticism), and participation in Festivalbar 1967 where she ranked in the third round for young artists, Marisa Sannia knew real popularity in 1968 when she finished second in the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Casa Bianca", written by Don Backy and sung along with Ornella Vanoni, who became a great success, so as to be inserted in the soundtrack of the film "Alfredo Alfredo", by Pietro Germi.

After the success Sanremo, Marisa Sannia published her first album. Followed by several successful songs: "A tear", "the company" (composed by Carlo Donida and Mogol and resumed in 1976 by Lucio Battisti and then in 2007 by Vasco Rossi), "Love is a dove", "How sweet the evening tonight" and "my land".

Marisa Sannia also worked in film and participated in various events such as singing Canzonissima (1972, inter alia with a song by Nino Tristan, "A Kite"), the International Festival of Light Music of Venice, A Song for Europe in Switzerland and again in 1970 in San Remo in 1971 and 1984.

In the early seventies she devoted herself to theater by participating in two musicals (Cain and Abel and stories suburbs) very successful alongside Tony Cucchiara and in some work directed by Giorgio Albertazzi. Still under the wing of Sergio Endrigo, she also participated in the album The Ark, a collection of songs by Vinicius de Moraes dedicated to children. In 1973 she published a disc with songs taken from the Walt Disney movie entitled Marisa in Wonderland.

In 1976 her first songwriting collection was published with the interesting title "The pasta sheet".

In the early eighties Sannia Marisa also appeared in television drama "George Sand" with Albertazzi, Anna Proclemer and Paola Borboni and participated in the film by Pupi Avati "Help me to dream". In 1984 she returned to Sanremo with "love Love" that followed a long period of isolation from the scene.

In 1993 she returned with a disc in the Sardinian language in which the verses of music Antioco Casula, Sardinian poet active in the first half of the twentieth century, entitled "Sa oghe de su Entu e de su mare". Marisa Sannia later returned to the theater with Albertazzi in "memories of Adriano" - Portrait of an entry of 1995.

In 1997 recorded the new disc Melagranàda in collaboration with the contemporary poet writer Francesco Masala in a collection from the Poesias in duas limbas. In 2002 she participated in "songs for you", a tribute to Sergio Endrigo, interpreting "Hands holes".

In 2003 she published a third collection in the Sardinian language, and "Nanas and Janas", with new words and music written by herself. This research is poetic and musical recital summarized in "Songs between two languages on the way of poetry" presented in important exhibitions in Italy and abroad as The Night of the Poets all'anfiteatro Nora Roman, at Taormina Film Festival and as part of the exhibition Rome Meets the World . In January 2006 she took part in the concert tribute to Sergio Endrigo, entitled "Hello Poet" and collected in a CD / DVD, which interprets "The White Rose" and "How ever tonight."

Her last work, posthumously published and distributed (Felmay - Egea distributions) in November 2008 (preview Premio Tenco) and Marisa Sannia "Rosa de papel" is dedicated to the life and poetry of Federico García Lorca. This is a collection of 12 songs, and is particularly dear to the singer/Songwriter who has put to music the poems of the great poet of youth. Among the songs are some real musical gems as: "El nino mudo", "Rosa de papel", "Laberytos y espeyos", "Hi cerrado my balcon".

She also won the Festival della Canzone d'Autore for Children. Marisa Sannia was interested in the work of other artists. And some of her own compositions have been covered also in Spain by the singer Ester Formosa.

Due to a sudden and serious illness Marisa Sannia died April 14, 2008. In August 2008, in her memory is due to the recognition of the award "Maria Carta." Also worth mentioning is that in January 2009, the great artist Maria Lai dedicated to the figure of Sannia an exhibition of her works.

Discography[link]

• Marisa Sannia (Fonit Cetra, 1968)
• Marisa Sannia canta Sergio Endrigo e le sue canzoni (CGD, 1970)
• Marisa nel paese delle meraviglie (EMI Italiana, 1973)
• La pasta scotta (CBS, 1976)
• Sa oghe de su entu e de su mare (Tekno Record, 1993)
• Melagranàda (Nar, 1997)
• Nanas e janas (Nar, 2003).
• Rosa de papel (Felmay) (2008)

Filmography[link]

• 1967 - I ragazzi di Bandiera Gialla, directed by Mariano Laurenti

References[link]

External links[link]

• Marisa Sannia at the Internet Movie Database

Official website www.sannia.it

Christina Aguilera
Aguilera attending the launch of the Montblanc John Lennon edition in September 2010.
Background information
Birth name	Christina María Aguilera
Born	(1980-12-18) December 18, 1980 (age 31) Staten Island, New York, U.S.
Origin	Wexford, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres	Pop, R&B, soul, dance-pop[1]
Occupations	Singer-songwriter,[2][3][4] record producer, dancer, television personality,[5] actress
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1993–present
Labels	RCA
Website	christinaaguilera.com

Christina María Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993 to 1994. Aguilera signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection",^[6] the theme song for the animated film Mulan (1998).

In 1999, Aguilera came to prominence following her debut album Christina Aguilera, which was a commercial success spawning three number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100—"Genie in a Bottle", "What a Girl Wants", and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)."^[7] Her sophomore and her debut Latin-pop album, Mi Reflejo (2000), a Christmas third studio album, My Kind of Christmas (2000), and several collaborations followed which garnered Aguilera worldwide success, though she was displeased with her lack of input in her music and image.^[8] After parting from her management, Aguilera took creative control over her fourth studio album, Stripped (2002).^[9] The album's second single, "Beautiful", was a commercial success and helped the album's commercial performance amidst controversy over Aguilera's image.^[10][11][12] Aguilera followed up Stripped with the soul, jazz and blues inspired, Back to Basics (2006), released to positive critical acclaim.^[13] The album produced three singles "Ain't No Other Man", "Hurt" and "Candyman". Four years later Aguilera released her sixth studio album, Bionic (2010), which incorporated aspects of R&B, electropop, and synthpop and was met with mixed reviews and low sales.^{[14][15][16][17]} Aguilera's seventh studio album is set to be released in 2012.

Aside from being known for her vocal ability, music videos and image, musically, she includes themes of dealing with public scrutiny, her childhood, and female empowerment in her music.^[18] Apart from her work in music, she has also dedicated much of her time as a philanthropist for charities, human rights and world issues which include her work as a UN ambassador for the World Food Programme.^[19][20] She made her feature film debut in the musical Burlesque (2010), earning Aguilera a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song. Aguilera's work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, four Grammy Awards and one Latin Grammy Award, amongst seventeen and three nominations respectively. Rolling Stone ranked her number fifty-eight on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, ranking as the youngest and only artist on the list under the age of thirty.^[21] She was ranked the 20th Artist of the 2000–09 decade by Billboard^[22] and is the second top selling single artist of the 2000s behind Madonna.^[23] Aguilera's albums sales are estimated at over 50 million units worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.^[24][25] Aguilera is currently a coach and judge on The Voice.

Life and career[link]

1980–98: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Aguilera was born in Staten Island, New York, to Fausto Wagner Xavier Aguilera, a sergeant in the US Army at the time, and Shelly Loraine (née Fidler), a Spanish teacher. Aguilera's father was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador^[26] and her mother, who is American, is of German, Irish, Welsh, and Dutch ancestry.^[27] Her father was stationed at Earnest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador and Japan. Aguilera lived with both her father and mother, up until their divorce when she was seven years old. Aguilera then lived with her mother, and her younger sister Rachel, at her grandmother's home in Rochester, Pennsylvania, a town outside Pittsburgh. According to both Aguilera and her mother, her father was very controlling, as well as physically and emotionally abusive. In an interview with Rolling Stone Aguilera revealed, "there was so much domestic violence going on when I grew up with my dad travelling in the military. I think the reason that my drive was so strong and I was so passionate about music was because I grew up in an environment of domestic violence."^[28] She later sang about her difficult childhood in the songs "I'm OK" on Stripped, and "Oh Mother" on Back to Basics. Even though he has made several attempts to reconnect with her, Aguilera ruled out any chance of a reunion.^[29] Since then, her mother has married a paramedic named Jim Kearns, and has changed her name.^[30]

As a child, Aguilera aspired to be a singer. She was known locally as "the little girl with the big voice",^[29] singing in local talent shows and competitions. She attended Rochester Area School District, Marshall Middle School near Wexford and North Allegheny Intermediate High School. On March 15, 1990, she appeared on Star Search singing "A Sunday Kind of Love", but lost the competition at number 2. 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. Throughout her youth in Pittsburgh, Aguilera sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, Pittsburgh Steelers football and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games, including during the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals.^[31] Her talent was kept a secret to avoid bullying of other children. Following her television appearances Aguilera experienced resentment and bullying including an incident in which her peers slashed the tires on her family's car.^[32] Following several incidents Aguilera was later home schooled.^[29] Aguilera recalls, "doing what I did and maybe being a little smaller, I was definitely picked on and bullied for the attention that I got. It was definitely unwanted attention and there was a lot of unfairness about it."^[33]

In 1991, Aguilera auditioned for a role on The Mickey Mouse Club; however, she did not meet the age requirements. Two years later, she joined the cast, performing musical numbers and sketch comedy, until the show's cancellation in 1994.^[34] Her co-stars included Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell where they nicknamed her "the Diva"^[35] for her performance style and voice. At the age of fourteen, Aguilera recorded her first song, "All I Wanna Do", a hit duet with Japanese singer Keizo Nakanishi.^[36] In 1997, she represented the United States at the international Golden Stag Festival with a two-song set.^[37] Aguilera entered talent contests on "teen night" at the Pegasus Lounge, a gay and lesbian nightclub in Pittsburgh,^[38] and later at Lilith Fair.^[39] In 1998, Aguilera sent in a demo of her singing Whitney Houston's "Run to You" to Disney who were looking for a singer to record the song "Reflection" for their animated feature film Mulan (1998).^[40] The demo caught the attention of producer and label executive Ron Fair who would later mentor her throughout her career and led to Aguilera earning a contract with RCA Records the same week.^[9] "Reflection" peaked within the top twenty on the Adult Contemporary Singles Chart, and it was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

[edit] 1999–01: Christina Aguilera, Mi Reflejo and new management

Under the exclusive representation of Steve Kurtz, Aguilera's self-titled debut album Christina Aguilera was released on August 24, 1999. It reached the top of the Billboard 200 and Canadian album charts, shipping eight million copies in the US^[41] and over seventeen million copies worldwide.^[42] The album is also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list of The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales.^[43] Released during the teen pop era of 1999 the album was well received by several critics, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes that Aguilera's debut "remains firmly within the teen-oriented dance-pop genre, but done right." Concluding that the album is "lightweight in the best possible sense – breezy, fun, engaging, and enjoyable on each repeated listen. Out of the deluge of teen-pop albums in 1999, this feels like the best of the lot."^[44] Her debut single, "Genie in a Bottle" was an instant hit reaching No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and in several countries worldwide. Her follow-up singles "What a Girl Wants" and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" topped the Hot 100 as well during 1999 and 2000 while "I Turn to You" reached number three. She is one of the few artists to have multiple No.1 singles from a debut album in Billboard's history.^[45] She made a cameo appearance on an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, performed on MTV's New Year's Special as MTV's first artist of the millennium, and the Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show. Aguilera wanted to display the range and audacity in her voice during the promotion of the album, and performed acoustic sets and appeared on television shows accompanied only by a piano. At the 42nd Grammy Awards Aguilera received a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy nomination for "Genie in a Bottle" and despite earlier predictions, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.^[46]

In 2000, Aguilera began recording her first Spanish-language album with producer Rudy Pérez in Miami.^[47][48] Later in 2000, Aguilera, first emphasized her Latin heritage by releasing her first Spanish album, Mi Reflejo on September 12, 2000. This album contained Spanish versions of songs from her English debut as well as new Spanish tracks. Though some criticized Aguilera for trying to cash in on the Latin music boom at the time. According to Pérez, Aguilera was only semi-fluent, while recording. She understood the language, because she has grown up with her father, who is a native of Ecuador. He added "Her Latin roots are undeniable".^[47] The album peaked at number twenty-seven on the Billboard 200 and went No.1 on the Billboard Latin charts for a record 20 weeks. In 2001, it won Aguilera a Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album. The album was later certified 6× Platinum (Latin field) in the US Aguilera won the World Music Award and Billboard award as the best selling Latin artist that year. Aguilera also released a Christmas album, My Kind of Christmas, on October 24, 2000 and performed "The Christmas Song" at the White House that year.^[41] The album's only single, "The Christmas Song" made Aguilera one of three artists to take the song into the top twenty on the Billboard Hot 100.^[49] The single and My Kind of Christmas were both certified Platinum in the US^[50][51] Aguilera was Billboard's top female artist for 2000.^[52]

Aguilera's first concert tour, Christina Aguilera: In Concert (also known as "Sears & Levis Tour ") began in the summer of 2000 in the US and ended early 2001 where she toured South America and Asia. A concert special aired on ABC titled My Reflection which was released to DVD and certified Gold in the US.^[53] Aguilera was rumored to have dated MTV VJ Carson Daly.^[54] Rumors of their relationship were fueled after the release of Eminem's song, "The Real Slim Shady" in which he also insinuated a romance between her and rocker Fred Durst. Aguilera responded saying the lyrics were "disgusting, offensive and, above all, not true."^[55] Their feud ended two years later backstage at the Video Music Awards after Aguilera presented the rapper an award onstage.^[56] She dated Puerto Rican dancer Jorge Santos. Santos appeared on her tour and music videos throughout 2000. They dated for nearly two years until the relationship ended on September 11, 2001.^[57] He remained her dancer well into 2002.^[58]

Ricky Martin asked Aguilera to duet with him on the track "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" from his album Sound Loaded; released in 2001 as the album's second single. The single reached No.1 on the World Chart and top ten in several countries. In 2001, Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa, and Pink were chosen to remake Labelle's 1975 single "Lady Marmalade" for the film Moulin Rouge! and its soundtrack. The song peaked at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks and was the most successful airplay-only single in history.^[59] It also reached number one in eleven other countries and earned all four performers a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Aguilera's appearance in the music video was compared to that of Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider.^[60] The video won two MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year in 2001, where Aguilera accepted the award saying, "I guess the big hair paid off."^[61]

That same year, the single "Just Be Free" emerged into record stores which was one of the demos Aguilera recorded when she was around fifteen years old. When RCA Records discovered the single, they advised fans not to purchase it.^[62] Months later, Warlock Records was set to release Just Be Free, an album which contains the demo tracks. Aguilera filed a breach of contract and unfair competition suit against Warlock and the album's producers to block the release.^[63] Instead, the two parties came to a settlement to release the album. Aguilera lent out her name, likeness and image for an unspecified amount of damages. Many of the details of the lawsuit remain confidential. When the album was released in August 2001, it had a photograph of Aguilera when she was fifteen years old.^[64]

Although Aguilera's debut album was commercially successful, she was dissatisfied with the music and image her management had created for her. Aguilera was marketed as a bubblegum pop singer because of the genre's upward financial trend.^[65] She mentioned plans of her next album to have much more depth, both musically and lyrically.^[66] Aguilera's views of Steve Kurtz's influence in matters of the singer's creative direction, the role of being her exclusive personal manager and overscheduling had in part caused her to seek legal means of terminating their management contract. In October 2000, Aguilera filed a breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit against her manager Kurtz for improper, undue and inappropriate influence over her professional activities, as well as fraud. According to legal documents, Kurtz did not protect her rights and interests. Instead, he took action that was for his own interest, at the cost of hers. She petitioned the California State Labor Commission to nullify the contract. Aguilera revealed while recording her then upcoming album, "I was being overworked. You find out that someone you thought was a friend is stealing money behind your back, and it's heartbreaking. I put faith in the people around me, and unfortunately, it bit me in the butt."^[67] After terminating Kurtz's services, Irving Azoff was hired as her new manager.

[edit] 2002–05: New image, Stripped and marriage

On October 26, 2002, Aguilera's fourth studio album, Stripped, was released. The album sold more than 330,000 copies in the first week and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. Unlike her previous work, the album showcased Aguilera's raunchier side.^[68] The majority of Stripped was co-written by Aguilera (who had recently signed a global music publishing contract with BMG Music Publishing), and was influenced by many different subjects and music styles, including contemporary R&B, gospel, soul, balladry, pop rock, and hip hop.^[69] The majority of the album was produced by Scott Storch and singer-songwriter Linda Perry who produced her more personal records. Rockwilder and singer Alicia Keys also contributed a track each. Upon initial release, the album was very well received by critics, although Aguilera's vocals were overlooked as she began to cultivate a more sexually provocative image.^[70] After the release of the album, she took part in photoshoots for magazines, many of these photographs featured her nude or semi-nude. Her cover for Rolling Stone,^[71] featured the singer only wearing boots and a well-placed electric guitar. It was during this time Aguilera referred to herself as "Xtina", even getting a tattoo of her nickname on the back of her neck and several piercings.^[72]

Aguilera performing during during Stripped Live... on Tour in 2003

Initially, the raunchy image had a negative effect on Aguilera in the US, especially after the release of her controversial "Dirrty" music video.^[11] She denied that this change was a matter of publicity, claiming that the image better reflected her true personality than did the image she cultivated back in 1999. Aguilera defended the video stating it was about power and control adding, "I'm also at the forefront. I'm in the power position, in complete command of everything around me."^[41] While the video for "Dirrty" became very popular on MTV, it disappointed on the US singles chart. However, the single was a hit worldwide, reaching No.1 in the UK and Ireland. The second single, "Beautiful" received critical praise. The classically influenced ballad reached number one in several countries and peaked at No.2 in the US. "Beautiful" earned Aguilera the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Three more singles ("Fighter", "Can't Hold Us Down" featuring Lil' Kim, "The Voice Within") were released in the following two years and were hits that helped the album stay on the charts for the next two years. Stripped stayed on the U.S. and UK album charts well into 2004, and went on to be certified four-times platinum in the US with over thirteen million copies sold worldwide.^[73] It appeared at number ten on Billboard's year-end album chart and Aguilera was the top female artist for 2003.^[74] Kelly Clarkson's second single "Miss Independent" was co-written by Aguilera, having been half-finished for Stripped.

Aguilera performing during Stripped Live... on Tour in 2003

Aguilera joined Justin Timberlake that June on the final leg of his international Justified tour, held in the US. This portion of the tour became a co-headliner called the Justified/Stripped Tour. In August, an overhead lighting grid collapsed from the ceiling of the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, causing major damage to the sound and video equipment below. Because the collapse occurred hours before the show, only a few stagehands were injured, but a few shows were cancelled or postponed. In the fourth quarter of that year, Aguilera continued to tour internationally without Timberlake, and changed the name of the tour to the Stripped World Tour. She also dyed her hair black. It was one of the top-grossing tours of that year, and sold out most of its venues. Rolling Stone readers named it the best tour of the year.^[75] That same year she hosted the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards and was a special guest performer with the Pussycat Dolls' dance troupe performing at the Roxy Theatre and Viper Room in Los Angeles. She also appeared on a Maxim spread alongside them, her second Maxim cover that year set record sales for the issue making it the top selling issue to date. By the end of the year she topped the annual Hot 100 list saying, "we had fun working with certain clothes, or the lack thereof."^[76][77][78]

Aguilera's first DVD live-recording from a concert tour, Stripped Live in the U.K., was released in November 2004. In light of the tour's success, another U.S. tour was scheduled to begin in mid-2004 with a new theme. The tour however was scrapped because of the vocal cord injuries Aguilera suffered shortly before the tour's opening date. In a tribute to Madonna's performance at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards, Aguilera performed a kiss with the singer-actress at the 2003 edition of the ceremony in August. The incident occurred during the opening performance of Madonna's songs "Like a Virgin" and "Hollywood" with fellow popstar Britney Spears.^[41] Also in 2004, she hosted a Saturday Night Live episode which included a Sex & The City skit where she portrayed Samantha Jones revealing to everyone she was a man the entire time.^[79]

Aguilera later decided to embrace a more mature image; this move was met with more praise than criticism, with articles using punch lines such as "From Crass to Class."^[80] She eventually dyed her hair cherry blonde and recorded a jingle, "Hello", for a Mercedes-Benz ad. Shortly after, she dyed her hair flaxen blonde and cut it short, and took on a Marilyn Monroe look; she is one of the main proponents (along with Dita Von Teese, Gwen Stefani, and Ashley Judd) in bringing back the 1920s–1940s Hollywood glamour look.^[81][82] In late summer 2004, Aguilera released two singles. The first, "Car Wash", was a remake of the Rose Royce disco song recorded as a collaboration with rapper Missy Elliott for the soundtrack to the film Shark Tale. She voiced a small singing part in the film playing a Rastafarian jellyfish in the film's closing musical number. The second song was also a collaboration, but this time as a second single from one of Nelly's double-release albums, Sweat, titled "Tilt Ya Head Back". Both singles failed commercially in the US, but did considerably better in other parts of the world. Aguilera collaborated with jazz artist Herbie Hancock on a cover of Leon Russell's "A Song for You" recorded for Hancock's album Possibilities, released in August 2005. Aguilera and Hancock were later nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. She helped open the 50th Anniversary for Disneyland performing "When You Wish upon a Star", and she also collaborated with Andrea Bocelli on the song "Somos Novios" for his album Amore. Aguilera began dating music marketing executive Jordan Bratman in 2002. Their engagement was announced in February 2005,^[83] and they married on November 19, 2005, in a Napa Valley estate.^[84]

[edit] 2006–09: Back to Basics, motherhood and greatest hits album

Aguilera performing during the Sanremo Story festival in 2006

Aguilera's fifth studio album, Back to Basics was released August 15, 2006. The album debuted at No.1 in the US, the UK and eleven other countries. 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."^[85] The album received generally positive reviews, although many critics commented on the album's length saying, "At one disc, this would have been nothing short of masterful."^[86] A review in AllMusic adds, "Back to Basics also makes clear that Stripped was a necessary artistic move for Christina: she needed to get that out of her system in order to create her own style, one that is self-consciously stylized, stylish, and sexy."^[87] The critically acclaimed lead single "Ain't No Other Man" was a substantial success, reaching No. 2 on the World Chart, No.6 in the US, and No.2 in the UK. Producers on the album included DJ Premier, Kwamé, Linda Perry, and Mark Ronson. The follow-up singles did very well in different regions, "Hurt" in Europe and "Candyman" in the Pacific. She co-directed both music videos, the former with Floria Sigismondi who directed her "Fighter" video, and the latter, "Candyman", with director/photographer Matthew Rolston which was inspired by The Andrews Sisters.^[88] Back to Basics has sold 4.5 million units worldwide,^[89] with over 1.7 million sold in the US.^[90]

In late 2006, Aguilera collaborated with Sean "Diddy" Combs on a track, titled "Tell Me", from his album Press Play. She also began the Back to Basics Tour in Europe^[91] followed by a 41-date North American tour in early 2007.^[92] After this, she toured Asia and Australia, where it was supposed to end on August 3, however she canceled her dates in Melbourne and her final two in Auckland due to an illness.^[93] Her extravagant arena tour included cabaret, three-ring circus and juke joint sets and 10 piece costumes designed by Roberto Cavalli.^[94] She released her concert DVD Back to Basics: Live and Down Under the following year. The tour grossed nearly 50 million by the end of the year in North America and an additional 40 million worldwide in her Europe and Australia dates, grossing almost 90 million by the end of the tour.^[95][96] It was the most successful US tour by a female in 2007.^[97]

At the 49th Grammy Awards, Aguilera again won the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Ain't No Other Man". She made a noteworthy performance at the ceremony paying tribute to James Brown with her rendition of his song "It's a Man's Man's Man's World".^[98] In January 2007, she was named the 19th richest woman in entertainment by Forbes, with a net worth of US$60 million.^[99] Aguilera performed "Steppin' Out With My Baby" with Tony Bennett on his NBC special Tony Bennett: An American Classic and on Saturday Night Live. They performed at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards where both specials received Emmys. "Steppin' Out" was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

Aguilera confirmed she was pregnant on November 4, 2007,^[100] though Paris Hilton accidentally revealed her pregnancy several weeks prior during a party Aguilera hosted.^[101] She gave birth to her son, Max Liron Bratman, in Los Angeles on January 12, 2008 and held a bris for him with Bratman, who is of Jewish descent, where the baby was circumcised in accordance with Jewish practice.^[102] Aguilera was reportedly paid $1.5 million by People for her son's baby pictures—the sixth most expensive celebrity baby photos ever taken.^[103]

In 2008, Aguilera appeared in the Martin Scorsese documentary Shine a Light which chronicles a two day Rolling Stones concert in New York City's Beacon Theatre. The film features Aguilera performing "Live With Me" alongside Mick Jagger. Shine a Light premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and was released worldwide on April 4, 2008. She also had brief cameo in the comedy film Get Him to the Greek,^[104] and appeared as a guest judge on the sixth season of Project Runway on Lifetime Television. She and designer Bob Mackie were the inspiration for the challenge in which they had to design a stage outfit for Aguilera. To commemorate Aguilera's ten years in the music industry, RCA Records released, Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits on November 11, 2008, exclusively at Target stores in the US. The greatest hits included her first three number one singles, and other songs released from her previous three albums. "Lady Marmalade" and several Spanish singles from Mi Reflejo were included in the worldwide releases. The album's only single, "Keeps Gettin' Better", was premiered at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, which debuted and peaked at No.7 on the Billboard Hot 100, her highest debut on the chart. Following the greatest hits, Aguilera took over a year hiatus in 2009 working on her then upcoming album and film. She was one of Billboard's Top 20 Artists of the Decade in their year-end charts.^[105]

[edit] 2010–11: Bionic, Burlesque and The Voice

Aguilera's sixth studio album Bionic was released on June 8, 2010. The album's producers included Tricky Stewart, Samuel Dixon, Polow da Don, Le Tigre, Switch, Ester Dean, songwriters Sam Endicott, Sia Furler, Claude Kelly, Linda Perry and collaborations with M.I.A., Santigold, Nicki Minaj, and Peaches. Bionic's material consisted of many mainstream and pop records along with electronic and dance music. Two of the album's three singles, "Not Myself Tonight" and "You Lost Me" peaked at No.1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Charts^[106] but were unsuccessful elsewhere. "Woohoo", featuring rapper Nicki Minaj, was also released as the album's second single. The album was released to mixed reviews from music critics,^[107][15] with Jon Pareles of The New York Times writing that the singer's new music direction "makes her sound as peer-pressured as a pop singer can be."^[108] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post described the album as being "noisy, robotic and overstuffed" adding that the disc's "greatest disappointments" is its "virtual abandonment" of Aguilera's voice.^[109] She concluded that Aguilera attempts "to do it all," which was to try to "revel in her newfound domesticity, to wrest her crown from Gaga and to reestablish her sex kitten bona fides."^[109] Sales of Bionic were underwhelming in the US compared to her previous releases selling 110,000 copies in its first week landing at No.3.^[110][111] It has since sold 295,000 copies in the US.^[112] Shortly after the album's release, further promotion ended and a scheduled summer tour for the album was cancelled due to "inadequate rehearsal time".^[113] "You Lost Me" was her first single to not chart the Hot 100 while Bionic was her first English studio album not to receive a Grammy nomination. Aguilera later responded in an interview saying, "I was really proud of that record. I think there was a lot of promotion issues, coming from a standpoint of how everything resulted. Nothing is ever a setback. If anything, it just motivates you for what’s next."^[114]

Aguilera announced that she and Bratman had separated, saying in a statement, "Although Jordan and I are separated, our commitment to our son Max remains as strong as ever."^[115][116] Aguilera filed for divorce from Bratman on October 14, 2010, seeking joint legal and physical custody of their son, and specifying September 11, 2010, as the date of separation.^[117][118] They later reached a settlement agreement and custody deal, details of their agreement were private.^[119] Their divorce was finalized on April 15, 2011.^[120] The following month, Aguilera appeared as herself on the Entourage season seven finale as a client/friend of Ari Gold.^[121] On November 15, 2010, Aguilera received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[122]

Aguilera's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which she received in 2010

In November 2010, Aguilera appeared in her first feature film, the musical Burlesque. She portrayed a small town girl, Ali Rose, who finds love and success in a Los Angeles neo-burlesque club.^[123] Aguilera performed eight of the musical numbers on the film's soundtrack released on November 22, 2010, and co-wrote a number of the tracks working with producers and writers including Tricky Stewart, Sia Furler, Samuel Dixon, Linda Perry, Claude Kelly, Danja, and Ron Fair. The remaining two tracks were sung by Cher, who co-starred alongside Aguilera. The soundtrack debuted in the top 20 in the US and was certified Gold.^[124][125] The film was written and directed by Steve Antin who wrote the part of Ali specifically with Aguilera in mind.^[126] Aguilera's co-stars also included Cam Gigandet, Eric Dane, Kristen Bell and Stanley Tucci. Several critics praised Aguilera's performance. A review in TIME states, "Aguilera might not be to your taste, or mine, but in terms of sheer power, she's impressive. If Ali were real, she'd have already been discovered on American Idol."^[127] While Variety wrote, "Aguilera, while undeniably entertaining when her character is onstage, cannot spin the slight backstory into anything resembling a full-blooded person."^[128] Though Burlesque was released to mixed reviews from critics,^[129][130] the film received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy and earned Aguilera, writer/producer Sia Furler and Samuel Dixon, a nomination for Best Original Song for the track "Bound to You". The soundtrack also earned Aguilera a Grammy nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack. Burlesque has grossed over $90 million worldwide.^[131]

Following the release of Burlesque, Aguilera collaborated with rapper T.I. on the track, "Castle Walls" from his album No Mercy. Aguilera performed the U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner", during the Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011, and created embarrassment when she omitted a line of the anthem and messed up the song's lyrics.^[132] She later apologized, telling CNN that "I got so caught up in the moment of the song that I lost my place. I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through."^[133] The following week, Aguilera, alongside Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, Yolanda Adams, and Florence Welch opened the 53rd Grammy Awards paying tribute to Aretha Franklin.

Aguilera began dating musician and production assistant, Matt Rutler whom she met during the filming of Burlesque. Her personal life was the subject of scrutiny;^[19] and reports over out of control behavior, excessive drinking,^[134][135] and a reported confrontation with her co-star Julianne Hough.^[136][137] On March 1, 2011, Aguilera was arrested for public intoxication in West Hollywood as her boyfriend was arrested for DWI.^[138] She was later released on bail and no charges were filed.^[139][140] Although the L.A. Sheriff's office stated Aguilera's mug shot would not be released to the public, E! News obtained the mug shot which circulated social networks and the media shortly after her release.^[141] Rutler's DWI charge was dismissed due to insufficient evidence, after his BAC was determined as below the legal limit.^[142]

Aguilera signed to be a judge on The Voice, which debuted on NBC in April 2011. Aguilera, alongside other musicians Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Cee Lo Green serve as judges and coaches, with Carson Daly as the show's host. The show's first episode was well-received, and delivered the strongest ratings for a series premiere on a major network since Undercover Boss debuted after the Super Bowl in February 2010.^[143][144] The show's first season was a ratings success for NBC following its debut.^[145][146] Aguilera performed "Moves Like Jagger" on The Voice – the single with Maroon 5 on which she is featured, from their album Hands All Over. The song was an instant hit reaching No.2 in the UK, No.1 on the World Chart and earned Aguilera her fifth No.1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, a decade after her last No.1, "Lady Marmalade".^[147] The single became the first 4 million-seller for both artists and marks the first time two former Best New Artist Grammy Award winners have collaborated on a Hot 100 hit.^[49] "Moves Like Jagger" was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the Grammy Awards and has since sold over 7 million copies worldwide, establishing itself among the best-selling singles of all time.^[148].

2012–present: Seventh studio album and current projects[link]

The second season of The Voice premiered following Super Bowl XLVI. Aguilera performed a cover of "At Last" by Etta James at James' funeral on January 28, 2012.^[149][150] Aguilera recorded her first Spanish-language track in over a decade titled "Casa de Mi Padre" which was released as the title song for the soundtrack and film of the same name.^[151] In regards to her upcoming album, Aguilera stated that she is recording a new studio album in an interview with Live with Regis and Kelly.^[152] No official date has been announced but the album is expected to be released in 2012.^[153]