"What a Girl Wants" is a song by American recording artist Christina Aguilera from her debut studio album Christina Aguilera. The single was released after a strong commercial interest in her single "Genie in a Bottle" and came at a time when Aguilera was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with her input into her career. The song was written by Shelly Peiken and Guy Roche, the two were improvising with a cassette recorded and after Peiken and after improvising some of the songs lyrics Peiken decided to return to it at a later date. When the song was completed and was pitched to Ron Fair of RCA under the name of "What a Girl Needs" and after agreeing to change the title to "What a Girl Wants" Fair delivered the song to Aguilera to become the first track recorded for her debut album.

The song was released on November 28, 1999 as her second single after it was re-recorded. The song was described as a pop and R&B style track with similarities to her debut single "Genie in a Bottle", and her vocals were compared to that of singer Mariah Carey. The song received positive reviews from critics who described it as a "light" song. Commercially the song became a success becoming her second consecutive US number one single, in addition to topping charts in New Zealand and Spain. The single earned Gold certifications in countries such as Belgium and Sweden and became a top ten hit in the United Kingdom, Australia and Belgium (Flanders).

What a Girl Wants may refer to:

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", 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)." 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. After parting from her management, Aguilera took creative control over her fourth studio album, Stripped (2002). The album's second single, "Beautiful", was a commercial success and helped the album's commercial performance amidst controversy over Aguilera's image. Aguilera followed up Stripped with the soul, jazz and blues inspired, Back to Basics (2006), released to positive critical acclaim. 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. Aguilera's seventh studio album is set to be released in 2012.

Céline Marie Claudette Dion, CC OQ, (French pronunciation: [selin djɔ̃] ( listen); born March 30, 1968), is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990, she released the English-language album Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.

Dion had first gained international recognition in the 1980s by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Following a series of French albums in the early 1980s, she signed on to CBS Records Canada in 1986. During the 1990s, with the help of Angélil, she achieved worldwide fame after signing with Epic Records and releasing several English albums along with additional French albums, becoming one of the most successful artists in pop music history. However, in 1999 at the height of her success, Dion announced a hiatus from entertainment in order to start a family and spend time with her husband, who had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to the top of pop music in 2002 and signed a three-year (later extended to almost five years) contract to perform nightly in a five-star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada.

Erica Flor Rivera (born December 18, 1988 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) is an American actress and singer who played a minor role as Bianca on the Disney Channel show That's So Raven.

Rivera is also a part-time singer, and has a song in the film What a Girl Wants entitled Somebody Stop Me, in addition to a song on the soundtrack of the film Akeelah and the Bee, entitled Let Your Baby Go.