Christina Aguilera celebrates 25 years since her self-titled 1999 debut album and the enduring success of “Genie in a Bottle.”
While she revealed in her newest Glamor cover that she's “grateful” for everything the album has given her, was the beginning of navigating her journey as an artist who wouldn't be defined by one genre. “I didn't like chewing gum, where you had to play a virgin but not act like one,” she admitted. “When I was playing 'Genie' and 'What a Girl Wants' and 'Come on,' I got bored easily. Creatively, it was one-dimensional.”
That's why she turned her focus to 2002 Nakedwhich aptly shed the teenybopper persona with more adult themes and vocally focused R&B-tinged pop hits. “I think it was just a matter of believing so wholeheartedly in my vision, which was to fight for sexuality,” she said of the backlash against the provocative album.
Funny enough, Aguilera was riding this wave of empowerment before her debut album was even released. The then 18-year-old star said Bulletin board of 'Genie in a Bottle' in 1999, 'The song is not about sex. It's a matter of self-respect. It's about not giving in to temptation until you're respected. It's time for something different. It's time the music makes[s] Children feel confident and safe.”
With “Genie in a Bottle”, Aguilera released the first of five Hot 100 No. 1 and 11 Top 10. Aguilera's debut album subsequently debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 253,000 copies sold in the United States in its first week, according to Luminate.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/christina-aguilera-bored-of-bubblegum-pop-genie-in-a-bottle-era-1235754202/
