Christina Aguilera has reflected on how she became “bored” of the “bubblegum thing” in the late 1990s.
In a cover interview for Glamour magazine, the Beautiful singer recalled how she quickly decided to switch up her sound and experiment with other genres after releasing her 1999 self-titled debut album, which included the hit singles Genie in a Bottle, What a Girl Wants and Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You).
“I didn’t love the bubblegum thing, where you had to play a virgin but not act like one. When I was performing Genie and What a Girl Wants and Come on Over, I got bored easily. Creatively, it was one-dimensional,” the 43-year-old said, before recounting her hectic diary at the time. “Literally every second (of my life then) was accounted for in a schedule. You can’t just live your life for work where it’s unenjoyable. You get burnt out.”
Christina moved away from her teen pop niche in the early 2000s and introduced her alter ego Xtina around the time she dropped her fourth studio album, Stripped.
And while she sparked controversy with the release of the video for Dirrty, the star insisted she knew what she was doing.
“I think it was just a matter of believing so wholeheartedly in my vision, which was to fight for sexuality,” she mused.
In the interview, Christina confirmed she has a new album in the works. Though she has not yet set a release date, she is excited for fans to hear her new sound.
“This time in my life is about super-awareness,” the star added. “I know where I’ve been. I know what I’ve loved. I know what I haven’t loved. And now, more than ever, I just feel more wide-awake and more aware and more understanding. I’m not here to be a programmed robot. I’m here as a human being first before being a celebrity.”
