When Christina Aguilera hit the mainstream as a teenager with her hit single “Genie in a Bottle,” there was no telling where her remarkable stardom might take her.
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Today, the 41-year-old New York City-born artist is a crossover phenomenon, earning accolades in both the traditional and Latin Grammy scenes. But what does Aguilera have to say about life outside of her chilling vocals? What are her thoughts on life and love, her craft, the world at large, and more?
Let’s dive into the best 50 Christina Aguilera quotes.
1. “I don’t want to believe my own hype.”
2. “I stray away from formulaic, the formatted.”
3. “I felt caged by my childhood.”
4. “I was brought up in a household of chaos and I never felt stable at home.”
5. “My future daughter is not going to go through what I did.”
6. “I love theatrics and have a huge imagination: Why would I want to sit onstage and sing a bunch of ballads back-to-back?”
7. “I’m a smart girl. There are decisions that I make for reasons, and the most important thing is that my son is happy and he always will be. He’s surrounded by love.”
8. “I think you can really gauge my state of mind by listening to my albums.”
9. “I’m experimental by nature… always exploring my creativity.”
10. “Being too thin. Being bigger. I’ve been criticized for being on both sides of the scale.”
11. “My first love was singing and I had no time for boys.”
12. “I’m a hard worker and I really give to my fans through my shows.”
13. “Whatever I do, it’s my business. It’s not my job to parent America.”
14. “When I’m traveling on tour, one of my favorite things to do is to throw a baseball cap on and go to a Target. The company has always been good to me. They’ve got such a great creative team.”
15. “I embraced being a pop artist, but I like doing it on my own terms, at my own pace.”
16. “I do reinvent old hits of mine and sort of give them a new life.”
17. “I hate working out – I have to mentally push myself through it. I can get very whiny, saying things like, ‘I can’t do it!'”
18. “I don’t think there is such a thing as being too raunchy when it comes to the art form of burlesque.”
19. “I’ve never watched an entire episode of American Idol. It’s too mean.”
20. “I really don’t spend any time on the Internet, so I guess I live a little under a rock in that respect.”
21. “For me the visual is just as important as the music.”
22. “A lot of people are afraid to face themselves, especially when something goes wrong. But that’s important because if something happens within a relationship, it could be how you’re allowing someone else to treat you.”
23. “I got along better with the guys than with the girls. Only two girls came up to talk to me. Later I found out they were telling their boyfriends, ‘If you talk to her, I’ll kill you.’ It’s always rough with that high school thing.”
24. “I didn’t want to do something that was easy for me.”
25. “I was very pushed to look a certain way and act a certain way, and it wasn’t me, but I played by their rules to get my foot in the door.”
26. “My body can’t put anyone in jeopardy of not making money anymore—my body is just not on the table that way anymore.”
27. “I am Ecuadorian but people felt so safe passing me off as a skinny, blue-eyed white girl.”
28. “In order to effect great change, we need to look at how we can help those in our own communities as well as globally.”
29. “Getting older, you just don’t want to sing fluffy.”
30. “When I first met my husband, I needed that helping hand to take the reins and look after me.”
31. “I think they say that when you’re breastfeeding, you know, your weight kind of slims down. It’s a little easier. It’s like a workout within itself. It’s very tiring actually and you find yourself snacking more often.”
32. “I have fun being sexy and tough at the same time.”
33. “It can be hard in this business, especially when you’re very young, to figure out who you can and can’t trust.”
34. “Pop is actually my least favorite kind of music because it lacks real depth.”
35. “I really feel free and not as serious as I have been in the past.”
36. “I’m not a judgmental person, so I can’t comment on someone else’s background.”
37. “Being a mother, singer and actress is a definite juggling act, but I don’t think I would be comfortable any other way.”
38. “When you’re part of a pop phenomenon, you have so many opinions shoved down your throat.”
39. “I have spoken honestly about being born into a home where there was discord and chaos. I saw my mom have a rough time with my dad being very controlling, which is why I push back whenever I feel like someone is trying to box me in. It makes me run for the hills.”
40. “I’m at peace.”
41. “The road is a lot of work.”
42. “I think all of us as women have this super-human quality. We create life, we give life, we are the sources of life for our children—we’re all pretty bionic.”
43. “I definitely love women. They are more attractive to the naked eye.”
44. “It’s been quite a roller coaster ride, but I’ve grown and learned a lot about myself. The greatest thing is being able to interact with fans and touch people’s lives… for that I give thanks.”
45. “I have a lot of things to say and a lot of things to let out of me.”
46. “I love doing normal things—movies, shopping, going out with friends, writing, reading, taking hot bubble baths—that’s a big one for relaxation. I also love to go to art and history museums.
47. “I still have my eyes on the prize: I want to be that old lady onstage shaking her hips and singing her greatest hits.”
48. “I’m content with life, and I’m finally at that place where I feel relaxed and can really enjoy what’s going on around me.”
49. “The most successful people I’ve worked with, like the Rolling Stones—people of a different, kind of legendary caliber—have such great, warm energy.”
50. “I don’t want to talk about genies in bottles anymore.”
Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Billboard
