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Speaker 1: Okay, Joseph, it is that time again. I'm afraid let's

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Speaker 1: go pop quiz. What was Christina Aguilera's debut single. I

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Speaker 1: actually know this answer because I'm obsessed with this movie?

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Speaker 2: Okay, So what was it?

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Speaker 1: Reflection in Mulan. Oh so good. It's so it was

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Speaker 1: my favorite Disney princess ever ever, ever that every kist

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Speaker 1: didn't because I feel like she looked like the girls

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Speaker 1: that I grew up with. Oh my god, that's so

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Speaker 1: weird because they were Asian, but she just looked different,

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Speaker 1: and she just looked I could see you.

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Speaker 2: Being legit obsessed with Mulan.

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Speaker 1: I was Mulan. Okay.

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Speaker 2: So the very first time that the world heard Christina

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Speaker 2: Aguilera on the radio, they hear her ask this question,

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Speaker 2: when will my Reflection show.

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Speaker 1: Who I am? Inside? Is it any surprise that the

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Speaker 1: gays have her back?

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Speaker 2: I mean, hindsight is twenty twenty and Reflection was not

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Speaker 2: only the single that introduced Christine to her biggest audience yet,

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Speaker 2: but that is the track that earned her a record

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Speaker 2: deal with RCA.

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Speaker 1: That's because of the say it with Me for octave

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Speaker 1: vocal range. Reflection made full use of Christina's vocal chops.

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Speaker 1: It had a note that nobody else on the label's

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Speaker 1: roster could reach, that.

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Speaker 2: Note, being E flat five in case you wanted to

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Speaker 2: try it at home. So without getting two song exploder

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Speaker 2: about it, that means that Christina had to take her

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Speaker 2: voice from here.

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Speaker 1: To here, and our girl, who had trained herself in

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Speaker 1: Mariah Whitney and showtuned Queen Julie Andrews, checked every box

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Speaker 1: and hit every note.

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Speaker 2: The same week Christina recorded Reflection for RCA, she signed

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Speaker 2: with the label. All of this happening two months after

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Speaker 2: she turned seventeen. Okay, let's just think about this for

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Speaker 2: a second. Joseph, what did you do when you turned seventeen?

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Speaker 1: U probably went to Penny Hannah that tracks what did

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Speaker 1: you Do? Definitely went to Penny Hona.

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Speaker 2: Now, the point is Christina was hardly old enough to

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Speaker 2: drive at this point, and she made her radio debut

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Speaker 2: that summer at an age where most people have no

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Speaker 2: idea who they are belting about.

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Speaker 1: It about looking in the mirror and not seeing the

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Speaker 1: battie you knew yourself to be. We love a teen

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Speaker 1: pop star with her heart on her sleeve, right.

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Speaker 2: Olivia Rodrico and the funny thing is before she got signed,

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Speaker 2: labels like RCA were asking themselves who is Christina Aguilera.

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Speaker 2: According to her first manager, Steve Kurtz.

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Speaker 1: The labels didn't know what to do with a six

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Speaker 1: year old girl who sang like a Wretha Franklin. How

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Speaker 1: are we going to sell her? Come on, you guys,

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Speaker 1: you could have just given me a call.

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Speaker 2: After just hearing one of Christina's demos, specifically the song Obvious,

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Speaker 2: which would eventually become the closing track of her self

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Speaker 2: titled debut album, one executive said, we have hundreds of Christina.

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Speaker 1: Oh no, he didn't.

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Speaker 2: Oh no, he didn't say that, or oh no, he

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Speaker 2: didn't have hundreds of Christina's uh uh both Okay, Well

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Speaker 2: it's okay boo, because he is going to eat his

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Speaker 2: words very very soon. But this is another part of

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Speaker 2: the story where things look very different compared to today.

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Speaker 2: Young aspiring singers know the power of the brand, But.

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Speaker 1: Back then, all Christina had was an incredible voice and

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Speaker 1: a suitcase full of cassette tapes.

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Speaker 2: And execs are not exactly known for their very strong

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Speaker 2: and colorful imaginations. Still, RCA took the plunge with Christina

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Speaker 2: off the strength of her demos and her performance on Reflection.

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Speaker 1: And they fixed her up with the makeover. She walked

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Speaker 1: in with those fabulous curls we saw on Mickey mouse

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Speaker 1: Club videos and left with the clean, cropped cut we

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Speaker 1: saw in her debut album. Not to mention the white

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Speaker 1: u K fates.

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Speaker 2: I need to replicate every cell fit that was in

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Speaker 2: those videos. Like if I want inspo to look like

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Speaker 2: a Z, I should just look at old Christina Vida.

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Speaker 2: It would blow their minds now spoiler alert. Christina was

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Speaker 2: about to rock it to success throughout the oughts, but

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Speaker 2: her multi platinum sales wouldn't put to rest all these

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Speaker 2: questions about her, her brand, her musical identity, both on

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Speaker 2: the label side and.

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Speaker 1: In the media. And when people ask questions, haters come

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Speaker 1: ready with answers. Well, haters and paparazzi.

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Speaker 2: And rightly or wrongly, many would define Christina's golden age

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Speaker 2: with comparisons.

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Speaker 1: To you know who.

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Speaker 2: That's Brittany bitch strap In y'all, it is a bumpy

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Speaker 2: ride to the top. I'm your host Liliana Rosquez.

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Speaker 1: And I'm Joseph Carrio and this is becoming an.

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Speaker 2: Icon A weekly podcast where we give you the rundown

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Speaker 2: on how today's most famous LATINV stars have shaped pop culture.

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Speaker 1: And given the world some extra level Sit back and

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Speaker 1: get comfort, because we are going in the only way we.

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Speaker 2: Know how, with whenas us, when assas and a lot

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Speaker 2: of opinions as we relive their greatest achievements on our

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Speaker 2: journey to find out what makes them so iconic.

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Speaker 1: So here's what we're going to do today.

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Speaker 2: We are going to focus on Exstina's golden age.

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Speaker 1: You mean platinum age, honey, her multimillion selling chart topping,

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Speaker 1: undisputed icon decade. Wow.

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Speaker 2: You phrase that so powerfully, Joseph, I like it. You're

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Speaker 2: getting all excited for this now. By the way, this

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Speaker 2: era includes her three most beloved albums. And being the

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Speaker 2: fans that we are, I think that we do need

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Speaker 2: to get just one thing out of the way before

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Speaker 2: we tell the tale. Okay, Joseph, imagine.

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Speaker 1: That scared you always come with some crazy shape.

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Speaker 2: The ocean is rough, the sun is pounding down on

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Speaker 2: your back. You have no sunscreen, no no Internet. You're

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Speaker 2: stranded alone on a desert island.

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Speaker 1: Okay, okay, And.

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Speaker 2: Since we're talking two thousands, let's just say that you

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Speaker 2: have a volleyball for your bestie, a la castaway.

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Speaker 1: What do you name said volleyball? I would name it

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Speaker 1: my name. I would call it Joe because I would

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Speaker 1: be talking to myself, I swear. I would be like,

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Speaker 1: snap out of it, bitch.

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Speaker 2: Okay, fine, so Desert Island, you've got Joseph and Little Joey.

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Speaker 2: What classic Christina album are you and Joe bopping too?

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Speaker 2: You can only pick one album? You get all of

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Speaker 2: the songs because you're by the way, and I'm generous. Okay,

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Speaker 2: I'm not giving you one song. I don't want you

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Speaker 2: to kill yourself.

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Speaker 1: I was like, okay, I need a really really I

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Speaker 1: felt stuck. I would definitely say Stripped because I I

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Speaker 1: feel like it has everything I love about Christina and

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Speaker 1: it would just take me back to It would take

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Speaker 1: me back to a really good place and still kind

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Speaker 1: of give me my EMO. If I needed some, I

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Speaker 1: get that. What about you? What would you pick? I

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Speaker 1: would pick Stripped? Okay.

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Speaker 2: Now, hindsight is twenty twenty. When the album came out,

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Speaker 2: I don't think it hit for me. I wasn't ready

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Speaker 2: for that album. Like as a fan, I wasn't ready

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Speaker 2: for the album but now, as a forty four year

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Speaker 2: old woman who has been through a lot more than

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Speaker 2: I was back then, I have a new found respect

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Speaker 2: for what that album represents about her. Obviously, to Joseph

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Speaker 2: and I, all three records, Christina Aguilera, Stripped and Back

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Speaker 2: to Basics are perfection.

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Speaker 3: And Christina was snatched from a moment she was hatched perfection.

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Speaker 2: I'm putting that on a T shirt. Icons snatched from

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Speaker 2: the moment they're hatched. A perfectionist is what I was

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Speaker 2: going to say from day one, from the get go.

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Speaker 2: Before she was signed, her manager linked her up with

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Speaker 2: producer Roy Hoffman, and with Hoffman, Christina recorded five demos

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Speaker 2: in five days.

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Speaker 1: I'm hearing the listeners go, so listen, baby cakes. That's

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Speaker 1: five days of take after take after take. We were

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Speaker 1: wiped out after three hours in the booth last week.

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Speaker 1: Imagine if you did that for five days in a row, Leana.

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Speaker 2: I mean, imagine five days back to back of singing

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Speaker 2: lead and backing vocals. Okay, basically, your throat is bleeding.

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Speaker 2: It is on fire, and that is what Christina insisted

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Speaker 2: on doing.

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Speaker 1: Y laryngitis right now, oh triggered. So when we say

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Speaker 1: Christina put in blood, sweat and tears for her bobs,

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Speaker 1: We're being dead ass, and that was just for her demos.

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Speaker 2: Now, RCA had put a million dollar budget behind her debut,

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Speaker 2: and she and the.

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Speaker 1: Label had different ideas about how to use it.

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Speaker 2: Christina wanted her debut to feature more unadulterated R and

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Speaker 2: B in the tradition, of course, of her idols Mariah

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Speaker 2: and Whitney, meaning more extensive ad libs and riffs, but

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Speaker 2: the label wanted to push for a more team pop direction.

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Speaker 1: And the label ain't about what a girl wants.

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Speaker 2: I see what you did there that was really good

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Speaker 2: and that track is a perfect example of where things

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Speaker 2: ultimately landed. R and B rhythms and instrumentals with hooks

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Speaker 2: for days years, and while RCA talked Christina down from

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Speaker 2: too many ad libs and extended riffs, the debut still

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Speaker 2: sat comfortably in the Mariah Whitney wheelhouse thanks to writers

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Speaker 2: and producers like Diane Warren, Shelley Pakin, Pam Shane, and

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Speaker 2: fun Fact Robin Thick Robin Dick Well, it was Robin

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Speaker 2: before we knew about the Ick. More importantly, Christina even

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Speaker 2: got to work with a songwriter who had written for

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Speaker 2: one of her idol, fran Gold, who had written songs

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Speaker 2: for Whitney Houston, including run to You, which happens to

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Speaker 2: be one of Christina's demos.

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Speaker 1: Literally all of Christina's dreams were coming true.

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Speaker 2: Oh speaking of dreams, fran Gold had also worked with

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Speaker 2: our idol, Selena.

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Speaker 1: Did you know that she wrote dreaming of you Shut

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Speaker 1: Your Button?

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Speaker 2: Christina even got to record a song that was originally

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Speaker 2: written for the Queen of Tejanah's crossover album track number four,

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Speaker 2: so emotional.

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Speaker 1: I don't know. This sounds like a good use of

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Speaker 1: a million dollar budget, Okay, fair.

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Speaker 2: Christina was working with top songwriters and producers, and we've

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Speaker 2: seen labels hedge their bets with the artists before on

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Speaker 2: this show, Selena being a perfect example.

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Speaker 1: Do you remember that cover Callina had debate more than

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Speaker 1: her fair share of dues.

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Speaker 2: So it says a lot that RCA put its full

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Speaker 2: weight behind Christina's debut. But you can bet that Christina

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Speaker 2: felt that weight on her tiny shoulders.

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Speaker 1: Girl wasn't in camp masketeer no more. She was in

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Speaker 1: and out of studio NonStop and working with Whitney's songwriter.

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Speaker 1: I'd be so nervesighted. Sure enough, Christina.

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Speaker 2: Didn't always feel like she could actually speak up. She said,

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Speaker 2: it was really hard trusting in the world, very young

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Speaker 2: and feeling like you don't have a voice. She wanted

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Speaker 2: to work, but she was afraid of losing what made

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Speaker 2: her her.

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Speaker 1: Uh whatever that means when you're seventeen and all alone

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Speaker 1: in Hollywood with your mom all the way on the

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Speaker 1: East Coast, Little Tina didn't have any girlfriend staying out

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Speaker 1: with but the women who wrote her songs.

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Speaker 2: Oh, that means her only friends were her work friends.

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Speaker 1: That makes me sad. Wait, work friends who were decades

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Speaker 1: older than her.

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Speaker 2: No shade, we are those older friends now. All to

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Speaker 2: say she felt lonely, But eventually it was a rap

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Speaker 2: on the studio and after all those sessions and struggles

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Speaker 2: to make her voice heard, it was time to shoot

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Speaker 2: the video for Jeanie in a Bottle on the beaches of.

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Speaker 1: The bit Ooho in April.

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Speaker 2: Oh, by the way, I know y'all think it's warm

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Speaker 2: and hot and sunny in California all the time. It

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Speaker 2: is not that shit is cold. The ocean is freezing

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Speaker 2: year round in California. April is not a warm month,

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Speaker 2: but Christina powered through, just like she had done in

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Speaker 2: the booth, and finally, in June of nineteen ninety.

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Speaker 1: Nine, Christina came out of the bottle. I think we

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Speaker 1: need to take a moment of silence for the video.

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Speaker 1: Let's just reflect. I just want to rub the bottle.

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Speaker 1: I want to go.

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Speaker 2: I just have to say I remember watching the video

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Speaker 2: for the very first time, and I was confused.

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Speaker 1: Okay, let me tell you why.

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Speaker 2: Because her name was Christina a Yilera.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Well I saw the name, yeah, and then I saw her.

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Speaker 1: And mm hmmm, yeah, that would be weird.

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Speaker 2: You're looking at me, deep into my eyes, and I

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Speaker 2: think that you see why it felt strange for me

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Speaker 2: in that moment.

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Speaker 1: Why do you think it felt strange for me? Because

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Speaker 1: she had blonde hair and blue eyes. Her name was

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Speaker 1: Christina Aguilera, Yes, And.

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Speaker 2: I don't know if that is because a Mexic Ghana

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Speaker 2: and I lived in Texas and I was seeing this happen.

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Speaker 2: I don't have a lot of blue eyed, blonde haired

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Speaker 2: Mexican friends. I didn't even really understand how different Latinos

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Speaker 2: looked until I left Texas, because everyone in my immediate

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Speaker 2: community is Mexicano. Like, Okay, my dad's Puerto Rican and

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Speaker 2: like he is a fair eyed and fair haired, but

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Speaker 2: he's like an anomaly. I was like, that's sad. My

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Speaker 2: dad's just my dad. But I did not know girls

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Speaker 2: named Christina Aguilera that had like a blonde bob with

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Speaker 2: blue eyes, so I was like, huh.

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Speaker 1: But then I was like, I'm obsessed with her. I

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Speaker 1: remember immediately feeling is this girl trying to take Britney's place?

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Speaker 1: I did. I was like, oh no, this girl's not.

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Speaker 1: But then I realized she was Latina, and in al Paso,

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Speaker 1: and in the north of Mexico there's a lot of

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Speaker 1: blonde hair, blue eyed girl, so I mean she looked

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Speaker 1: like your friends. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: And as excited as Joseph and I were for this song, Christina,

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Speaker 2: being the R and B perfectionist that she is, well,

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Speaker 2: she wasn't the most excited about Genie in a Bottle

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Speaker 2: being her lead single.

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Speaker 1: And yet it became the second best selling single of

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Speaker 1: nineteen ninety nine, right after A Queen Mother's share Do

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Speaker 1: you Believe in Life After Love? After Love After Love? Share?

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Speaker 2: Christina Santana. I just don't know that any year can

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Speaker 2: top ninety nine, but Obviously, Genie and a Bottle wasn't.

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Speaker 1: All I was obsessed with Come on over Baby. I

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Speaker 1: don't know.

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Speaker 3: It was just so over a Baby. I don't know it,

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Speaker 3: you Rea. It just reminded me of the nineties.

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Speaker 2: It is peak nineties like it just it was.

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Speaker 1: I don't know. It took me which which one was

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Speaker 1: your songs? I mean, I loved I every single song.

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Speaker 1: The whole album is so good.

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Speaker 2: I mean, you're talking about a very very young artist

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Speaker 2: that is just giving you hit after hit after hit. Right,

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Speaker 2: it wasn't one song, it wasn't two songs, it wasn't

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Speaker 2: three songs.

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Speaker 1: The whole album is a bop.

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Speaker 2: And by the way, it wasn't just us that loved this,

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Speaker 2: because after her singles all climbed to the top of

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Speaker 2: the charts, that self titled album did debut at.

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Speaker 1: Number one, and here today in twenty twenty four, that

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Speaker 1: album is eight times platinum.

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Speaker 2: But let's also recall what year the album came out.

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Speaker 2: In two thousand, there was one thing that mattered just

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Speaker 2: as much, if not more, than the Billboard charts, and

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Speaker 2: that was becoming the number one most requesteds on on.

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Speaker 1: Total Request Genie in a Bottle was the most requested

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Speaker 1: song on TRL for five straight weeks and stayed in

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Speaker 1: the top ten for several weeks more.

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Speaker 2: And so it came to pass that Christina performed Genie

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Speaker 2: and a Bottle on TRL, along with other tracks from

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Speaker 2: her album. And that is the day the rumor mill

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Speaker 2: hum to Life.

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Speaker 1: The Tea for Your Consideration host Carson Daily was out

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Speaker 1: that day. So when Christina's being interviewed by the stand

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Speaker 1: in host, she says she misses him.

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Speaker 2: I can see the US Weekly covers right away. Carson

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Speaker 2: and Christina their secret romance exposed, not to mention he

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Speaker 2: was actually engaged to Jennifer love Hewitt at the time.

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Speaker 1: Big if true, which it wasn't, But now the readers

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Speaker 1: had gotten a taste. Everyone was looking for dirt on Christina.

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Speaker 2: Of course, rumored romance and risque affairs were common tabloid

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Speaker 2: fodder back then, but as we all know, the press

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Speaker 2: would find its true paydirt in Christina's supposed rivalry with

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Speaker 2: her fellow format.

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Speaker 1: Mouseketeer, Britney Bitch.

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Speaker 2: Everyone who was around during the days of Britney Spears

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Speaker 2: versus Christina Aguilera can remember the arguments, actually remember them

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Speaker 2: like they were yesterday, and whether you remember them playing

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Speaker 2: out in the schoolyard or at happy hour.

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Speaker 1: It's like Britney's a better dancer, Britney's songs are catch here,

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Speaker 1: or Britney can't sing bitch. Christina's a real musician, lest

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Speaker 1: you forget her four octave vocal range.

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Speaker 2: Media coverage of this supposed rivalry wouldn't re it speak

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Speaker 2: till a little later.

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Speaker 1: In the aughts.

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Speaker 2: But the seeds were there from the beginning, before the

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Speaker 2: scandals and flashpoints that are burned into our heads, which

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Speaker 2: we will get to. The magazines would simply pit their

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Speaker 2: talents against each other. And here are a couple of

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Speaker 2: quotes from that era.

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Speaker 1: People Magazine wrote, quote, Christina's powerful vocal chords sound refreshing

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Speaker 1: in an industry inhabited by baby voiced divas like Britney Spears,

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Speaker 1: who wear the diva label like little girls where their

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Speaker 1: mother's heels.

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Speaker 2: Imagine if they made that Instagram post today, like the

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Speaker 2: cant they would turned down, They would burn down the

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Speaker 2: people building like that is so unacceptable. Okay, wait, they

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Speaker 2: get better. Here's one from Entertainment Weekly. Christina Aguilera may

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Speaker 2: show her belly button, but in her music and mannerisms.

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Speaker 2: It's clear she's anxious not to offend. She's a good

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Speaker 2: girl pretending to be bad. Spears, on the other hand,

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Speaker 2: seems like a bad girl pretending to be good.

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Speaker 1: Wait a minute, that shit just really came out like

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Speaker 1: that's I think it's true.

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Speaker 2: Just let women be, okay, true, but let women exist,

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Speaker 2: Let women exist in their duality, tripleality, quadruplelality. Just just

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Speaker 2: let women exist. Please, Okay. And by the way, that

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Speaker 2: one continues on Thank You Entertainment Weekly, here's the quote.

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Speaker 2: Spears's artificial sweetener voice is less interesting than everything around her.

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Speaker 2: But even so, that blandness is a relief compared to

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Speaker 2: Aguilera's staggering vocal gymnastics. Hold on, hold on, but I

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Speaker 2: do Where are these writers? I know their hands, give

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Speaker 2: me the handles.

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Speaker 1: If this resurfaces, they would be canceled. They're probably retired,

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Speaker 1: old white men.

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Speaker 2: So after hearing all of those headlines, it's pretty clear

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Speaker 2: where we all got our schoolyard and or happy hour,

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Speaker 2: depending on how old you were.

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Speaker 1: Barbes about Brittany and Christina. But us Weekly and people

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Speaker 1: aren't the only names written in these receipts. Christina's label

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Speaker 1: butt into the feud in their marketing for Christina's debut.

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Speaker 2: Because while Christina's debut pulled insane numbers, Britney's debut actually

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Speaker 2: beat Christina's to market, dropping in January of nineteen ninety nine,

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Speaker 2: eight ful months ahead of Christina's.

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Speaker 1: So by the time Crazy and Baby One More Time

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Speaker 1: had dominated radio, RCAA was ready to market Christina as quote,

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Speaker 1: a Britney who can sing.

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Speaker 2: You know what, I take it back nineteen ninety nine

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Speaker 2: has got to go. I don't know it.

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Speaker 1: Oh fuck night, take share, take our girls, leave the

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Speaker 1: rest anyway.

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Speaker 2: Then came the Grammys, where Brittany and Christina went head

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Speaker 2: to head for Best New Artists.

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Speaker 1: Alongside Macy Gray and Kid Rock. But let's be wrong, I.

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Speaker 2: Mean that wasn't a contest.

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Speaker 1: The result made it clear where the industry stood in

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Speaker 1: the end. Best New Artists went to the Brittany who

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Speaker 1: can sing, Christina Aguilera.

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Speaker 2: Christina shook as she received the gramophone and said her

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Speaker 2: thank yous, which included both her parents. Round one going

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Speaker 2: to Christina, who, by the way, probably didn't even want

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Speaker 2: to fight in.

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Speaker 1: The first place.

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Speaker 2: I wish you guys could see the move that Joseph

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Speaker 2: just did in the studio when I told him that

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Speaker 2: it is time to talk about her next era. Yes,

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Speaker 2: before Christina went on to her next era, which I

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Speaker 2: know Joseph cannot wait to talk about.

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Speaker 1: Only makes me that much stronger.

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Speaker 2: She had an incredibly busy start to the new millennium, an.

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Speaker 1: Eighty two night World tour, appearances on Tierra Awards shows,

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Speaker 1: and more.

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Speaker 2: Eight was NonStop, but the breakneck pace of touring and

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Speaker 2: promoting didn't halt her creative momentum. In two thousand, she

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Speaker 2: embarked on a project that saw her embracing her roots.

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Speaker 2: The Spanish language album Mi Reflejo.

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Speaker 1: Mi Reflecho features five songs from her self titled debut

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Speaker 1: redone in Spanish, plus four new songs like Final Size,

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Speaker 1: Esperanzas and sinot vierrag Nocio, a duet with Luis.

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Speaker 2: Fonsi and Christina, unlike her parents, was not fluent in Spanish,

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Speaker 2: so the album was a little bit.

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Speaker 1: Of a challenge, and if it ain't clear yet, our

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Speaker 1: girl loves a challenge.

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Speaker 2: Like facts, facts, you guys are basically the same.

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Speaker 1: Not what do you mean right?

400
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Speaker 2: You?

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00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:53,439
Speaker 1: Genie? Your genie?

402
00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:57,040
Speaker 2: I have a Genie a bottle anyway, Christina worked with

403
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Speaker 2: Rudy Perez, the producer who worked with the Gloria Stepan,

404
00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:04,720
Speaker 2: Mark Anthony, and Jlo, among others, to rework the material

405
00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,239
Speaker 2: and worked with a vocal coach to learn how to

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Speaker 2: sing in Espanol.

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00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:13,120
Speaker 1: So All I Want Is You became Solemente Too, which

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Speaker 1: became Christina's first single to top the Billboard Hot Latin

409
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Speaker 1: Song charts.

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Speaker 2: While some critics knocked the album as an attempt to

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Speaker 2: cash in on the quote unquote Latin explosion that Christina

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Speaker 2: said of the album.

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Speaker 1: My message, as in all my music, stands for being

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Speaker 1: fearless to explore who you are. It's never too late

415
00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,400
Speaker 1: to open a new door. Although it's scary to dive

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00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:37,440
Speaker 1: into a territory that isn't your first language, it still

417
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Speaker 1: doesn't erase who I am and how I want to

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Speaker 1: express myself in all aspects of what intrigues and inspires me.

419
00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,640
Speaker 2: Not so fun fact, before her debut, RCA had considered

420
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Speaker 2: giving Christina a more Anglo friendly stage name, like Christina

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Speaker 2: A g Oh.

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Speaker 1: I just threw up a little bit in my mouth,

423
00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:00,120
Speaker 1: so seriously it's the coffee, but christ.

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Speaker 2: Held onto her name and told interviewers she was proud

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Speaker 2: of her heritage.

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Speaker 1: This is what we love about our girl. After everything

427
00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:10,120
Speaker 1: that happened with her dad, she easily could have turned

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00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:12,760
Speaker 1: her back on being Latina, but she's aware of every

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Speaker 1: part of her that makes her stronger.

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Speaker 2: You're just dying to get to the destination, aren't you?

431
00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:21,800
Speaker 2: But things would get a bit held up for Christina.

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00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,280
Speaker 2: After all the burnout from her tour, she decided to

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00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:28,359
Speaker 2: cut ties with her manager and sue him for fraud.

434
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,080
Speaker 2: After Kurt's countersuit, the two reached an out of court

435
00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:34,679
Speaker 2: settlement in two thousand and one, so she found a

436
00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,479
Speaker 2: new manager, irving as Off, and began to find a

437
00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:39,480
Speaker 2: better work life balance.

438
00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,960
Speaker 1: And started dating one of her back up dancers, because

439
00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:44,760
Speaker 1: dancers nano balance.

440
00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,600
Speaker 2: She began to take more control over her life, her music,

441
00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:49,680
Speaker 2: and her looks.

442
00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:53,159
Speaker 1: Starting in two thousand and one, Christina made a sport

443
00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:56,200
Speaker 1: out of turning heads on the red carpet. Let's get

444
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:56,720
Speaker 1: into some.

445
00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:00,480
Speaker 2: Of these looks, okay, Joseph and I are evaluating relooks

446
00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:04,920
Speaker 2: from this era. Christina at the VMA's in her tiny

447
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:08,439
Speaker 2: denim belt. I guess it's supposed to be a mini skirt,

448
00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:15,600
Speaker 2: Christina at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards in a shredded velvet

449
00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:20,360
Speaker 2: dress with very curly, big hair, and most importantly, Christina

450
00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:22,680
Speaker 2: at the two thousand and one Grammys when she did

451
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:24,919
Speaker 2: her all over blonde braids. Do you want to talk

452
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:28,639
Speaker 2: about the makeup? Oh, because if anybody is going to

453
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,359
Speaker 2: break down a look, especially from this era, I think

454
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:37,000
Speaker 2: one of the biggest differences. Yes, the hair, Yes, the clothes,

455
00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,120
Speaker 2: but we've got to talk about the makeup.

456
00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:44,240
Speaker 1: You know what happened? I like it, I do.

457
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,359
Speaker 2: Yeah, I quit the podcast. Yeah this is there is

458
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:48,359
Speaker 2: a liar in the boot.

459
00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:51,399
Speaker 1: No, but you know what I'm going to I do

460
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:55,560
Speaker 1: not deal well with liars. Okay, No, why because she

461
00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:58,400
Speaker 1: really changed her look for all of these events, right,

462
00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:01,680
Speaker 1: it was everything was different. I like that. She definitely

463
00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,600
Speaker 1: didn't style herself like anybody at the time. She was

464
00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:08,520
Speaker 1: like Julia Fox like she was like but people weren't

465
00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:10,440
Speaker 1: treating her like that, right, People are like, oh, Julia Fox,

466
00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:12,440
Speaker 1: you're so cool. Like I thought this stuff was cool

467
00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:15,199
Speaker 1: and so like edgy, but like people weren't about it,

468
00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:17,919
Speaker 1: Like when she had those fucking dreads Bach in the Grammies.

469
00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:21,359
Speaker 2: You're absolutely right, here's what happens. Let's go back to

470
00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,520
Speaker 2: the year that it was, like, let's actually go back there.

471
00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:27,359
Speaker 2: People did not have the same level of admiration and

472
00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:31,000
Speaker 2: respect for individuality when it comes to personal style back then.

473
00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,919
Speaker 2: May include it, right, And so while Christina's hair and

474
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:38,119
Speaker 2: makeup and looks might not have been your taste level,

475
00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,480
Speaker 2: it was her taste and it was her individuality and

476
00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,080
Speaker 2: it's what made her unique. And to be that bold

477
00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:50,800
Speaker 2: and that fearless in two thousand, right, Like that's power, man,

478
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:55,119
Speaker 2: that's real identity. That's like really owning your identity and

479
00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:56,520
Speaker 2: saying fuck all y'all.

480
00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:58,960
Speaker 1: It was like Gaga forward. We can't think about it

481
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:00,320
Speaker 1: like that. Now she was ahead of time.

482
00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:02,439
Speaker 2: You're right, and now we really get it, Like she

483
00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:06,520
Speaker 2: was having fun, she was expressing her identity. And we

484
00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:10,399
Speaker 2: want our musicians and our fistas to show up like this.

485
00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:13,800
Speaker 2: I'm bored when artists are just like basic betties, Like

486
00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:15,600
Speaker 2: I want to see them show up like this, don't you.

487
00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:18,040
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean that's they all show up the same

488
00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:19,080
Speaker 1: kind of still.

489
00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:21,280
Speaker 2: Yeah, because they don't want to get ridiculed. They don't

490
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:24,120
Speaker 2: want to they don't want to be individuals. And this

491
00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,119
Speaker 2: is of course, her showing up looking like this in

492
00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:31,400
Speaker 2: her most truest expression. After RCA had tried to make

493
00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:34,520
Speaker 2: her just another blonde pop star.

494
00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:38,040
Speaker 1: Christina agh the Brittany who could think. You know.

495
00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:41,720
Speaker 2: She was tired of that noise. She wanted to express herself.

496
00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:44,720
Speaker 1: She wanted her reflection to show who she was.

497
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,240
Speaker 2: And just like reflection amped up audiences for her debut,

498
00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:53,560
Speaker 2: Christina's performance in Lady Marmalade, alongside Maya Pink and Low Kim,

499
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:58,119
Speaker 2: produced by Missy Elliott, gave audiences a hint of what

500
00:26:58,240 --> 00:26:59,760
Speaker 2: to expect from her follow up.

501
00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:05,800
Speaker 1: Wilder looks and vocals, in your face visuals, and unapologetic

502
00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:08,639
Speaker 1: sexual let tee but listen.

503
00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:12,480
Speaker 2: As in your face and eye catching as Lady Marmalade was,

504
00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:17,960
Speaker 2: the world was not prepared for Dirty.

505
00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:22,400
Speaker 1: Carl I was not prepared for Dirty.

506
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,600
Speaker 2: The lead single off of two thousand and two Stripped

507
00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:30,440
Speaker 2: and its provocative video was about as clear a statement

508
00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,280
Speaker 2: as you can get from an artist. Christina had the

509
00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,280
Speaker 2: creative control she had yearned for, and she was.

510
00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:41,399
Speaker 1: Taking us to the floor. Goodbye bubblegum pop, Hello rock

511
00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:45,800
Speaker 1: hip hop, miniskirts and mud wrestling. That's hot.

512
00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:49,520
Speaker 2: But that didn't mean ballads were off the table, because

513
00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:53,399
Speaker 2: the follow up single to Dirty was of course Beautiful,

514
00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:57,679
Speaker 2: whose Glad Award winning video shows marginalized.

515
00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:01,479
Speaker 1: Communities confronting their reflections, coming to grips with who they

516
00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:03,840
Speaker 1: are and who the world expects them to be.

517
00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:07,639
Speaker 2: Duality was the name of the game on Strip, which

518
00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:12,919
Speaker 2: alternated between confrontation and vulnerability over twenty tracks, and the

519
00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:16,120
Speaker 2: rest of the singles showed listeners exactly what to expect.

520
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:20,520
Speaker 1: Because next came fight Her, a song for her father,

521
00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:23,000
Speaker 1: the kids who bullied her, the manager who did her

522
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:24,600
Speaker 1: wrong but cannot follows.

523
00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:28,040
Speaker 2: Followed by the feminist anthem Can't Hold Us Down, and

524
00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:30,320
Speaker 2: the ballad the Voice within.

525
00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:36,159
Speaker 1: Can't Hold Us Down was my faith ver Rent. The

526
00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:39,560
Speaker 1: words made me emotional when I first heard It's it's silly,

527
00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:41,680
Speaker 1: but I was like, that's so crazy that girls feel

528
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:45,000
Speaker 1: like that, because I was a young gay thinking about

529
00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:47,920
Speaker 1: my girlfriend. Yeah, I was just kind of like, what,

530
00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:51,360
Speaker 1: it's good. It is good. I'm just I'm surprised.

531
00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:53,840
Speaker 2: I'm a fashion girl, like I am a visual learner,

532
00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:55,840
Speaker 2: and I learned how to be dirty from that video.

533
00:28:55,920 --> 00:29:01,000
Speaker 2: Yap Now Stripped followed through on Christina's way for creative

534
00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:04,800
Speaker 2: control and gave us to be honest. I think her

535
00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:07,920
Speaker 2: most honest music to date, including some of her most

536
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:09,120
Speaker 2: beloved anthems.

537
00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:12,800
Speaker 1: But the critics didn't get it. They panned dirty and

538
00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:17,000
Speaker 1: called it desperate and shrieking, which rude and called stripped,

539
00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:21,320
Speaker 1: uneven and unfocused. But it didn't end with critics.

540
00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:24,800
Speaker 2: Fellow pop stars such as Jessica Simpson and Yes, I

541
00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:29,120
Speaker 2: Hate to say It. Shakita said that Christina had gone

542
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:32,760
Speaker 2: quote unquote too far with the sex appeal.

543
00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:35,200
Speaker 1: You hate to see the girls go after each other,

544
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:39,400
Speaker 1: and unfortunately Christina was not above it herself.

545
00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,280
Speaker 2: From two thousand through two thousand and two, Christina had

546
00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,640
Speaker 2: been peppered with questions about you know who in virtually

547
00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:00,600
Speaker 2: every interview down for it.

548
00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:02,920
Speaker 1: That's got to be exhausting, I mean, and our girls

549
00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:06,320
Speaker 1: stayed on message. We're great friends. We're so busy, we

550
00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:09,360
Speaker 1: never get to see each other anymore. We're completely different artists.

551
00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:12,760
Speaker 2: It's giving the old New York la. We have to

552
00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:16,560
Speaker 2: catch upline like. It's not that you don't mean it,

553
00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,160
Speaker 2: but you both know that you are not going to

554
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:19,720
Speaker 2: see each other.

555
00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:23,440
Speaker 1: And when friends grow farther and farther apart. That means

556
00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:24,240
Speaker 1: more room for.

557
00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:27,760
Speaker 2: Messiness, and we will remind our listeners that every reporter

558
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:31,560
Speaker 2: with a microphone from two thousand to two was dying

559
00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:34,360
Speaker 2: for that mess to break through, and they got their wish.

560
00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:35,280
Speaker 2: In two thousand and.

561
00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:38,480
Speaker 1: Three, Christina kicked off the year with a bang in

562
00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:42,360
Speaker 1: supportive strip. She announced a joint tour between herself and

563
00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:43,800
Speaker 1: Justin Timberlake.

564
00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,640
Speaker 2: A pretty clear potshot at Brittany, with whom he had

565
00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:49,040
Speaker 2: just broken up with because he said that she cheated

566
00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:49,360
Speaker 2: on him.

567
00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:53,040
Speaker 1: Lies. Fast forward to August the two thousand and three

568
00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:58,440
Speaker 1: MTV Music Video Awards, featuring the legendary Brittany Madonna on stage.

569
00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:03,960
Speaker 2: Kiss that rocked a country at a very conservative moment

570
00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:07,120
Speaker 2: and was kind of seen as a passing of the

571
00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:11,160
Speaker 2: pop queen crown from Madonna to Brittany, except.

572
00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:13,320
Speaker 1: That when Madonna drew away from Brittany, she went on

573
00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:17,200
Speaker 1: to kiss Christina too, but the camera cut away right

574
00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:20,720
Speaker 1: at that moment to get a reaction shot from JT.

575
00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:24,360
Speaker 2: Four months later, in December of that year, Blender magazine

576
00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:29,719
Speaker 2: publishes a now infamous interview with Christina. Christina questions Brittany

577
00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:33,480
Speaker 2: and Beyonce for acting quote unquote virginal and interviews around

578
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:36,720
Speaker 2: the subject of sex and dating while performing provocatively in

579
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:37,840
Speaker 2: their videos.

580
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,720
Speaker 1: One easy answer for why they did that it was

581
00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:41,600
Speaker 1: two thousand and three.

582
00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:43,440
Speaker 2: We were not accepting back then, we were not our

583
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:48,480
Speaker 2: best selves, and Christina also notes her dissatisfaction with MTV's

584
00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:52,520
Speaker 2: editing of the Madonna Kiss and remarks that Brittany had

585
00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:54,080
Speaker 2: been distant in rehearsals.

586
00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:58,000
Speaker 1: Christina would insist that she was misquoted, and on TV

587
00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:00,920
Speaker 1: appearances she would say publicly that she wanted to talk

588
00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:04,240
Speaker 1: to Brittany about the article. But the next year, Blender

589
00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:07,560
Speaker 1: would publish an interview with Brittany featuring some choice words

590
00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:09,200
Speaker 1: for Christina.

591
00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:12,640
Speaker 2: And thus the Brittany Christina feud the press had been

592
00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:18,480
Speaker 2: itching for for years was made real. Years down the line,

593
00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:21,440
Speaker 2: Christina and Brittany would state that they're on good terms,

594
00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:25,320
Speaker 2: but this would mark the ugliest chapter of their friendship.

595
00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:28,200
Speaker 1: Knowing what we know now, it's tough to look back on.

596
00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:30,360
Speaker 1: There's just all kinds of inch.

597
00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:33,360
Speaker 2: You have to imagine that after years of being pestered

598
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:36,600
Speaker 2: about Brittany and interviews, it was hard for Christina to

599
00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:38,720
Speaker 2: not let some thing slip.

600
00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,640
Speaker 1: And with everyone coming for her after stripped and after

601
00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:44,760
Speaker 1: all her wild looks, with Shaki and Jessica Simpson coming

602
00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:45,040
Speaker 1: for her.

603
00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:49,040
Speaker 2: Long story short, Christina got her hands dirty. So as

604
00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:51,480
Speaker 2: Brittany approached the bottom of her spiral in the late

605
00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,480
Speaker 2: two thousands, Christina went back to basics.

606
00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:58,520
Speaker 1: Goodbye jet black hair and booty shorts, Hello old Hollywood

607
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:01,440
Speaker 1: looks and Broadway cost Her two.

608
00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:04,200
Speaker 2: Thousand and six album was a salute to Billie Holliday,

609
00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:08,760
Speaker 2: Etta James, and Ella Fitzgerald, a gloss up throwback of gospel,

610
00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:12,200
Speaker 2: boogie woogie and soul, modernized with beats courtesy of Mark

611
00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:14,720
Speaker 2: Ronson and hip Hop Royalty DJ Premiere.

612
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:18,280
Speaker 1: The album made its mark, debuting at number one in

613
00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:20,880
Speaker 1: the US and topping charts all over the world.

614
00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:25,400
Speaker 2: In February of two thousand and seven, Christina accepted another Grammy,

615
00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:28,680
Speaker 2: all done up in her curly blonde Baby Jane look.

616
00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:33,640
Speaker 1: That same month, Britney shaved her head. It seemed as

617
00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:35,400
Speaker 1: though Christina had.

618
00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:40,160
Speaker 2: Won, except let's keep it real, nobody wins when women

619
00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:44,080
Speaker 2: fight with each other. And for all of Christina's insistence

620
00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:46,680
Speaker 2: that there was nothing to compare the two pop stars,

621
00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,320
Speaker 2: who can better inspire and motivate an artist than appear.

622
00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:54,280
Speaker 1: From way back. As Christina entered the twenty tens, Brittany

623
00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:57,000
Speaker 1: would be fighting her own battles and Christina would be

624
00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:58,680
Speaker 1: fighting hers.

625
00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:06,360
Speaker 2: On the next Becoming an Icon, Christina reaches a new

626
00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:09,879
Speaker 2: low of her own before reclaiming what makes her her.

627
00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:17,560
Speaker 2: Becoming an Icon is presented by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael

628
00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:21,520
Speaker 2: dudda podcast network. Listen to Becoming an Icon on the

629
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:26,120
Speaker 2: iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast