WEBVTT - Cristina Aguilera: Genie in a Bottle

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

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<v Speaker 1>go pop quiz. What was Christina Aguilera's debut single. I

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<v Speaker 1>actually know this answer because I'm obsessed with this movie?

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, So what was it?

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<v Speaker 1>Reflection in Mulan. Oh so good. It's so it was

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<v Speaker 1>my favorite Disney princess ever ever, ever that every kist

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<v Speaker 1>didn't because I feel like she looked like the girls

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<v Speaker 1>that I grew up with. Oh my god, that's so

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<v Speaker 1>weird because they were Asian, but she just looked different,

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<v Speaker 1>and she just looked I could see you.

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<v Speaker 2>Being legit obsessed with Mulan.

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<v Speaker 1>I was Mulan. Okay.

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<v Speaker 2>So the very first time that the world heard Christina

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<v Speaker 2>Aguilera on the radio, they hear her ask this question,

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<v Speaker 2>when will my Reflection show.

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<v Speaker 1>Who I am? Inside? Is it any surprise that the

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<v Speaker 1>gays have her back?

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, hindsight is twenty twenty and Reflection was not

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<v Speaker 2>only the single that introduced Christine to her biggest audience yet,

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<v Speaker 2>but that is the track that earned her a record

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<v Speaker 2>deal with RCA.

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<v Speaker 1>That's because of the say it with Me for octave

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<v Speaker 1>vocal range. Reflection made full use of Christina's vocal chops.

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<v Speaker 1>It had a note that nobody else on the label's

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<v Speaker 1>roster could reach, that.

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<v Speaker 2>Note, being E flat five in case you wanted to

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<v Speaker 2>try it at home. So without getting two song exploder

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<v Speaker 2>about it, that means that Christina had to take her

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<v Speaker 2>voice from here.

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<v Speaker 1>To here, and our girl, who had trained herself in

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<v Speaker 1>Mariah Whitney and showtuned Queen Julie Andrews, checked every box

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<v Speaker 1>and hit every note.

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<v Speaker 2>The same week Christina recorded Reflection for RCA, she signed

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<v Speaker 2>with the label. All of this happening two months after

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

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<v Speaker 2>a second. Joseph, what did you do when you turned seventeen?

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<v Speaker 1>U probably went to Penny Hannah that tracks what did

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<v Speaker 1>you Do? Definitely went to Penny Hona.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, the point is Christina was hardly old enough to

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<v Speaker 2>drive at this point, and she made her radio debut

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<v Speaker 2>that summer at an age where most people have no

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<v Speaker 2>idea who they are belting about.

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<v Speaker 1>It about looking in the mirror and not seeing the

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<v Speaker 1>battie you knew yourself to be. We love a teen

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<v Speaker 1>pop star with her heart on her sleeve, right.

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<v Speaker 2>Olivia Rodrico and the funny thing is before she got signed,

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<v Speaker 2>labels like RCA were asking themselves who is Christina Aguilera.

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<v Speaker 2>According to her first manager, Steve Kurtz.

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<v Speaker 1>The labels didn't know what to do with a six

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<v Speaker 1>year old girl who sang like a Wretha Franklin. How

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<v Speaker 1>are we going to sell her? Come on, you guys,

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<v Speaker 1>you could have just given me a call.

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

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<v Speaker 2>which would eventually become the closing track of her self

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<v Speaker 2>titled debut album, one executive said, we have hundreds of Christina.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh no, he didn't.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh no, he didn't say that, or oh no, he

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<v Speaker 2>didn't have hundreds of Christina's uh uh both Okay, Well

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<v Speaker 2>it's okay boo, because he is going to eat his

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<v Speaker 2>words very very soon. But this is another part of

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<v Speaker 2>the story where things look very different compared to today.

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<v Speaker 2>Young aspiring singers know the power of the brand, But.

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<v Speaker 1>Back then, all Christina had was an incredible voice and

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<v Speaker 1>a suitcase full of cassette tapes.

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<v Speaker 2>And execs are not exactly known for their very strong

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<v Speaker 2>and colorful imaginations. Still, RCA took the plunge with Christina

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<v Speaker 2>off the strength of her demos and her performance on Reflection.

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<v Speaker 1>And they fixed her up with the makeover. She walked

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<v Speaker 1>in with those fabulous curls we saw on Mickey mouse

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<v Speaker 1>Club videos and left with the clean, cropped cut we

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<v Speaker 1>saw in her debut album. Not to mention the white

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<v Speaker 1>u K fates.

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<v Speaker 2>I need to replicate every cell fit that was in

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<v Speaker 2>those videos. Like if I want inspo to look like

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<v Speaker 2>a Z, I should just look at old Christina Vida.

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<v Speaker 2>It would blow their minds now spoiler alert. Christina was

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<v Speaker 2>about to rock it to success throughout the oughts, but

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<v Speaker 2>her multi platinum sales wouldn't put to rest all these

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<v Speaker 2>questions about her, her brand, her musical identity, both on

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<v Speaker 2>the label side and.

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<v Speaker 1>In the media. And when people ask questions, haters come

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<v Speaker 1>ready with answers. Well, haters and paparazzi.

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<v Speaker 2>And rightly or wrongly, many would define Christina's golden age

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<v Speaker 2>with comparisons.

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<v Speaker 1>To you know who.

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

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<v Speaker 2>ride to the top. I'm your host Liliana Rosquez.

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm Joseph Carrio and this is becoming an.

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<v Speaker 2>Icon A weekly podcast where we give you the rundown

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

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<v Speaker 1>And given the world some extra level Sit back and

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<v Speaker 1>get comfort, because we are going in the only way we.

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<v Speaker 2>Know how, with whenas us, when assas and a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of opinions as we relive their greatest achievements on our

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<v Speaker 2>journey to find out what makes them so iconic.

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<v Speaker 1>So here's what we're going to do today.

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<v Speaker 2>We are going to focus on Exstina's golden age.

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<v Speaker 1>You mean platinum age, honey, her multimillion selling chart topping,

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<v Speaker 1>undisputed icon decade. Wow.

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<v Speaker 2>You phrase that so powerfully, Joseph, I like it. You're

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<v Speaker 2>getting all excited for this now. By the way, this

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<v Speaker 2>era includes her three most beloved albums. And being the

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<v Speaker 2>fans that we are, I think that we do need

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<v Speaker 2>to get just one thing out of the way before

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<v Speaker 2>we tell the tale. Okay, Joseph, imagine.

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<v Speaker 1>That scared you always come with some crazy shape.

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<v Speaker 2>The ocean is rough, the sun is pounding down on

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<v Speaker 2>your back. You have no sunscreen, no no Internet. You're

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<v Speaker 2>stranded alone on a desert island.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, okay, And.

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

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<v Speaker 2>have a volleyball for your bestie, a la castaway.

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<v Speaker 1>What do you name said volleyball? I would name it

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<v Speaker 1>my name. I would call it Joe because I would

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<v Speaker 1>be talking to myself, I swear. I would be like,

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<v Speaker 1>snap out of it, bitch.

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

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<v Speaker 2>What classic Christina album are you and Joe bopping too?

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<v Speaker 2>You can only pick one album? You get all of

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

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not giving you one song. I don't want you

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<v Speaker 2>to kill yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>I was like, okay, I need a really really I

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<v Speaker 1>felt stuck. I would definitely say Stripped because I I

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<v Speaker 1>feel like it has everything I love about Christina and

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<v Speaker 1>it would just take me back to It would take

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<v Speaker 1>me back to a really good place and still kind

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<v Speaker 1>of give me my EMO. If I needed some, I

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<v Speaker 1>get that. What about you? What would you pick? I

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<v Speaker 1>would pick Stripped? Okay.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, hindsight is twenty twenty. When the album came out,

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<v Speaker 2>I don't think it hit for me. I wasn't ready

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

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<v Speaker 2>for the album but now, as a forty four year

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<v Speaker 2>old woman who has been through a lot more than

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<v Speaker 2>I was back then, I have a new found respect

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<v Speaker 2>for what that album represents about her. Obviously, to Joseph

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<v Speaker 2>and I, all three records, Christina Aguilera, Stripped and Back

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<v Speaker 2>to Basics are perfection.

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<v Speaker 3>And Christina was snatched from a moment she was hatched perfection.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm putting that on a T shirt. Icons snatched from

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<v Speaker 2>the moment they're hatched. A perfectionist is what I was

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<v Speaker 2>going to say from day one, from the get go.

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<v Speaker 2>Before she was signed, her manager linked her up with

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<v Speaker 2>producer Roy Hoffman, and with Hoffman, Christina recorded five demos

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<v Speaker 2>in five days.

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

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<v Speaker 1>five days of take after take after take. We were

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<v Speaker 1>wiped out after three hours in the booth last week.

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

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, imagine five days back to back of singing

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<v Speaker 2>lead and backing vocals. Okay, basically, your throat is bleeding.

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<v Speaker 2>It is on fire, and that is what Christina insisted

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<v Speaker 2>on doing.

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<v Speaker 1>Y laryngitis right now, oh triggered. So when we say

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<v Speaker 1>Christina put in blood, sweat and tears for her bobs,

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

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<v Speaker 2>Now, RCA had put a million dollar budget behind her debut,

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<v Speaker 2>and she and the.

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<v Speaker 1>Label had different ideas about how to use it.

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<v Speaker 2>Christina wanted her debut to feature more unadulterated R and

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<v Speaker 2>B in the tradition, of course, of her idols Mariah

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<v Speaker 2>and Whitney, meaning more extensive ad libs and riffs, but

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<v Speaker 2>the label wanted to push for a more team pop direction.

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<v Speaker 1>And the label ain't about what a girl wants.

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<v Speaker 2>I see what you did there that was really good

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<v Speaker 2>and that track is a perfect example of where things

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<v Speaker 2>ultimately landed. R and B rhythms and instrumentals with hooks

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<v Speaker 2>for days years, and while RCA talked Christina down from

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<v Speaker 2>too many ad libs and extended riffs, the debut still

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<v Speaker 2>sat comfortably in the Mariah Whitney wheelhouse thanks to writers

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<v Speaker 2>and producers like Diane Warren, Shelley Pakin, Pam Shane, and

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<v Speaker 2>fun Fact Robin Thick Robin Dick Well, it was Robin

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<v Speaker 2>before we knew about the Ick. More importantly, Christina even

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<v Speaker 2>got to work with a songwriter who had written for

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<v Speaker 2>one of her idol, fran Gold, who had written songs

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<v Speaker 2>for Whitney Houston, including run to You, which happens to

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<v Speaker 2>be one of Christina's demos.

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<v Speaker 1>Literally all of Christina's dreams were coming true.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh speaking of dreams, fran Gold had also worked with

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<v Speaker 2>our idol, Selena.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you know that she wrote dreaming of you Shut

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<v Speaker 1>Your Button?

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<v Speaker 2>Christina even got to record a song that was originally

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

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<v Speaker 2>so emotional.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know. This sounds like a good use of

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<v Speaker 1>a million dollar budget, Okay, fair.

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<v Speaker 2>Christina was working with top songwriters and producers, and we've

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<v Speaker 2>seen labels hedge their bets with the artists before on

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<v Speaker 2>this show, Selena being a perfect example.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you remember that cover Callina had debate more than

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<v Speaker 1>her fair share of dues.

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<v Speaker 2>So it says a lot that RCA put its full

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<v Speaker 2>weight behind Christina's debut. But you can bet that Christina

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<v Speaker 2>felt that weight on her tiny shoulders.

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<v Speaker 1>Girl wasn't in camp masketeer no more. She was in

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<v Speaker 1>and out of studio NonStop and working with Whitney's songwriter.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd be so nervesighted. Sure enough, Christina.

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

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<v Speaker 2>it was really hard trusting in the world, very young

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<v Speaker 2>and feeling like you don't have a voice. She wanted

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<v Speaker 2>to work, but she was afraid of losing what made

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<v Speaker 2>her her.

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<v Speaker 1>Uh whatever that means when you're seventeen and all alone

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<v Speaker 1>in Hollywood with your mom all the way on the

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<v Speaker 1>East Coast, Little Tina didn't have any girlfriend staying out

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<v Speaker 1>with but the women who wrote her songs.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, that means her only friends were her work friends.

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<v Speaker 1>That makes me sad. Wait, work friends who were decades

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<v Speaker 1>older than her.

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<v Speaker 2>No shade, we are those older friends now. All to

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<v Speaker 2>say she felt lonely, But eventually it was a rap

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<v Speaker 2>on the studio and after all those sessions and struggles

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<v Speaker 2>to make her voice heard, it was time to shoot

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<v Speaker 2>the video for Jeanie in a Bottle on the beaches of.

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<v Speaker 1>The bit Ooho in April.

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

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<v Speaker 2>and hot and sunny in California all the time. It

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<v Speaker 2>is not that shit is cold. The ocean is freezing

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<v Speaker 2>year round in California. April is not a warm month,

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<v Speaker 2>but Christina powered through, just like she had done in

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<v Speaker 2>the booth, and finally, in June of nineteen ninety.

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<v Speaker 1>Nine, Christina came out of the bottle. I think we

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<v Speaker 1>need to take a moment of silence for the video.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's just reflect. I just want to rub the bottle.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to go.

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<v Speaker 2>I just have to say I remember watching the video

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<v Speaker 2>for the very first time, and I was confused.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, let me tell you why.

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<v Speaker 2>Because her name was Christina a Yilera.

0:12:51.600 --> 0:12:51.880
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:54.560
<v Speaker 2>Well I saw the name, yeah, and then I saw her.

0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:57.800
<v Speaker 1>And mm hmmm, yeah, that would be weird.

0:12:58.120 --> 0:13:00.160
<v Speaker 2>You're looking at me, deep into my eyes, and I

0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:02.840
<v Speaker 2>think that you see why it felt strange for me

0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:03.400
<v Speaker 2>in that moment.

0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:05.240
<v Speaker 1>Why do you think it felt strange for me? Because

0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:06.599
<v Speaker 1>she had blonde hair and blue eyes. Her name was

0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:08.800
<v Speaker 1>Christina Aguilera, Yes, And.

0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:11.840
<v Speaker 2>I don't know if that is because a Mexic Ghana

0:13:11.960 --> 0:13:15.079
<v Speaker 2>and I lived in Texas and I was seeing this happen.

0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:19.040
<v Speaker 2>I don't have a lot of blue eyed, blonde haired

0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:25.520
<v Speaker 2>Mexican friends. I didn't even really understand how different Latinos

0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:28.880
<v Speaker 2>looked until I left Texas, because everyone in my immediate

0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:32.080
<v Speaker 2>community is Mexicano. Like, Okay, my dad's Puerto Rican and

0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:34.960
<v Speaker 2>like he is a fair eyed and fair haired, but

0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:37.000
<v Speaker 2>he's like an anomaly. I was like, that's sad. My

0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:39.480
<v Speaker 2>dad's just my dad. But I did not know girls

0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:44.360
<v Speaker 2>named Christina Aguilera that had like a blonde bob with

0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:48.920
<v Speaker 2>blue eyes, so I was like, huh.

0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:51.480
<v Speaker 1>But then I was like, I'm obsessed with her. I

0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:55.920
<v Speaker 1>remember immediately feeling is this girl trying to take Britney's place?

0:13:56.400 --> 0:13:58.920
<v Speaker 1>I did. I was like, oh no, this girl's not.

0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:02.559
<v Speaker 1>But then I realized she was Latina, and in al Paso,

0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:05.560
<v Speaker 1>and in the north of Mexico there's a lot of

0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:08.760
<v Speaker 1>blonde hair, blue eyed girl, so I mean she looked

0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:12.400
<v Speaker 1>like your friends. Yeah.

0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:17.160
<v Speaker 2>And as excited as Joseph and I were for this song, Christina,

0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:20.240
<v Speaker 2>being the R and B perfectionist that she is, well,

0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:23.120
<v Speaker 2>she wasn't the most excited about Genie in a Bottle

0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:24.920
<v Speaker 2>being her lead single.

0:14:24.800 --> 0:14:27.760
<v Speaker 1>And yet it became the second best selling single of

0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:31.840
<v Speaker 1>nineteen ninety nine, right after A Queen Mother's share Do

0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:38.400
<v Speaker 1>you Believe in Life After Love? After Love After Love? Share?

0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:43.200
<v Speaker 2>Christina Santana. I just don't know that any year can

0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:48.360
<v Speaker 2>top ninety nine, but Obviously, Genie and a Bottle wasn't.

0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:52.200
<v Speaker 1>All I was obsessed with Come on over Baby. I

0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:52.760
<v Speaker 1>don't know.

0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:56.640
<v Speaker 3>It was just so over a Baby. I don't know it,

0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:03.800
<v Speaker 3>you Rea. It just reminded me of the nineties.

0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:07.120
<v Speaker 2>It is peak nineties like it just it was.

0:15:07.240 --> 0:15:09.960
<v Speaker 1>I don't know. It took me which which one was

0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:13.240
<v Speaker 1>your songs? I mean, I loved I every single song.

0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:15.480
<v Speaker 1>The whole album is so good.

0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:19.000
<v Speaker 2>I mean, you're talking about a very very young artist

0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:21.800
<v Speaker 2>that is just giving you hit after hit after hit. Right,

0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:24.120
<v Speaker 2>it wasn't one song, it wasn't two songs, it wasn't

0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:24.720
<v Speaker 2>three songs.

0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:26.560
<v Speaker 1>The whole album is a bop.

0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:29.640
<v Speaker 2>And by the way, it wasn't just us that loved this,

0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:32.400
<v Speaker 2>because after her singles all climbed to the top of

0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:36.680
<v Speaker 2>the charts, that self titled album did debut at.

0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:40.560
<v Speaker 1>Number one, and here today in twenty twenty four, that

0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:43.200
<v Speaker 1>album is eight times platinum.

0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:46.080
<v Speaker 2>But let's also recall what year the album came out.

0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:49.480
<v Speaker 2>In two thousand, there was one thing that mattered just

0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:52.960
<v Speaker 2>as much, if not more, than the Billboard charts, and

0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:57.600
<v Speaker 2>that was becoming the number one most requesteds on on.

0:15:57.880 --> 0:16:02.680
<v Speaker 1>Total Request Genie in a Bottle was the most requested

0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:06.680
<v Speaker 1>song on TRL for five straight weeks and stayed in

0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:08.520
<v Speaker 1>the top ten for several weeks more.

0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:11.600
<v Speaker 2>And so it came to pass that Christina performed Genie

0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:14.400
<v Speaker 2>and a Bottle on TRL, along with other tracks from

0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:17.920
<v Speaker 2>her album. And that is the day the rumor mill

0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:19.000
<v Speaker 2>hum to Life.

0:16:19.640 --> 0:16:23.000
<v Speaker 1>The Tea for Your Consideration host Carson Daily was out

0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:25.800
<v Speaker 1>that day. So when Christina's being interviewed by the stand

0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:28.400
<v Speaker 1>in host, she says she misses him.

0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:32.200
<v Speaker 2>I can see the US Weekly covers right away. Carson

0:16:32.240 --> 0:16:37.040
<v Speaker 2>and Christina their secret romance exposed, not to mention he

0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:40.960
<v Speaker 2>was actually engaged to Jennifer love Hewitt at the time.

0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:44.640
<v Speaker 1>Big if true, which it wasn't, But now the readers

0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:48.120
<v Speaker 1>had gotten a taste. Everyone was looking for dirt on Christina.

0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:51.960
<v Speaker 2>Of course, rumored romance and risque affairs were common tabloid

0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:54.600
<v Speaker 2>fodder back then, but as we all know, the press

0:16:54.600 --> 0:16:58.920
<v Speaker 2>would find its true paydirt in Christina's supposed rivalry with

0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:00.320
<v Speaker 2>her fellow format.

0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:02.440
<v Speaker 1>Mouseketeer, Britney Bitch.

0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:06.400
<v Speaker 2>Everyone who was around during the days of Britney Spears

0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:10.440
<v Speaker 2>versus Christina Aguilera can remember the arguments, actually remember them

0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:13.879
<v Speaker 2>like they were yesterday, and whether you remember them playing

0:17:13.880 --> 0:17:16.800
<v Speaker 2>out in the schoolyard or at happy hour.

0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:19.600
<v Speaker 1>It's like Britney's a better dancer, Britney's songs are catch here,

0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:23.359
<v Speaker 1>or Britney can't sing bitch. Christina's a real musician, lest

0:17:23.440 --> 0:17:25.840
<v Speaker 1>you forget her four octave vocal range.

0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:29.920
<v Speaker 2>Media coverage of this supposed rivalry wouldn't re it speak

0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:30.920
<v Speaker 2>till a little later.

0:17:30.800 --> 0:17:31.399
<v Speaker 1>In the aughts.

0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:35.520
<v Speaker 2>But the seeds were there from the beginning, before the

0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.600
<v Speaker 2>scandals and flashpoints that are burned into our heads, which

0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:41.840
<v Speaker 2>we will get to. The magazines would simply pit their

0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:44.480
<v Speaker 2>talents against each other. And here are a couple of

0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:45.800
<v Speaker 2>quotes from that era.

0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:51.119
<v Speaker 1>People Magazine wrote, quote, Christina's powerful vocal chords sound refreshing

0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:55.600
<v Speaker 1>in an industry inhabited by baby voiced divas like Britney Spears,

0:17:55.760 --> 0:17:58.120
<v Speaker 1>who wear the diva label like little girls where their

0:17:58.119 --> 0:17:59.080
<v Speaker 1>mother's heels.

0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:04.359
<v Speaker 2>Imagine if they made that Instagram post today, like the

0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:07.080
<v Speaker 2>cant they would turned down, They would burn down the

0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:11.080
<v Speaker 2>people building like that is so unacceptable. Okay, wait, they

0:18:11.119 --> 0:18:14.480
<v Speaker 2>get better. Here's one from Entertainment Weekly. Christina Aguilera may

0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:17.160
<v Speaker 2>show her belly button, but in her music and mannerisms.

0:18:17.240 --> 0:18:20.600
<v Speaker 2>It's clear she's anxious not to offend. She's a good

0:18:20.640 --> 0:18:24.480
<v Speaker 2>girl pretending to be bad. Spears, on the other hand,

0:18:24.560 --> 0:18:27.639
<v Speaker 2>seems like a bad girl pretending to be good.

0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:30.239
<v Speaker 1>Wait a minute, that shit just really came out like

0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:32.639
<v Speaker 1>that's I think it's true.

0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:37.520
<v Speaker 2>Just let women be, okay, true, but let women exist,

0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:43.000
<v Speaker 2>Let women exist in their duality, tripleality, quadruplelality. Just just

0:18:43.119 --> 0:18:46.199
<v Speaker 2>let women exist. Please, Okay. And by the way, that

0:18:46.280 --> 0:18:49.360
<v Speaker 2>one continues on Thank You Entertainment Weekly, here's the quote.

0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:54.440
<v Speaker 2>Spears's artificial sweetener voice is less interesting than everything around her.

0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:58.439
<v Speaker 2>But even so, that blandness is a relief compared to

0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:04.280
<v Speaker 2>Aguilera's staggering vocal gymnastics. Hold on, hold on, but I

0:19:04.359 --> 0:19:09.360
<v Speaker 2>do Where are these writers? I know their hands, give

0:19:09.400 --> 0:19:09.920
<v Speaker 2>me the handles.

0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:14.000
<v Speaker 1>If this resurfaces, they would be canceled. They're probably retired,

0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:14.760
<v Speaker 1>old white men.

0:19:15.920 --> 0:19:19.200
<v Speaker 2>So after hearing all of those headlines, it's pretty clear

0:19:19.320 --> 0:19:22.400
<v Speaker 2>where we all got our schoolyard and or happy hour,

0:19:22.440 --> 0:19:23.520
<v Speaker 2>depending on how old you were.

0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:27.919
<v Speaker 1>Barbes about Brittany and Christina. But us Weekly and people

0:19:27.960 --> 0:19:31.639
<v Speaker 1>aren't the only names written in these receipts. Christina's label

0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:34.720
<v Speaker 1>butt into the feud in their marketing for Christina's debut.

0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:39.120
<v Speaker 2>Because while Christina's debut pulled insane numbers, Britney's debut actually

0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:42.960
<v Speaker 2>beat Christina's to market, dropping in January of nineteen ninety nine,

0:19:43.200 --> 0:19:45.320
<v Speaker 2>eight ful months ahead of Christina's.

0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:47.960
<v Speaker 1>So by the time Crazy and Baby One More Time

0:19:48.080 --> 0:19:52.120
<v Speaker 1>had dominated radio, RCAA was ready to market Christina as quote,

0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:54.800
<v Speaker 1>a Britney who can sing.

0:19:54.359 --> 0:19:57.560
<v Speaker 2>You know what, I take it back nineteen ninety nine

0:19:57.560 --> 0:19:58.800
<v Speaker 2>has got to go. I don't know it.

0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:02.960
<v Speaker 1>Oh fuck night, take share, take our girls, leave the

0:20:02.960 --> 0:20:03.720
<v Speaker 1>rest anyway.

0:20:03.800 --> 0:20:07.440
<v Speaker 2>Then came the Grammys, where Brittany and Christina went head

0:20:07.560 --> 0:20:10.160
<v Speaker 2>to head for Best New Artists.

0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:12.600
<v Speaker 1>Alongside Macy Gray and Kid Rock. But let's be wrong, I.

0:20:12.600 --> 0:20:14.200
<v Speaker 2>Mean that wasn't a contest.

0:20:14.240 --> 0:20:16.840
<v Speaker 1>The result made it clear where the industry stood in

0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:22.120
<v Speaker 1>the end. Best New Artists went to the Brittany who

0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:24.240
<v Speaker 1>can sing, Christina Aguilera.

0:20:24.840 --> 0:20:27.880
<v Speaker 2>Christina shook as she received the gramophone and said her

0:20:27.960 --> 0:20:32.320
<v Speaker 2>thank yous, which included both her parents. Round one going

0:20:32.359 --> 0:20:35.400
<v Speaker 2>to Christina, who, by the way, probably didn't even want

0:20:35.440 --> 0:20:36.080
<v Speaker 2>to fight in.

0:20:36.000 --> 0:20:36.800
<v Speaker 1>The first place.

0:20:45.600 --> 0:20:48.520
<v Speaker 2>I wish you guys could see the move that Joseph

0:20:48.560 --> 0:20:50.800
<v Speaker 2>just did in the studio when I told him that

0:20:51.119 --> 0:20:53.960
<v Speaker 2>it is time to talk about her next era. Yes,

0:20:55.000 --> 0:20:57.760
<v Speaker 2>before Christina went on to her next era, which I

0:20:57.760 --> 0:21:00.240
<v Speaker 2>know Joseph cannot wait to talk about.

0:21:00.600 --> 0:21:02.160
<v Speaker 1>Only makes me that much stronger.

0:21:02.359 --> 0:21:06.720
<v Speaker 2>She had an incredibly busy start to the new millennium, an.

0:21:06.560 --> 0:21:11.199
<v Speaker 1>Eighty two night World tour, appearances on Tierra Awards shows,

0:21:11.240 --> 0:21:11.680
<v Speaker 1>and more.

0:21:12.000 --> 0:21:15.520
<v Speaker 2>Eight was NonStop, but the breakneck pace of touring and

0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:19.239
<v Speaker 2>promoting didn't halt her creative momentum. In two thousand, she

0:21:19.280 --> 0:21:22.479
<v Speaker 2>embarked on a project that saw her embracing her roots.

0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:25.720
<v Speaker 2>The Spanish language album Mi Reflejo.

0:21:25.920 --> 0:21:28.840
<v Speaker 1>Mi Reflecho features five songs from her self titled debut

0:21:29.040 --> 0:21:33.000
<v Speaker 1>redone in Spanish, plus four new songs like Final Size,

0:21:33.080 --> 0:21:37.159
<v Speaker 1>Esperanzas and sinot vierrag Nocio, a duet with Luis.

0:21:36.880 --> 0:21:41.760
<v Speaker 2>Fonsi and Christina, unlike her parents, was not fluent in Spanish,

0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:44.120
<v Speaker 2>so the album was a little bit.

0:21:44.040 --> 0:21:46.800
<v Speaker 1>Of a challenge, and if it ain't clear yet, our

0:21:46.920 --> 0:21:48.840
<v Speaker 1>girl loves a challenge.

0:21:48.920 --> 0:21:51.400
<v Speaker 2>Like facts, facts, you guys are basically the same.

0:21:51.480 --> 0:21:52.160
<v Speaker 1>Not what do you mean right?

0:21:52.200 --> 0:21:52.240
<v Speaker 2>You?

0:21:52.480 --> 0:21:53.439
<v Speaker 1>Genie? Your genie?

0:21:53.520 --> 0:21:57.040
<v Speaker 2>I have a Genie a bottle anyway, Christina worked with

0:21:57.359 --> 0:22:00.480
<v Speaker 2>Rudy Perez, the producer who worked with the Gloria Stepan,

0:22:00.680 --> 0:22:04.720
<v Speaker 2>Mark Anthony, and Jlo, among others, to rework the material

0:22:04.960 --> 0:22:07.239
<v Speaker 2>and worked with a vocal coach to learn how to

0:22:07.280 --> 0:22:09.000
<v Speaker 2>sing in Espanol.

0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:13.120
<v Speaker 1>So All I Want Is You became Solemente Too, which

0:22:13.160 --> 0:22:16.439
<v Speaker 1>became Christina's first single to top the Billboard Hot Latin

0:22:16.480 --> 0:22:17.080
<v Speaker 1>Song charts.

0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:20.119
<v Speaker 2>While some critics knocked the album as an attempt to

0:22:20.200 --> 0:22:24.640
<v Speaker 2>cash in on the quote unquote Latin explosion that Christina

0:22:24.680 --> 0:22:26.879
<v Speaker 2>said of the album.

0:22:26.280 --> 0:22:28.960
<v Speaker 1>My message, as in all my music, stands for being

0:22:29.000 --> 0:22:31.760
<v Speaker 1>fearless to explore who you are. It's never too late

0:22:31.800 --> 0:22:34.400
<v Speaker 1>to open a new door. Although it's scary to dive

0:22:34.440 --> 0:22:37.440
<v Speaker 1>into a territory that isn't your first language, it still

0:22:37.480 --> 0:22:39.320
<v Speaker 1>doesn't erase who I am and how I want to

0:22:39.320 --> 0:22:42.800
<v Speaker 1>express myself in all aspects of what intrigues and inspires me.

0:22:43.840 --> 0:22:47.640
<v Speaker 2>Not so fun fact, before her debut, RCA had considered

0:22:47.680 --> 0:22:53.040
<v Speaker 2>giving Christina a more Anglo friendly stage name, like Christina

0:22:53.760 --> 0:22:56.080
<v Speaker 2>A g Oh.

0:22:56.119 --> 0:22:57.320
<v Speaker 1>I just threw up a little bit in my mouth,

0:22:57.359 --> 0:23:00.120
<v Speaker 1>so seriously it's the coffee, but christ.

0:23:00.560 --> 0:23:03.639
<v Speaker 2>Held onto her name and told interviewers she was proud

0:23:03.720 --> 0:23:04.680
<v Speaker 2>of her heritage.

0:23:04.960 --> 0:23:07.480
<v Speaker 1>This is what we love about our girl. After everything

0:23:07.520 --> 0:23:10.120
<v Speaker 1>that happened with her dad, she easily could have turned

0:23:10.119 --> 0:23:12.760
<v Speaker 1>her back on being Latina, but she's aware of every

0:23:12.760 --> 0:23:14.000
<v Speaker 1>part of her that makes her stronger.

0:23:14.200 --> 0:23:18.439
<v Speaker 2>You're just dying to get to the destination, aren't you?

0:23:19.240 --> 0:23:21.800
<v Speaker 2>But things would get a bit held up for Christina.

0:23:22.320 --> 0:23:25.280
<v Speaker 2>After all the burnout from her tour, she decided to

0:23:25.320 --> 0:23:28.359
<v Speaker 2>cut ties with her manager and sue him for fraud.

0:23:29.200 --> 0:23:32.080
<v Speaker 2>After Kurt's countersuit, the two reached an out of court

0:23:32.119 --> 0:23:34.679
<v Speaker 2>settlement in two thousand and one, so she found a

0:23:34.680 --> 0:23:37.479
<v Speaker 2>new manager, irving as Off, and began to find a

0:23:37.520 --> 0:23:39.480
<v Speaker 2>better work life balance.

0:23:39.200 --> 0:23:42.960
<v Speaker 1>And started dating one of her back up dancers, because

0:23:43.040 --> 0:23:44.760
<v Speaker 1>dancers nano balance.

0:23:45.240 --> 0:23:48.600
<v Speaker 2>She began to take more control over her life, her music,

0:23:48.920 --> 0:23:49.680
<v Speaker 2>and her looks.

0:23:50.240 --> 0:23:53.159
<v Speaker 1>Starting in two thousand and one, Christina made a sport

0:23:53.200 --> 0:23:56.200
<v Speaker 1>out of turning heads on the red carpet. Let's get

0:23:56.200 --> 0:23:56.720
<v Speaker 1>into some.

0:23:56.760 --> 0:24:00.480
<v Speaker 2>Of these looks, okay, Joseph and I are evaluating relooks

0:24:00.480 --> 0:24:04.920
<v Speaker 2>from this era. Christina at the VMA's in her tiny

0:24:05.000 --> 0:24:08.439
<v Speaker 2>denim belt. I guess it's supposed to be a mini skirt,

0:24:08.880 --> 0:24:15.600
<v Speaker 2>Christina at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards in a shredded velvet

0:24:15.680 --> 0:24:20.360
<v Speaker 2>dress with very curly, big hair, and most importantly, Christina

0:24:20.359 --> 0:24:22.680
<v Speaker 2>at the two thousand and one Grammys when she did

0:24:22.840 --> 0:24:24.919
<v Speaker 2>her all over blonde braids. Do you want to talk

0:24:24.960 --> 0:24:28.639
<v Speaker 2>about the makeup? Oh, because if anybody is going to

0:24:28.680 --> 0:24:32.359
<v Speaker 2>break down a look, especially from this era, I think

0:24:32.640 --> 0:24:37.000
<v Speaker 2>one of the biggest differences. Yes, the hair, Yes, the clothes,

0:24:37.160 --> 0:24:40.120
<v Speaker 2>but we've got to talk about the makeup.

0:24:40.280 --> 0:24:44.240
<v Speaker 1>You know what happened? I like it, I do.

0:24:44.480 --> 0:24:47.359
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I quit the podcast. Yeah this is there is

0:24:47.400 --> 0:24:48.359
<v Speaker 2>a liar in the boot.

0:24:48.520 --> 0:24:51.399
<v Speaker 1>No, but you know what I'm going to I do

0:24:51.480 --> 0:24:55.560
<v Speaker 1>not deal well with liars. Okay, No, why because she

0:24:55.760 --> 0:24:58.400
<v Speaker 1>really changed her look for all of these events, right,

0:24:58.440 --> 0:25:01.680
<v Speaker 1>it was everything was different. I like that. She definitely

0:25:01.720 --> 0:25:04.600
<v Speaker 1>didn't style herself like anybody at the time. She was

0:25:04.600 --> 0:25:08.520
<v Speaker 1>like Julia Fox like she was like but people weren't

0:25:08.520 --> 0:25:10.440
<v Speaker 1>treating her like that, right, People are like, oh, Julia Fox,

0:25:10.480 --> 0:25:12.440
<v Speaker 1>you're so cool. Like I thought this stuff was cool

0:25:12.440 --> 0:25:15.199
<v Speaker 1>and so like edgy, but like people weren't about it,

0:25:15.200 --> 0:25:17.919
<v Speaker 1>Like when she had those fucking dreads Bach in the Grammies.

0:25:18.240 --> 0:25:21.359
<v Speaker 2>You're absolutely right, here's what happens. Let's go back to

0:25:21.400 --> 0:25:23.520
<v Speaker 2>the year that it was, like, let's actually go back there.

0:25:24.600 --> 0:25:27.359
<v Speaker 2>People did not have the same level of admiration and

0:25:27.440 --> 0:25:31.000
<v Speaker 2>respect for individuality when it comes to personal style back then.

0:25:31.440 --> 0:25:34.919
<v Speaker 2>May include it, right, And so while Christina's hair and

0:25:35.000 --> 0:25:38.119
<v Speaker 2>makeup and looks might not have been your taste level,

0:25:38.960 --> 0:25:42.480
<v Speaker 2>it was her taste and it was her individuality and

0:25:42.480 --> 0:25:45.080
<v Speaker 2>it's what made her unique. And to be that bold

0:25:45.240 --> 0:25:50.800
<v Speaker 2>and that fearless in two thousand, right, Like that's power, man,

0:25:51.000 --> 0:25:55.119
<v Speaker 2>that's real identity. That's like really owning your identity and

0:25:55.119 --> 0:25:56.520
<v Speaker 2>saying fuck all y'all.

0:25:56.560 --> 0:25:58.960
<v Speaker 1>It was like Gaga forward. We can't think about it

0:25:59.000 --> 0:26:00.320
<v Speaker 1>like that. Now she was ahead of time.

0:26:00.320 --> 0:26:02.439
<v Speaker 2>You're right, and now we really get it, Like she

0:26:02.640 --> 0:26:06.520
<v Speaker 2>was having fun, she was expressing her identity. And we

0:26:06.600 --> 0:26:10.399
<v Speaker 2>want our musicians and our fistas to show up like this.

0:26:10.880 --> 0:26:13.800
<v Speaker 2>I'm bored when artists are just like basic betties, Like

0:26:13.840 --> 0:26:15.600
<v Speaker 2>I want to see them show up like this, don't you.

0:26:15.880 --> 0:26:18.040
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean that's they all show up the same

0:26:18.359 --> 0:26:19.080
<v Speaker 1>kind of still.

0:26:19.040 --> 0:26:21.280
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, because they don't want to get ridiculed. They don't

0:26:21.320 --> 0:26:24.120
<v Speaker 2>want to they don't want to be individuals. And this

0:26:24.160 --> 0:26:27.119
<v Speaker 2>is of course, her showing up looking like this in

0:26:27.240 --> 0:26:31.400
<v Speaker 2>her most truest expression. After RCA had tried to make

0:26:31.400 --> 0:26:34.520
<v Speaker 2>her just another blonde pop star.

0:26:34.520 --> 0:26:38.040
<v Speaker 1>Christina agh the Brittany who could think. You know.

0:26:38.200 --> 0:26:41.720
<v Speaker 2>She was tired of that noise. She wanted to express herself.

0:26:41.840 --> 0:26:44.720
<v Speaker 1>She wanted her reflection to show who she was.

0:26:45.000 --> 0:26:48.240
<v Speaker 2>And just like reflection amped up audiences for her debut,

0:26:48.600 --> 0:26:53.560
<v Speaker 2>Christina's performance in Lady Marmalade, alongside Maya Pink and Low Kim,

0:26:53.880 --> 0:26:58.119
<v Speaker 2>produced by Missy Elliott, gave audiences a hint of what

0:26:58.240 --> 0:26:59.760
<v Speaker 2>to expect from her follow up.

0:27:01.080 --> 0:27:05.800
<v Speaker 1>Wilder looks and vocals, in your face visuals, and unapologetic

0:27:06.119 --> 0:27:08.639
<v Speaker 1>sexual let tee but listen.

0:27:08.960 --> 0:27:12.480
<v Speaker 2>As in your face and eye catching as Lady Marmalade was,

0:27:12.920 --> 0:27:17.960
<v Speaker 2>the world was not prepared for Dirty.

0:27:18.480 --> 0:27:22.400
<v Speaker 1>Carl I was not prepared for Dirty.

0:27:23.600 --> 0:27:26.600
<v Speaker 2>The lead single off of two thousand and two Stripped

0:27:26.840 --> 0:27:30.440
<v Speaker 2>and its provocative video was about as clear a statement

0:27:30.480 --> 0:27:33.280
<v Speaker 2>as you can get from an artist. Christina had the

0:27:33.320 --> 0:27:36.280
<v Speaker 2>creative control she had yearned for, and she was.

0:27:36.280 --> 0:27:41.399
<v Speaker 1>Taking us to the floor. Goodbye bubblegum pop, Hello rock

0:27:41.680 --> 0:27:45.800
<v Speaker 1>hip hop, miniskirts and mud wrestling. That's hot.

0:27:46.600 --> 0:27:49.520
<v Speaker 2>But that didn't mean ballads were off the table, because

0:27:49.560 --> 0:27:53.399
<v Speaker 2>the follow up single to Dirty was of course Beautiful,

0:27:54.160 --> 0:27:57.679
<v Speaker 2>whose Glad Award winning video shows marginalized.

0:27:57.040 --> 0:28:01.479
<v Speaker 1>Communities confronting their reflections, coming to grips with who they

0:28:01.480 --> 0:28:03.840
<v Speaker 1>are and who the world expects them to be.

0:28:04.560 --> 0:28:07.639
<v Speaker 2>Duality was the name of the game on Strip, which

0:28:07.680 --> 0:28:12.919
<v Speaker 2>alternated between confrontation and vulnerability over twenty tracks, and the

0:28:12.920 --> 0:28:16.120
<v Speaker 2>rest of the singles showed listeners exactly what to expect.

0:28:16.000 --> 0:28:20.520
<v Speaker 1>Because next came fight Her, a song for her father,

0:28:20.720 --> 0:28:23.000
<v Speaker 1>the kids who bullied her, the manager who did her

0:28:23.000 --> 0:28:24.600
<v Speaker 1>wrong but cannot follows.

0:28:24.640 --> 0:28:28.040
<v Speaker 2>Followed by the feminist anthem Can't Hold Us Down, and

0:28:28.119 --> 0:28:30.320
<v Speaker 2>the ballad the Voice within.

0:28:30.920 --> 0:28:36.159
<v Speaker 1>Can't Hold Us Down was my faith ver Rent. The

0:28:36.240 --> 0:28:39.560
<v Speaker 1>words made me emotional when I first heard It's it's silly,

0:28:39.560 --> 0:28:41.680
<v Speaker 1>but I was like, that's so crazy that girls feel

0:28:41.760 --> 0:28:45.000
<v Speaker 1>like that, because I was a young gay thinking about

0:28:45.040 --> 0:28:47.920
<v Speaker 1>my girlfriend. Yeah, I was just kind of like, what,

0:28:48.800 --> 0:28:51.360
<v Speaker 1>it's good. It is good. I'm just I'm surprised.

0:28:51.440 --> 0:28:53.840
<v Speaker 2>I'm a fashion girl, like I am a visual learner,

0:28:54.120 --> 0:28:55.840
<v Speaker 2>and I learned how to be dirty from that video.

0:28:55.920 --> 0:29:01.000
<v Speaker 2>Yap Now Stripped followed through on Christina's way for creative

0:29:01.040 --> 0:29:04.800
<v Speaker 2>control and gave us to be honest. I think her

0:29:04.880 --> 0:29:07.920
<v Speaker 2>most honest music to date, including some of her most

0:29:07.960 --> 0:29:09.120
<v Speaker 2>beloved anthems.

0:29:09.480 --> 0:29:12.800
<v Speaker 1>But the critics didn't get it. They panned dirty and

0:29:12.840 --> 0:29:17.000
<v Speaker 1>called it desperate and shrieking, which rude and called stripped,

0:29:17.280 --> 0:29:21.320
<v Speaker 1>uneven and unfocused. But it didn't end with critics.

0:29:21.600 --> 0:29:24.800
<v Speaker 2>Fellow pop stars such as Jessica Simpson and Yes, I

0:29:25.040 --> 0:29:29.120
<v Speaker 2>Hate to say It. Shakita said that Christina had gone

0:29:29.200 --> 0:29:32.760
<v Speaker 2>quote unquote too far with the sex appeal.

0:29:33.040 --> 0:29:35.200
<v Speaker 1>You hate to see the girls go after each other,

0:29:35.400 --> 0:29:39.400
<v Speaker 1>and unfortunately Christina was not above it herself.

0:29:52.320 --> 0:29:55.280
<v Speaker 2>From two thousand through two thousand and two, Christina had

0:29:55.320 --> 0:29:58.640
<v Speaker 2>been peppered with questions about you know who in virtually

0:29:58.840 --> 0:30:00.600
<v Speaker 2>every interview down for it.

0:30:00.600 --> 0:30:02.920
<v Speaker 1>That's got to be exhausting, I mean, and our girls

0:30:02.920 --> 0:30:06.320
<v Speaker 1>stayed on message. We're great friends. We're so busy, we

0:30:06.400 --> 0:30:09.360
<v Speaker 1>never get to see each other anymore. We're completely different artists.

0:30:10.360 --> 0:30:12.760
<v Speaker 2>It's giving the old New York la. We have to

0:30:12.800 --> 0:30:16.560
<v Speaker 2>catch upline like. It's not that you don't mean it,

0:30:16.880 --> 0:30:19.160
<v Speaker 2>but you both know that you are not going to

0:30:19.200 --> 0:30:19.720
<v Speaker 2>see each other.

0:30:20.280 --> 0:30:23.440
<v Speaker 1>And when friends grow farther and farther apart. That means

0:30:23.440 --> 0:30:24.240
<v Speaker 1>more room for.

0:30:24.320 --> 0:30:27.760
<v Speaker 2>Messiness, and we will remind our listeners that every reporter

0:30:27.840 --> 0:30:31.560
<v Speaker 2>with a microphone from two thousand to two was dying

0:30:31.720 --> 0:30:34.360
<v Speaker 2>for that mess to break through, and they got their wish.

0:30:34.520 --> 0:30:35.280
<v Speaker 2>In two thousand and.

0:30:35.240 --> 0:30:38.480
<v Speaker 1>Three, Christina kicked off the year with a bang in

0:30:38.520 --> 0:30:42.360
<v Speaker 1>supportive strip. She announced a joint tour between herself and

0:30:42.520 --> 0:30:43.800
<v Speaker 1>Justin Timberlake.

0:30:43.760 --> 0:30:46.640
<v Speaker 2>A pretty clear potshot at Brittany, with whom he had

0:30:46.760 --> 0:30:49.040
<v Speaker 2>just broken up with because he said that she cheated

0:30:49.080 --> 0:30:49.360
<v Speaker 2>on him.

0:30:49.520 --> 0:30:53.040
<v Speaker 1>Lies. Fast forward to August the two thousand and three

0:30:53.320 --> 0:30:58.440
<v Speaker 1>MTV Music Video Awards, featuring the legendary Brittany Madonna on stage.

0:30:58.560 --> 0:31:03.960
<v Speaker 2>Kiss that rocked a country at a very conservative moment

0:31:04.440 --> 0:31:07.120
<v Speaker 2>and was kind of seen as a passing of the

0:31:07.160 --> 0:31:11.160
<v Speaker 2>pop queen crown from Madonna to Brittany, except.

0:31:10.840 --> 0:31:13.320
<v Speaker 1>That when Madonna drew away from Brittany, she went on

0:31:13.320 --> 0:31:17.200
<v Speaker 1>to kiss Christina too, but the camera cut away right

0:31:17.280 --> 0:31:20.720
<v Speaker 1>at that moment to get a reaction shot from JT.

0:31:20.960 --> 0:31:24.360
<v Speaker 2>Four months later, in December of that year, Blender magazine

0:31:24.520 --> 0:31:29.719
<v Speaker 2>publishes a now infamous interview with Christina. Christina questions Brittany

0:31:29.760 --> 0:31:33.480
<v Speaker 2>and Beyonce for acting quote unquote virginal and interviews around

0:31:33.480 --> 0:31:36.720
<v Speaker 2>the subject of sex and dating while performing provocatively in

0:31:36.800 --> 0:31:37.840
<v Speaker 2>their videos.

0:31:38.000 --> 0:31:40.720
<v Speaker 1>One easy answer for why they did that it was

0:31:40.760 --> 0:31:41.600
<v Speaker 1>two thousand and three.

0:31:41.760 --> 0:31:43.440
<v Speaker 2>We were not accepting back then, we were not our

0:31:43.480 --> 0:31:48.480
<v Speaker 2>best selves, and Christina also notes her dissatisfaction with MTV's

0:31:48.600 --> 0:31:52.520
<v Speaker 2>editing of the Madonna Kiss and remarks that Brittany had

0:31:52.560 --> 0:31:54.080
<v Speaker 2>been distant in rehearsals.

0:31:54.760 --> 0:31:58.000
<v Speaker 1>Christina would insist that she was misquoted, and on TV

0:31:58.080 --> 0:32:00.920
<v Speaker 1>appearances she would say publicly that she wanted to talk

0:32:00.960 --> 0:32:04.240
<v Speaker 1>to Brittany about the article. But the next year, Blender

0:32:04.280 --> 0:32:07.560
<v Speaker 1>would publish an interview with Brittany featuring some choice words

0:32:07.600 --> 0:32:09.200
<v Speaker 1>for Christina.

0:32:09.120 --> 0:32:12.640
<v Speaker 2>And thus the Brittany Christina feud the press had been

0:32:12.840 --> 0:32:18.480
<v Speaker 2>itching for for years was made real. Years down the line,

0:32:18.640 --> 0:32:21.440
<v Speaker 2>Christina and Brittany would state that they're on good terms,

0:32:21.680 --> 0:32:25.320
<v Speaker 2>but this would mark the ugliest chapter of their friendship.

0:32:25.760 --> 0:32:28.200
<v Speaker 1>Knowing what we know now, it's tough to look back on.

0:32:28.600 --> 0:32:30.360
<v Speaker 1>There's just all kinds of inch.

0:32:30.920 --> 0:32:33.360
<v Speaker 2>You have to imagine that after years of being pestered

0:32:33.400 --> 0:32:36.600
<v Speaker 2>about Brittany and interviews, it was hard for Christina to

0:32:36.640 --> 0:32:38.720
<v Speaker 2>not let some thing slip.

0:32:38.760 --> 0:32:41.640
<v Speaker 1>And with everyone coming for her after stripped and after

0:32:41.720 --> 0:32:44.760
<v Speaker 1>all her wild looks, with Shaki and Jessica Simpson coming

0:32:44.760 --> 0:32:45.040
<v Speaker 1>for her.

0:32:45.360 --> 0:32:49.040
<v Speaker 2>Long story short, Christina got her hands dirty. So as

0:32:49.080 --> 0:32:51.480
<v Speaker 2>Brittany approached the bottom of her spiral in the late

0:32:51.480 --> 0:32:54.480
<v Speaker 2>two thousands, Christina went back to basics.

0:32:54.840 --> 0:32:58.520
<v Speaker 1>Goodbye jet black hair and booty shorts, Hello old Hollywood

0:32:58.600 --> 0:33:01.440
<v Speaker 1>looks and Broadway cost Her two.

0:33:01.360 --> 0:33:04.200
<v Speaker 2>Thousand and six album was a salute to Billie Holliday,

0:33:04.360 --> 0:33:08.760
<v Speaker 2>Etta James, and Ella Fitzgerald, a gloss up throwback of gospel,

0:33:08.840 --> 0:33:12.200
<v Speaker 2>boogie woogie and soul, modernized with beats courtesy of Mark

0:33:12.280 --> 0:33:14.720
<v Speaker 2>Ronson and hip Hop Royalty DJ Premiere.

0:33:15.240 --> 0:33:18.280
<v Speaker 1>The album made its mark, debuting at number one in

0:33:18.320 --> 0:33:20.880
<v Speaker 1>the US and topping charts all over the world.

0:33:21.280 --> 0:33:25.400
<v Speaker 2>In February of two thousand and seven, Christina accepted another Grammy,

0:33:25.720 --> 0:33:28.680
<v Speaker 2>all done up in her curly blonde Baby Jane look.

0:33:29.120 --> 0:33:33.640
<v Speaker 1>That same month, Britney shaved her head. It seemed as

0:33:33.680 --> 0:33:35.400
<v Speaker 1>though Christina had.

0:33:35.200 --> 0:33:40.160
<v Speaker 2>Won, except let's keep it real, nobody wins when women

0:33:40.440 --> 0:33:44.080
<v Speaker 2>fight with each other. And for all of Christina's insistence

0:33:44.160 --> 0:33:46.680
<v Speaker 2>that there was nothing to compare the two pop stars,

0:33:46.960 --> 0:33:50.320
<v Speaker 2>who can better inspire and motivate an artist than appear.

0:33:50.160 --> 0:33:54.280
<v Speaker 1>From way back. As Christina entered the twenty tens, Brittany

0:33:54.280 --> 0:33:57.000
<v Speaker 1>would be fighting her own battles and Christina would be

0:33:57.040 --> 0:33:58.680
<v Speaker 1>fighting hers.

0:34:03.480 --> 0:34:06.360
<v Speaker 2>On the next Becoming an Icon, Christina reaches a new

0:34:06.400 --> 0:34:09.879
<v Speaker 2>low of her own before reclaiming what makes her her.

0:34:13.840 --> 0:34:17.560
<v Speaker 2>Becoming an Icon is presented by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael

0:34:17.640 --> 0:34:21.520
<v Speaker 2>dudda podcast network. Listen to Becoming an Icon on the

0:34:21.560 --> 0:34:26.120
<v Speaker 2>iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast