Sunday Diva / Three From The Hip: Christina Aguilera

Sunday Diva / Three From The Hip: 

Christina Aguilera 

In my own personal big gay church, there is a wing dedicated to what can only be described as...The True Divas. These are ones who may do many things in life, but from the moment they opened their mouths to sing they became the one thing they were meant to become: a true diva.

One such gifted soul?

Christina Aguilera.

Love her? Hate her?

This powerful Ecuadorian siren took center stage as a Disney waif and proceeded to set off explosion after explosion, differentiating herself from all her competition, blowing them all away. 

Her vocal style? Stridently unique; the women never met at syllable she could not fill.

And why not? Four octaves is a lot to work with.

A vocal run? More like a marathon. 

Melismatic? This queen rewrote the book... with annotated footnotes.

And while not shy about using her animal magnetism and beauty, she's no mannequin. Producers and stylists may drape her with the latest sound and look... but it's her artistry that brings them to life, rendering them more than mere window dressing. 

A defining moment? When the critics and public savagely turned on her for the raw display of sexuality that was Dirrty, she let her voice do the talking, answering back with Beautiful, silencing all while creating an LGBT anthem in the process.

And the lady knows how to work a cause. A longtime friend to the gay community, she's put in time and effort with the HRC and Elton John's AIDS Foundation. Animal rights, human rights, voting rights, battered women and world hunger... she's championed them all.

The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from her lips.

The topic? Childhood

"I was brought up in a household of chaos and I never felt stable at home. I have spoken honestly about being born into a home where there was discord and chaos. I saw my mom have a rough time with my dad being very controlling, which is why I push back whenever I feel like someone is trying to box me in. It makes me run for the hills. I will not have my son grow up in a tension-filled home."

"Growing up with the childhood that I had, I learned to never let a man make me feel helpless, and it also embedded a deep need in me to always stick up for women. My... daughter is not going to go through what I did. I think all of us as women have this super-human quality. We create life, we give life, we are the sources of life for our children..."

"In order to effect great change, we need to look at how we can help those in our own communities as well as globally. After I had my son, Max, I knew I wanted to get involved in causes that help children. When I learned how millions of children go to bed hungry, my only response was, 'What can I do to help?' We take food for granted, but it's a luxury for many people."

Beautiful - Christina Aguilera

Candy Man - Christina Aguilera

Reflection - Christina Aguilera

And one last parting shot...

 "I have that need in me to help people. I am all about the underdog."