Christina Aguilera reveals music execs wanted her to change last name to 'Agee' because it sounded too ethnic
Singer Christina Aguilera has revealed that some music industry executives had tried to have her last name changed when she was starting out in her career.
The 'Lady Marmalade' singer shared that during the early days of her career, there had been a 'big debate' between music execs about changing her last name as it was too 'ethnic'. While speaking to Billboard in an interview that was published on Friday, June 26, she shared, "I remember when I was first coming up, there was a big debate around me on changing my last name because all the businessmen around me thought it was too long, too complicated, and too ethnic."
"'Christina Agee' was an option, but that clearly wasn’t going to fly," she shared. "I was dead set against the idea, and I wanted to represent who I really was. Being Latina, it is a part of my heritage and who I am," she revealed, Fox News says.
She also shared that "there was another time in my childhood when I was being asked to legally change my name to my stepfather's to be legally adopted and I was again dead set against it."
"I've been fighting for my last name my whole life," she revealed. Aguilera had released her one and only Spanish album called 'Mi Reflejo' back in 2000. According to Billboard, the album had 'peaked at No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums charts'.
The album also resulted in Aguilera earning a Latin Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Album in 2001. While speaking about the album, she said, "I was excited to bring a new life to (these songs) and reinvent some things."
"I was allowed to create and express new ad-libs and vocal runs that I wasn’t given the freedom to do on the original record. Everything sounds better in Spanish. Let's be honest," she shared, USA Today reports.
Aguilera shared, "It was a beautiful thing to experience success in different markets and have a diverse fan base that grew in appreciating who I am."
The 'Genie in A Bottle' singer shared that the message she delivers via her music "stands for being fearless to explore who you are" and that it is "never too late to open a new door."
"Although it's scary to dive into territory that isn't your first language, it still doesn't erase who I am and how I want to express myself in all aspects of what intrigues and inspires me," she added.
Aguilera is hoping that she will release another Spanish album and is aiming to explore and delve into some of the deeper themes of womanhood in her new music.
"I am getting back to my roots and exploring who I am now as a grown woman who doesn't have to cover my own English material in Spanish, but as a woman who can draw from my own personal experiences and express that with honesty," she revealed.
She concluded, "Having survived decades in this business, I am proud to tell the truth about what that means to me."