Entertainment
Christina Aguilera had to fight to perform under her real surname: ‘I’m proud of where I come from and it’s very important to me’-Kim Novak-Entertainment – Metro
‘It’s not the easiest name for everyone to pronounce.’
Christina Aguilera faced pressure to adopt a stage name (Picture: SYSPEO/SIPA/REX/Shutterstock)
Christina Aguilera has revealed she had to fight to keep her real surname rather than be given a stage name in the early days of her career.
The Genie in a Bottle singer, 41, revealed she faced pressure from industry executives to change her surname as it’s ‘not the easiest to pronounce’, but is glad she stood firm and insisted on keeping it.
She explained to Billboard: ‘Something that I really embody and understand is that, you know, this is a name that has been tried to be taken away from me on numerous occasions coming up in this business.
‘It’s not the easiest name for everyone to pronounce. It’s been butchered a lot. I prefer not to repeat the bad names that I could have been!’
Christina explained that it was important to her to perform under Aguilera in order to honour her heritage, which is Ecuadorian on her father’s side.
She also named her latest album, which she recorded in Spanish, after her surname Aguilera, to go ‘full circle’ in her career.
Execs told Christina her name would be hard for people to pronounce (Picture: Ilpo Musto/REX/Shutterstock)
‘But I was like no, I’m Aguilera, I’m proud of where I come from,’ she explained.
‘My father being from Ecuador, it’s authenticity and it is very important to me. Why not come full circle in all of the chapters and close it on a name, my name!’
The singer is glad she stood firm and stuck with Aguilera (Picture: Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)
Christina also threw her support behind Britney Spears earlier in the year following the end of her conservatorship, after being criticised for not speaking out.
She said at the time: ‘I couldn’t be happier for her, and every woman deserves to feel empowered and to own that for themselves, however they see fit.’
She added that she ‘never [wants] to speak out of turn about somebody that I have so much respect and admiration for’ but admitted that ‘growing up in this business can be freaking crazy.’
‘If anybody gets that and understands what that means at that time coming up, it definitely would be her and I,’ added.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Entertainment – MetroRead More
