Record Execs Told Christina Aguilera To Change Her Name Because It Sounded “Too Ethnic”

June 27, 2020 / Posted by:

Christina Aguilera recently told Billboard about some of her more traumatic experiences coming up in the late 90s-early 00s pop music game and FUCK… those must have been some truly creepy times. With Lou Pearlman‘s predatory ass jet-setting around the country being a disgusting creep around N’SYNC and The Backstreet Boys, you can just imagine how extra gross it must have been for a handful of teenage girls. And she once again told the story of how one of her battles against powerful men in suits was the fight to keep her last name because they thought it was “too ethnic” for the mainstream.

Before those years when Christina was pit against Britney Spears in a fight for the title of the new pop princess, Xtina was still trying to hang onto her own goddamn name. And she recalls the period when she had to deal with skeevy suits pressuring her to change it.

“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,” Christina told the publication. “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.”

Christina Agee––can you imagine? CHRISTINA A. G.?! Seriously, there is a Lady A and a Lady G joke in there somewhere. Lady Marmalade A G….? I’ll keep working on it.

Xtina told this same story decades ago on The Rosie O’Donnell Show (while working The Rachel) and Rosie was surprised to find out that she’s Latina, saying, “You’re Latino?!

The fight for claiming her name brought her back to her childhood:

“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.”

Xtina also talked about her first and only Spanish-language album Mi Reflejo, which came out 20 years ago:

“My message, as in all my music, stands for being fearless to explore who you are. It’s 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…Having survived decades in this business, I am proud to tell the truth about what that means to me.”

I wonder if those same executives who wanted Christina Aguilera to be Lady A.G, or some shit, also gave her notes about her Spanish-language album saying, “Listen, Christina Agee, baby, we love that you’re putting out a Spanish-language album but we think you should sing all the songs in English and the title should be changed to My Reflection. You’d definitely win all the Latin Grammys if you did that!

Pic: Wenn.com

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