JULY 2004
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Christina Gets Two VMA Nominations
Nominations for the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards were announced today, with Christina picking up two for "The Voice Within."
BEST FEMALE VIDEO
- Christina Aguilera, "The Voice Within"
- Beyonc�, "Naughty Girl"
- Alicia Keys, "If I Ain't Got You"
- Jessica Simpson, "With You"
- Britney Spears, "Toxic"
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A VIDEO
- Christina Aguilera, "The Voice Within"
- Beyonc�, "Naughty Girl"
- Jay-Z, "99 Problems"
- No Doubt, "It's My Life"
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Maps"
This year's Viewer's Choice Award will be determined by the VMAyhem Viewer's Choice Playoffs, which will allow MTV.com users to whittle a field of 40 videos down to the five final nominees via a series of head-to-head video battles. Voting on the five final nominees will begin on August 18. Christina is still in the field with "The Voice Within," so vote now to help her make it through.
The awards will be staged at Miami's American Airlines Arena on August 29 and will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. on MTV (tape-delayed on the West Coast).
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New International Skechers Campaign Launches
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. (BUSINESS WIRE) -- SKECHERS USA, Inc. releases new images of Christina Aguilera pulling double duty in the footwear company's new international advertisements. The "Naughty and Nice" campaign, which launches in August and September international magazines, portrays the global superstar pushing the envelope as a sexy pin-up style teacher, nurse and policewoman alongside herself as an equally provocative school girl, injured patient and street criminal.
The "Naughty and Nice" campaign's dual images allow SKECHERS to feature twice as many styles, giving international consumers a truer representation of SKECHERS' women's offering. The lines worn by Miss Aguilera include SKECHERS Active, SKECHERS Sport and Somethin' Else from SKECHERS. The images will appear in international magazines, international SKECHERS retail stores, and as point-of-purchase displays in major accounts' stores through the end of 2004.
Miss Aguilera is signed to an 18-month marketing agreement with the United States-based company to promote its women's footwear lines. SKECHERS began running its first Christina Aguilera ads in women's, teen and pop culture magazines in Europe in September 2003.
Source: Skechers USA, Inc.
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Christina Visits Warhol Museum
From one icon to another -- that's Christina Aguilera posing in front of Andy Warhol's silkscreen portraits of Marilyn Monroe last Monday. Aguilera, in Pittsburgh to visit her family, was asked to pick a location where she could be interviewed for the September cover of Jane magazine. She chose The Andy Warhol Museum, which she toured with Esther Haynes, the senior editor at Jane. Since the museum is closed to mere mortals on Monday, she managed to walk and chat without interruption.
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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Aguilera Reels In 'Shark Tale' Soundtrack
Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliott and Mary J. Blige are among the artists to be featured on the soundtrack to the animated DreamWorks feature "Shark Tale." The set is due Sept. 28 via DreamWorks/Geffen. The album cover art will feature "fishified" animations of the featured musical talent.
Aguilera and Elliott have teamed up to record a new version of the disco classic "Car Wash." A No. 1 hit for Rose Royce on Billboard's pop chart in 1977, the original cut was the title track of the group's 1976 MCA debut and heard in the film of the same name.
It's not the first time Aguilera and Elliott have teamed for a remake from the era. The latter co-produced with Rockwilder the smash hit version of "Lady Marmalade" for the 2001 "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack that also featured Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink. That Labelle cover held the No. 1 post on Billboard's Hot 100 for five weeks.
�Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.
Source: Billboard
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Christina To Appear On New Nelly Album
Christina will be featured on a song with rapper Nelly on one of his two upcoming albums, 'Suit' and 'Sweat,' both scheduled for release on September 14. The track is reportedly titled "Tilt Ya Head Back" and will appear on the upbeat 'Sweat' disc.
Christina And Others Star In New PSA Campaign
LOS ANGELES (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Print and Broadcast Spots Shot and Directed by David LaChapelle to Engage and Inspire Young Voters with "Only You Can Silence Yourself" Theme
Declare Yourself, the national nonpartisan, nonprofit initiative energizing a new movement of young adults to vote in the 2004 election, launched its provocative print, broadcast and online PSA campaign called "Only You Can Silence Yourself."
Working with advertising agency Benenson Janson, the Declare Yourself campaign was photographed and directed by David LaChapelle. It features a mix of "real people" and young celebrities, including Andre 3000, Christina Aguilera, Amber Tamblyn ("Joan of Arcadia"), Jonathan Bennett ("Mean Girls"), Yoanna House ("America's Next Top Model 2"), and La Toya London ("American Idol 3"), among others.
The PSAs will begin running in a variety of magazines, Web sites and on radio and television outlets nationwide later this month. Yahoo!, the Premiere Online Partner of Declare Yourself, will exclusively host the online debut of the PSA campaign. To view the campaign, visit http://vote.yahoo.com and www.DeclareYourself.com.
The overall concept of the campaign is anything but subtle, featuring glamorously shot yet graphic depictions of young Americans literally silencing themselves by sealing their mouths through a variety of methods. For example, Aguilera's print ad shows her mouth stitched shut in a style resembling a corset, while Andre 3000 has his signature bow tie stuffed into his mouth. Both of these print PSAs will appear on two Clear Channel-owned billboards situated prominently in the heart of Times Square. As the media and entertainment partner of Declare Yourself, Clear Channel donated the billboards and its radio division will support the campaign by airing spots on local stations across the country.
The Declare Yourself broadcast spots begin innocently, yet build up to a stop-in-your-tracks visual of a sealed mouth, confounding what viewers expect to see in a typical broadcast spot.
The campaign also includes three 30-second radio PSAs. Taking a more humorous approach than the televised spots, the radio campaign features a variety of characters discussing inane topics, such as an "airhead" discussing the importance of eyebrow grooming. After such banter, the announcer cuts in saying that while free speech is a right no one has to listen to or agree with, voting is a right that can't be ignored.
"The challenge of this campaign is to convey the importance of voting in a powerful manner that does not preach, and remains nonpartisan," said Andrew Janson, chief executive officer, Benenson Janson. "While staying true to the nature of Declare Yourself, these PSAs are impactful and inspire action without any specific political agenda."
"Before you can get young people to act, you have to get them to react, and that's what we believe our PSAs do," said Norman Lear, founder of Declare Yourself. "We want those who see the spots to stop, look, discuss, and, ultimately, become inspired to take action."
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New Skechers Campaign Picture
German magazine Bravo printed this image from Christina's new upcoming Skechers ad campaign.
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MTV VMA Viewer's Choice Voting
The pre-nomination choices for the MTV Video Music Award Viewer's Choice category are up. Christina has two videos included in the list, "Can't Hold Us Down" and "The Voice Within." Vote now at http://www.mtv.com/onair/vma/2004/viewers_choice/top100.jhtml to get her through to the final group of nominees.
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Aguilera To Buy New York Restaurant
Christina Aguilera is set to purchase a restaurant in New York's trendy SoHo district and will be branding it "Little London."
Aguilera, 23, enjoyed her recent visit to London so much that she is keen to recreate the atmosphere with her own eaterie in the Big Apple.
A source explains: "Christina was in London recently to launch the sales at Harrods and such a good time partying she left seriously thinking about business ideas and what her experience of Britain could do in the States.
"She has always loved coming to London and travelling around different cities in the UK and wants to incorporate little things she's seen and learned back home in America.
"You know, stuff such as your traditional Sunday roasts and fish and chips. She loves all that - not to mention endless cups of tea."
Source: Irish Examiner
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Aguilera's Stripper Tease
Christina Aguilera is popular all over the world, but the sexy singer seems to have a special place in the hearts of the dancers at Scores.
According to Heather, a dancer at the New York strip club who says she has seen Aguilera on the premises a few times, the pop star raises eyebrows every time she comes in. "She's like a guy!" Heather said. "She was definitely teasing the girls, lifting her clothes up."
"Christina goes to strip clubs," her rep told us, adding: "She has a boyfriend."
Heather is scheduled to tell more on the TV special "Young, Sexy & Spoiled" on the WE channel Sunday.
Source: New York Daily News
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Christina's Raunchy Antics Have A Positive Message
Pop sensation Christina Aguilera is so worried about offending her mom, Shelly Kearns, with her raunchy onstage antics, that she regularly reassures her by saying that there is a positive message behind it all.
Christina was derided when she wore lingerie alongside Pink, Mya and Lil' Kim for 2001's 'Lady Marmalade' single and again when she appeared scantily clad for her 2002 video 'Dirrty.'
According to Rate The Music, however, the 'Genie In A Bottle' star may be upholding her 'sex-kitten' image in public, but often explains to her mom why she has to do these steamy performances.
Shelly says of her daughter, "She gets next to no negative mail. I believe that people are beginning to finally understand the message behind it all. The people who respond and the lives her message is changing far outnumbers the minority of critics who simply aren't grasping what she's doing."
"Christina and I usually don't talk 'business' at all, but she has asked me often concerning my feelings... wanting to make sure I knew what she was doing behind it all.
She never even needed to explain. I've loved every bit of it, and I'm so very proud the she is one of very few out there who have the courage to be herself and work tirelessly at sending out messages of self worth, independence and strength to females today. Those who remain clueless are missing so much," added Shelly. (ANI)
Source: WebIndia123
New Christina Skechers Campaign To Launch In Fall
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. (BUSINESS WIRE) -- SKECHERS USA, Inc., a global leader in the lifestyle footwear industry, announced today that the company is launching a new Christina Aguilera SKECHERS footwear advertising campaign, "Naughty and Nice," scheduled for August and September international magazines. Doubling the fun -- and pleasure, the new campaign features the global superstar portraying two characterized sides of herself: the good girl and the not-so-good girl.
The Christina Aguilera and SKECHERS relationship began nearly a year ago when the lifestyle footwear company announced it had signed an 18-month international marketing agreement with the singer for its women's footwear lines. Subsequent to the announcement, SKECHERS began running its first Christina Aguilera ads in women's, teen and pop culture magazines in Europe in September 2003.
The first campaign featured Xtina styled in a "punk provocative" look and wearing SKECHERS Sport joggers, appropriate for her image at the time. Now, with her more mature look, Miss Aguilera times two is part '50s pin-up starlet and part sweet girl next door. The new campaign, which was shot in a Los Angeles studio at a closed set, will feature the singer as a nurse and patient, and teacher and school girl, among others. The dual images allow SKECHERS to feature twice as many styles, giving international consumers a truer representation of SKECHERS' women's offering. The lines worn by Miss Aguilera include SKECHERS Active, SKECHERS Sport and Somethin' Else from SKECHERS.
The new "Naughty and Nice" Christina Aguilera SKECHERS campaign will appear in international magazines and in stores as point-of-purchase displays through the end of 2004.
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Elements Show Canceled
By Gwen Arbuckle
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh pop diva Christina Aguilera will not strut her stuff tomorrow night after a bash at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center was put on ice, the promotor said.
Local event promotor Antonio DiMarco of Customized Connections said the all-night event "Elements 2004" was canceled late yesterday evening "due to extenuating circumstances" the promoter would not disclose. Aguilera is from Wexford.
"It is no fault of Christina Aguilera's... This was just a nightmare. (The issue) just came out of nowhere," DiMarco said this morning.
Elements 2004 was billed by the promotor as "the biggest Vegas-style show in history" featuring Aguilera along with several other performers and DJs. It was set to run tomorrow evening at the Convention Center starting at 10:30 p.m., rolling through 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
DiMarco said ticket refunds should be issued within 30 days, but he hopes to have funds returned within two weeks.
More information will be posted today on the event Web site, www.elementspgh.com, DiMarco said.
This is the second time a scheduled Aguilera show was nixed in Pittsburgh. Aguilera was set to perform last month in the Pittsburgh area. She canceled her North American summer tour due to strained vocal cords.
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Dirty Underwear?
Christina Aguilera's catwalk experience last week has given her a taste for it.
The blonde singer, who wowed the crowd at the Dsquared2 menswear show in Milan, has admitted that she'd like to design her own line of lingerie.
"I want to do a really high-end line with beautiful pieces that are a little out of the ordinary, a little edgy and so feminine and so beautiful," she told Women's Wear Daily.
Aguilera, dubbed "our little kitten" by the DSquared2 designers Dean and Dan Caten, revealed that she had been in talks with various companies regarding licensing but said that there was no launch date planned as yet.
"Nothing is set in stone," she said. "I'm such a collector [of lingerie] and I do so much research on pieces from the Twenties, Thirties, Forties, old pin-up and fetish wear, that eventually I would love to do my own line."
And the one-time face of Versace intends to remain on the fashion scene for some time yet.
"It's so much fun to be on this side of the spectrum of entertainment and dabble my foot in the fashion world," she went on. "It's such a live, fun, energy. There's nothing like it."
Source: Vogue.com
'Hello' Makes Online Debut
"Hello," Christina's new song to exclusively accompany the the new A-Class Mercedes-Benz ad campaign, made its online debut on Monday at www.follow-your-own-star.com. Audio and Lyrics of the song are available now.
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Aguilera Causes Stir At Harrods' Sale
Pop star Christina Aguilera opened the summer sale at the famous Harrods store in London on Monday (Photos).
The singer sparked a huge scrum as hundreds of fans and shoppers jostled to catch a glimpse of the blonde as she wandered around the exclusive store on the first day of the summer sale.
The 23-year-old followed in the footsteps of Victoria Beckham and Pierce Brosnan, who have previously cut the ribbon at the Knightsbridge shop.
Wearing a white Marilyn Monroe style Carlos Miele strapless dress and black patent-leather heels by Giuseppe Zanotti, the American stopped to try on a �37,600 (�56,000) Piaget 18-carat white gold necklace set with diamonds, reduced to �18,000 (�27,000), and then walked around the store with it on.
She also tried on a diamond-set 18-carat white gold Audemars Piguet watch reduced from �308,100 (�462,522) to �124,000 (�186,000).
Harrods' boss Mohamed Al Fayed walked hand-in-hand with the star, whose last album Stripped sold 10 million copies worldwide, on the traditional walkabout, after she arrived in a open-topped horse-drawn carriage.
The star, whose hits include Dirrty, Beautiful and Genie in a Bottle, was reportedly paid �200,000 (�300,000) to open the store and was also flown in on a private jet from her home in California.
She stayed in Al Fayed's penthouse near to the store and had a VIP breakfast with the Harrods executive.
Source: Ireland On-Line
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Shop Star!
Christina's �6k lingerie spree at top store
She might be a millionaire but Christina Aguilera still has an eye for a bargain.
After opening the famous Harrods sale on Monday, the Dirrty diva spent the morning shopping with 3am's Caroline... and couldn't resist spending some of the �200,000 fee she had received for her duties.
"I love a spree," she told us. "Shopping is definitely one of my vices."
The 23-year-old - who looked stunning in a �3,000 white Carlos Miele dress - arrived to open the sale in a horse-drawn carriage and was a little disturbed by some of the fillies' bodily functions.
"It's so gross they way they just do that all over the street," the tiny singer sniggered.
"I can't believe somebody has to clean that up. Maybe they store it and throw it at people they don't like!"
Chrissy recovered from her giggling fit just in time to greet the hundreds of screaming fans that lined the street.
"It's so cool that they're here," she said. "Although the noise isn't helping my head!"
Despite the 6am start, Christina had spent the previous night partying in London's Rouge bar and, like her favourite showbiz columnists, got in at 3am.
"It was a great night but I'm paying for it now," she laughed.
After flexing her plastic on a deluxe Scrabble set ("I'll take on anyone at Scrabble! I'm the champ!"), five designer bags and seven hats, Chrissy decided the best cure for her aching head was a hair of the dog - and headed for the pet department.
There, she found a love object to make boyfriend Jordan Bratman, 27, jealous - a bichon frise puppy called Lucy.
"Don't you think she's gorgeous?" she asked Caroline. "I really want to take her home with me. I'll have to see if they can sort it out.
"She'll be great company when Jordan's not around. We're not engaged but we are very happy."
And while her flunkies tried to arrange a pet passport, Christina - who flew in on one of flamboyant store owner Mohamed Al Fayed's private jets - headed for the lingerie department.
"I usually only wear Agent Provocateur but the John Galliano collection here is fabulous," she gushed, before notching up a �6,000 bill on sexy smalls.
Looks like Jordan's got a treat in store...
CHRISSY'S SHOPPING LIST
Thirty-four bras and matching knickers, 12 corsets and 10 suspender belts from John Galliano's collection for Christian Dior - �6,000
Deluxe Scrabble set - �34.95
Three Jimmy Choo bags - �1,200
Five Philip Treacy hats - �1,000
Source: Daily Mirror
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DSquared's Bachelor Party
Christina Aguilera is guest of honour, Men's underwear line launched
By DAVID GRAHAM, Fashion Writer
"She goes against the rules. And so do we," says Dean Caten.
He and his twin brother Dan, who were born in Toronto and design the DSquared men's and women's collections, were still buzzing yesterday after their Milan spring 2005 menswear show in which the Grammy Award-winning pop sensation Christina Aguilera modelled in the closing segment Tuesday (Photos).
"It's all over the news here," beamed Dean on the phone from Milan. "It's incredibly exciting."
With Aguilera as the guest of honour, Dean and Dan held a late-night post-show party at Milan hot spot Light. "I'm exhausted," he said, but he was clearly still excited.
"She's a sexy kitten," laughed Dean. "She's very spirited."
Aguilera, who is in the research and development stage for her own line of lingerie, wore a raunchy black leather fringed mini dress that laced up the back, her blonde hair falling in Farah Fawcett waves.
Dean and Dan met Aguilera last year when they designed three looks for her Stripped tour. The twins attended her birthday party in L.A. last December. Aguilera was in London this week and made the trip to Milan to model in the DSquared show.
For their spring collection, Dean and Dan played on the theme of a bachelor party in which the tables were turned. Instead of portraying women as sex objects, male models were clad scantily, in a tuxedo jacket with gym shorts, for example.
Even Aguilera got caught up in the moment, stealing a pinch and even spanking one of the models, says Dean.
The sexy theme was employed to help the designers launch their first line of men's underwear.
DSquared also recently launched a limited-edition collection of Olympic trainers, to celebrate the Summer Games in Athens.
"We have a Greek distributor and we thought it would be a fun thing to do."
The white leather shoe is decorated with colourful images of Olympic torches and Greek lettering. Initially a one-off project for Greek Vogue, it will be distributed globally.
Source: Toronto Star
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Pop Tart Eyes Lingerie Line
By SUZANNE KAPNER
Christina Aguilera has never been shy about baring her body in public, so it's no wonder she's been thinking a lot about lingerie.
The sexy pop star, who recently strutted the catwalk in Milan as a muse in the DSquared fashion show, told a trade newspaper that she would like to design a line of lingerie.
Aguilera's publicist confirmed that the songstress has been thinking about coming out with a line of super sexy, feminine bras and panties, but that nothing is imminent.
"She might do something in the next year," the publicist said. "But for the immediate future, Christina is concentrating on her next album."
If Aguilera does take the plunge into fashion, she would be joining a long line of pop stars who have put their famous names behind a label, including Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani.
Source: New York Post
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Rested Aguilera Working On Two New Albums
Pop diva Christina Aguilera, who canceled her summer tour in order to "rest her pipes," says she's concurrently working on two new albums, one of which is her second Spanish-language set.
"I've been writing and recording and putting my heart and soul into this next vision that I have for the next album," Aguilera says in a recorded message to fans posted last week on her official Web site. "And I'm also working on my next Spanish album, to follow-up to my first one which was many years ago it seems like to me, maybe to you, too."
Aguilera last released the pop set "Stripped" (RCA) in November 2002. It debuted at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 3.7 million copies in the United States, according to SoundScan. Her first Spanish language album, 2000's "Mi Reflejo," bowed at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart and No. 27 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 459,000 copies.
What the new albums will sound like is anyone's guess, and Aguilera gives few clues in her message. "I'm really excited about these projects. I've been kind of flirting with old '20s, '30s, '40s looks and styles and movies and old pin-ups," she says. "I'm flirting with kind of this old Hollywood feel and whatnot."
In that vein, she also notes she's contemplating a career move to the silver screen, but will wait until the right project comes along. "I'm not just going to do a movie to do a movie," she says. "It has to be right. It has to be the right role, I have to feel the right character. It has to be something meaty and juicy that I can sink my teeth into."
Although Aguilera won't be on the road this summer, she has scheduled a July 10 appearance during the six-day Elements production in Pittsburgh. She will headline the 10:30 p.m.-6:30 a.m. "main event," with performances by Amber and DJs Tony Moran and Tony Ruiz and others scheduled. The Elements Web site also promises professional dancers, aerialists, acrobats, fire performers and "percussionists suspended in mid-air."
While Aguilera laments not being able to tour, she asserts that it was the right decision. "Since you know I sing everything top to bottom live, you know, it's a lot of hard work," she says. "So, I want to make sure that my pipes are in top condition when I do that... so that led to me having to cancel the tour, because I have to be super, super-positive that everything is good with my pipes."
�Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.
Source: Billboard
