Christina Aguilera Admitted the Moment That Launched Her Career Was ‘so Cheesy’

Christina Aguilera recorded a Disney song at the start of her music career. She shared why it was a good idea, but a cheesy story.

Christina Aguilera’s career began on The Mickey Mouse Club and her music began to reach a more adult audience with further help from Disney. Her version of the song “Reflection” from Disney’s Mulan helped her land a record deal with RCA. While Aguilera was grateful for the opportunity, she admitted that the story of her rise to success was a bit cheesy.

Christina Aguilera said an important moment in her career was a little cheesy

As Aguilera sought out a record deal, she got the chance to record a pop version of “Reflection” in 1998. She had initially contacted RCA, and they recommended she contact Disney. They were interested.

“Yeah, it’s so cheesy how I got it, but it was really cool,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 1999. “My manager gives me a random phone call out of the clear blue one day while I’m just hanging out in my hometown of Pittsburgh. He’s like, ‘Can you belt the high E above middle C?’”

To prove she could hit the note, Aguilera recorded herself singing “I Want to Run to You” by Whitney Houston.

“And now this is known as the note that changed my life, because basically I had to prove that I could belt this note — like, full-on belt it — by Fed-Exxing out, overnight, a karaoke tape of [singing over] Whitney Houston’s ‘I Want to Run to You,’ which has that note, just like ‘Reflection.’”

Her version of the song was impressive enough that Disney hired her to sing a version of “Reflection.”

She impressed despite her lack of high-quality recording equipment

At the time, Aguilera didn’t have access to a studio or any kind of high-quality equipment. She recorded in her bathroom on a cheap tape recorder.

“[My tape recorder] was like 15, 20 bucks,” she explained. “But it worked, because I got a phone call the next day asking me to immediately fly out to Los Angeles. I did, and I got the job right on the spot.”

The song’s success convinced RCA to sign her.

“And I got the RCA Records contract deal within the next two days,” she said. “So I was signing contracts right and left that week.”

Christina Aguilera hoped her new label would help her have a more adult career

Aguilera was still in her teens when she signed with RCA. Still, she hoped the label would help her build a more adult career. She wanted people to view her as more mature than a teen pop idol. Specifically, she wanted to build a career like Mariah Carey, but RCA didn’t want to wholly alienate her younger listeners.

“[T]hat was a little bit frustrating, because I grew up listening to Mariah, and I sort of wanted to come out with a song that really showcased what I could do vocally, like a ‘Vision of Love,’” she said. “And at first I didn’t want to even put out ‘Genie in a Bottle’ as a first single, because I thought it fit in TOO well with everything that’s going on in music right now.”

While she had no regrets about “Genie in a Bottle,” she hoped to move on to more emotionally complex songs.

“It’s got a memorable hook, that whole radio-compressed sort of sound that we put on my voice for the little speaking parts, which was actually my idea. I mean, it’s a great song, it was No. 1 for weeks, so I’m not complaining,” she said. “No regrets. But I can’t wait to get [my first] ballad out there!”