Christina Aguilera turned 40 at the end of 2020, however she has made a name for herself nearly thirty years starting at the age of 12 on the Mickey Mouse Club with future pop stars, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. By the age of 18, Aguilera signed a deal with RCA Records and at 19 she released her debut album, which went to number one and included three number one hit singles. Over the next twenty years, Aguilera became one of the biggest pop-stars worldwide and one of the biggest selling artists of all time. On top of a huge musical career, Aguilera has also been an actress as well as a coach on The Voice for six seasons. For ten years, Aguilera didn’t tour between acting and The Voice and in 2018 returned with The Liberation Tour across the U.S. In 2019, Aguilera toured Europe, United Kingdom, and Mexico with The Xperience followed by a Las Vegas residency.
Aguilera performed her first major shows of 2021 at the Hollywood Bowl this weekend with the exception of the opening of the Virgin Hotel Las Vegas last month and a benefit show earlier in the year. This was Aguilera's first L.A. shows in two years and prior to her performance at the Greek Theater in 2018 she had last performed at the Staples Center in 2007. Not only did Aguilera perform with her all star band of Ethan Farmer (Bass), Stanley Randolph (Drums), Michael Herring (Guitar), and Rob Lewis (Keys), she had the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. The Hollywood Bowl has had many historic performances in its nearly 100 year history and this was certainly one of them.
Before Aguilera hit the stage, the Los Angeles Philharmonic played some of Leonard Bernstein's music from West Side Story and Marquez: Danzon No. 8.
Aguilera played a set of fourteen songs, over 75 minutes starting with a cover of “At Last” which led into “Ain’t No Other Man,” while standing on top of a mountain/iceberg looking set piece. The orchestra performed on select songs rather than throughout her entire performance. Although it was a shortened set from Aguilera’s usual performances, it was full of hits like “Genie in a Bottle,” “Dirrty,” and “Beautiful” which was the final song. It’s easy to see why Aguilera has been called “a voice of a generation.”
Selected Upcoming Hollywood Bowl Concerts
July 18 - Kamasi Washington
July 24 - Ledisi Sings Nina Simone
July 30 - Cynthia Erivo with L.A. Phil
August 1 - Ziggy Marley
August 8 - Dave Koz
Opening Score
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At Last/Ain’t No Other Man
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Genie in a Bottle
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The Voice Within
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Peaches/Can’t Hold Us Down (orchestra tacet)
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Maria
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Twice (orchestra tacet)
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Say Something- A Great Big World
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Dirrty
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Xpress/Lady Marmalade-Labelle (orchestra tacet)
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What a Girl Wants (orchestra tacet)
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Pero me acuerdo de ti- Lourdes Robles
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It’s a Man’s World- James Brown
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Fighter
Encore
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Beautiful
*Photo credit: Farah Sosa/LA Phil
