The offspring of an Ecuadorian-born career soldier and a Spanish teacher American mom, Christina Aguilera has experienced every level of a performer’s rise to success, beginning as a 10-year-old contestant on Star Search in 1990. Interviewed by a cadre of journalists at the recently held winter meeting of the Television Critics Association (TCA) prior to the Feb 4 second season debut of The Voice on NBC, Aguilera affirms her commitment to stay involved in the lives of the vocal contestants she mentors as one of the four established stars (including Blake Shelton, Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine) who serve as judges and coaches to the aspiring contestants.
“You can’t help but get really engaged in being a part of these people’s lives as their coach and their mentor after spending so much time with them. It’s a pretty magical thing to be a part of someone’s whole journey. These are real artists. These are real people with real dreams, and we’re cradling them in our hands. We all pull a level of responsibility for that and take it very seriously.”
Aguilera expresses no concern that there are now a plethora of singing reality shows or that the TV market may become oversaturated. “I don’t really watch anything else,” she laughs. “I believe in the sole purpose of this show and stand behind its title. It’s called The Voice for a reason. You really have to have a great singing voice to be on this show. And if you see it from day one, the drama is compelling: the blind auditions when we only have our ears to judge the talent; the competition among the judges when we go head to head, vying for a singer; and then having the singer in control to choose who he or she is going to work with. This is truly a competition for all parties involved. This is dynamite TV.”
Since the debut season of this series, which premiered April 26, 2011, Aguilera has been put in a position of being a role model for the female contestants. She is straightforward in her affirmation that looks do make a difference and readily admits she has molded herself to project a sexy, sensual image as a performer. “I’ve been in this for a long time. I came out on the scene when I was 17 years old. You can never be too much of anything. You can never be too perfect, too thin, too curvy, voluptuous, this, that. I’ve been on all sides of the spectrum.
“Any female in this business at one time or another is put under a microscope and undergoes massive scrutiny. I’ve always been a risk taker. I’m very confident in my body. I think my video works over the years have spoken to that. As long as I’m happy in my own skin, that’s all the confirmation I need. I love my body. I have a boyfriend who loves my body. My son is healthy and happy. That’s all that matters. And that’s the confidence I want every female contestant on The Voice to feel.” The Voice, produced by Mark Burnett Productions, hosted by Carson Daly, continues Mondays on NBC (8pm).
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