On a frozen late December in Pittsburgh last year, Christina Aguilera, her blond locks whipping against her black outfit in an appropriate homage to the black and gold colors of her city’s professional sports teams, walked briskly to the 50-yard line at Three Rivers Stadium.
     She was there to belt out the national anthem, as she has done for years for the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates.
     Her beloved Steelers then proceeded to come out of a tailspin and upset the Carolina Panthers, winning for the first time in six games.
     Coincidence? Perhaps, but these days the perky teen seems to be her own "Genie in a Bottle," working magic with everything she touches.
     The little girl with the booming voice, who once practiced her "thank yous" on a fake microphone to an imaginary awards audience in her suburban Pittsburgh home, was able to do the real thing in receiving the music industry’s highest honor in February. Her two Grammy nominations for best new artist, which she won, and best pop vocal, female (for her smash debut single "Genie In A Bottle") continued a roll for Aguilera that suggests she is more than just this year’s latest flavor.
     RCA reminds that her "What A Girl Wants" was the first No. 1 single of the new millennium. Its video was the most played on MTV for several weeks. Both songs are from her self-titled debut album, now Platinum many times over, which itself debuted at No. 1 on its release in the summer of 1999.
     Aguilera performed for President Clinton on TNT’s "Christmas At the White House," The Ladies Home Journal selected her one of 1999’s most fascinating people and this sports fan was named to perform at this year’s Super Bowl.
     Aguilera does not take the Grammy recognition for granted.
     "It’s amazing to me. I can’t believe it," she says. "Just being in that atmosphere with the stars that I look up to, and actually getting to walk in on the red carpet and feeling you are part of something that you always watched on television was amazing."
     Her earliest memories of the Grammys are watching the awards at home and being excited to see all the people. "The best new artist category was always the most interesting to me. To think I was in there is so cool," she says.
     She was nominated along with quite a varied group of people. Macy Gray, Kid Rock, Britney Spears and Susan Tedeschi were with her in the "new artist" running.
     "These are all people I respect, and it shows there is such a wide variety of artists in music," Aguilera says.
     She was not concerned that being up for the same award with fellow Mickey Mouse Club alumnus Britney Spears might fuel the rumor that there is competition between the two.
     "She deserves the success she has got. I’m not surprised because she works really hard," she says.
     And she says being in the company of such heavyweight artists in the "female pop vocal performance" category as Madonna, Sarah McLachlan and Alanis Morissette also was amazing. "It’s unbelievable to me that I was in the same category as Madonna, who has meant so much to me and for women in music--being her own person and re-creating herself. And I really like Sarah’s music."
     Aguilera is quick to point out that she wants to be in music for the long haul. And she sees the Grammy spotlight as a building block toward that goal.
     "Yes. I want to take it to different levels. I really want to explore many different facets of my creativity, and take it to places people might not expect. A lot of people who see me on the surface, or have only heard ‘Genie,’ want to categorize me as only pop. There’s nothing wrong with pop, but it’s so much more than that. I do covers of Etta James. I love the blues. There is R&B in my vocal style. It’s a bit soulful."
     Now she offers her first all-Spanish language album, %Mi Reflejo% ("My Reflection"). It includes a number of new songs and five of her English language successes, translated and rerecorded for the album.
     Ron Fair, executive producer, suggests that Aguilera’s style of R&B singing is largely unexplored in Latin music. RCA says that no artist at Aguilera’s level has ever crossed from English to Spanish in the manner in which she is doing. They point out that Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias and Selena all started their careers singing in Spanish and later crossed to English.
     Aguilera’s father is Ecuadorian and her mother worked as a Spanish translator. Christina says she loves the Spanish language and hopes this album opens new musical avenues for her. She’s also pleased that it will make her grandparents proud.
     Aguilera introduced the album on the Latin Grammy awards telecast.
     Before her success, she talked of not being able to wait for the day she would be recognized. The Grammy nominations and award certainly solidify that attention. Does it live up to what she imagined it would be like?
     "There’s so much more than you think about. You’re always traveling, living out of a suitcase. It can be a lonely life, and the bigger the spotlight the more demands on you," Aguilera says.
     And is it worth it?
     "Yes. You have to really want it or you will collapse. In my case, the demands are worth it. When I’m on stage and seeing the fans and they are singing the lyrics back to me and I’m feeling that energy, it’s all worth it."
     She believes she has a sense of who her audience is right now.
     "A lot of my audience happens to be fairly young teens and in their early 20s, and that’s cool. A lot of times I also have appeal to mature audiences as well. Doing more ballads will help me reach an older audience too. A lot of kids come up to me and their parents are right behind them and their parent will say, ‘I’m a fan too. Is that bad?’ That’s really, really cool that I can bring in a wide range of an audience."
     The artist has been receiving some stellar comparisons--to people like Streisand and Mariah Carey. Now the Grammys bask her further in spotlight. Yet Aguilera does not feel it is more pressure on her than she needs right now.
     "There is always pressure coming from somewhere [she laughs]. If they weren’t giving it to me, I would put it on myself. I’m a workaholic. I’m always thinking of what I can do next. I’m in it for the longevity. I want to continue exploring different sides and eventually becoming an all-around entertainer. I keep getting out there and looking forward to new projects. I’m doing this Latin album and a follow-up album to my debut, and this solo tour. And there will be a Christmas album.’’
     Ron Fair, her A&R man, suggested that she was put on this earth to sing.
     "It feels so good to know people do recognize that it means so much to me to be taken seriously as a singer, to know I do have people behind me who believe in me like that--and that I can go further in that direction in becoming a ballad singer maybe when I get older."
     Music, after all, is her release, her expression, she says. "I never wanted to do anything else."
     Aguilera does not downplay Pittsburgh’s blue-collar work ethic and its role in her success.
     "Yes. I didn’t come from the glamour of Hollywood or the theater life of New York. Coming from Pittsburgh was hard, even when you wanted to find representation. There was no entertainment industry there. You really had to be strong coming from a place like Pittsburgh," she says.
     Now Christina Aguilera is ready to take her music to the world.