Christina Aguilera Says Record Execs Initially Tried to Change Her Last Name Because It Sounded ‘Too Ethnic’
Christina Aguilera revealed the stage name record execs wanted her to use when she debuted in the late '90s because apparently her real name sounded "too ethnic."
During a new interview with Billboard Friday (June 26), the 39-year-old singer reflected on her music career and how she refused to change her last name despite everyone saying "Aguilera" wasn't the right fit show business.
"I remember when I was first coming up, there was a big debate around me on changing my last name because all the businessmen around me thought it was too long, too complicated and too ethnic," she told the magazine.
Instead, they suggested she use the stage name "Christina Agee."
"[It] was an option, but that clearly wasn’t going to fly," Aguilera explained. "I was dead set against the idea and I wanted to represent who I really was. Being Latina, it is a part of my heritage and who I am."
"There was another time in my childhood when I was being asked to legally change my name to my stepfather’s to be legally adopted and I was again dead set against it," she added. "I’ve been fighting for my last name my whole life."
We can't imagine Christina Aguilera using an entirely different name, can you?
As it turns out though, many of our favorite celebrities changed their name when they began their careers, some of which include Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey and Halsey.