NEWS
Christina Aguilera knows “What a Girl Wants,” so she launched her own sexual wellness brand Playground aimed at empowering women. And in a revealing Wednesday (April 5) appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, the 42-year-old pop legend promoted her products while diving deep into her life and career, touching on everything from the surprising age she lost her virginity to battling double standards as a young artist.
Though she didn’t reveal the exact time in life she lost her V-card, Aguilera shared that “it was later than you would think, given the girl that was doing ‘Dirrty’ and all this stuff.” “It’s so funny that I gave this persona because I probably was the last person to lose my virginity,” the vocalist said, referencing the explicitness of her earlier songs and music videos.
“[Sex] was something that was for me,” she added. “I guess that’s why my messages went the way they did, too, because I owned it first, maybe.”
Speaking of her early days, the five-time Grammy winner opened up about feeling misunderstood by the public and villainized by the media when she was promoting her album Stripped in 2002, which she said is her favorite era in her decades-long career. “I was like, ‘I have to do songs that mean something to me and are valid to who I am and being fearless and talking about anything,'” Aguilera told Cooper. “And that includes sexuality! I felt that there was a lot of shame and fear around the subject … so I just wanted to be who I was and make a safe space for everyone to feel food — and make it a conversation.”
“Growing up in this business, they’re gonna see you as a teenager, kid, they’re gonna see you as a young woman coming into your body, expressing yourself,” added the star, who as a young performer was on The All New Mickey Mouse Club in the early ’90s. “They’re gonna see you pregnant. They’re gonna see you go through the gambit of different places and stages in your life where you’re different kinds of weights. It’s so hard to just be inundated with different opinions.”
In addition to reflecting on growing up in an abusive household and giving pointers on her favorite X-rated activities, Aguilera also spoke about why she’s such a fan of her own Playground products, sharing that she prioritizes “defending or celebrating or opening conversations and doors for women to feel safe enough to talk about their sexuality and what that means for them.” “Everybody is so different and there is no shame in the game,” she added.
Listen to Christina Aguilera’s episode of Call Her Daddy below:
Smashing Pumpkins are hoping to bring their A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness production to the Las Vegas Sphere for a one of a kind performance centered around the legendary 1995 album.
Billy Corgan is stepping away from traditional rock venues and leaning into the world of opera with his large scale A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness tour, which transforms the band’s iconic record into a full orchestral and operatic experience.
Even though the group has not officially been invited to perform at the cutting edge venue in Las Vegas, Corgan admitted he would immediately embrace the opportunity.
Speaking with KROQ, he explained: “It’s a no-doubter for us. We just haven’t been asked yet.
“See, if the Sphere came to us and said, ‘We’d love you to do all of Mellon Collie with that production.’ Now, that makes sense to me to do something like that, to build the show around the album.
"Then you have a chance to recast the songs and the music in a different dynamic.”
The performance sees Corgan joined by acclaimed solo vocalists and complete orchestras, reshaping some of Smashing Pumpkins’ most beloved songs into expansive classical arrangements.
The project first premiered in Chicago and received overwhelming praise, with audiences and reviewers applauding the powerful reinterpretations of songs such as 1979 and Tonight, Tonight.
Corgan shared that the experience has become one of the most meaningful achievements of his artistic journey.
He said: “The success of translating Mellon Collie into operatic and classical form has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. Where on each of the 7 sold out nights in Chicago, we’d finish within the raucous wave of a standing ovation. So to now take it on the road, and to Europe, too says this magical dream doesn’t have to end.”
The production was developed by Corgan alongside Grammy nominated conductor James Lowe, who added: "It has been so gratifying to discover how the nuances and layers of Mellon Collie reveal themselves in fresh new ways in these symphonic, choral and operatic settings. To now have the opportunity to perform this work in Europe with world class musicians in such important venues is nothing short of thrilling."
The lineup features vocalists Ed Parks, Sydney Mancasola, Zoie Reams, Dominick Valdes Chenes and Dean Murphy. The wardrobe for the production was created by House of Gilles designers Gilles Mendel and Chloé Mendel Corgan.
The upcoming run will include several September performances throughout the UK, Belgium, France and Spain, highlighted by two special evenings at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
