Christina Aguilera

We take food for granted, but it isn't a luxury for many people.

I don't even watch my own show: I tape it, I'm out.

It's impossible to redefine yourself and your life overnight.

I have a lot of aggression in me that needs to come out in a not-very-precise or articulate way.

I knew there would be a negative reaction in the press to my divorce, but I am not going to live my life because of something someone might say.

I have certain physical features that I favor over others. We all have our areas.

Everybody needs that one person that takes you to the right place to see all the positives in your life.

I was known as the little girl with the big voice.

I will not have my son grow up in a tension-filled home.

I was never into the boy crazy thing because I was very focused on my career.

When I first met my husband, I needed that helping hand to take the reins and look after me.

I'm a hard worker and I really give to my fans through my shows.

I really love traveling to Japan.

I got along better with the guys than with the girls. Only two girls came up to talk to me. Later I found out they were telling their boyfriends, 'If you talk to her, I'll kill you.' It's always rough with that high school thing.

I embraced being a pop artist, but I like doing it on my own terms, at my own pace.

My parent's divorce and hard times at school, all those things combined to mold me, to make me grow up quicker. And it gave me the drive to pursue my dreams that I wouldn't necessarily have had otherwise.

I don't think there is such a thing as being too raunchy when it comes to the art form of burlesque.

I love my body.

I've always been really good with my heels. Even pregnant, I could perform in heels.

I'm not really religious but very spiritual. I give money to this company that manufactures hearing aids on a regular basis. More people should really hear me sing. I have a gift from God.

I love doing normal things - movies, shopping, going out with friends, writing, reading, taking hot bubble baths - that's a big one for relaxation. I also love to go to art and history museums.

My first love was singing and I had no time for boys.

I think you can really gauge my state of mind by listening to my albums.

I still got the nasty in me.

I have always been one to encourage perseverance.

I felt caged by my childhood.

Nothing is ever a setback. If anything, it just motivates you for what's next.

Whatever I do, it's my business. It's not my job to parent America.

I have a lot of things to say and a lot of things to let out of me.

Pop is actually my least favorite kind of music, because it lacks real depth.

People expect me to cry, but I always laugh when things go wrong.

I want to be an all round entertainer, I want to act, make films, make albums, do whatever I can.

I'm very protective of how much I let people see.

What is it in us that makes us feel the need to keep pretending... we gotta let ourselves be.

All I want to do is be normal. But really, it's other people who won't let me be that way.

I always wanted to have my own album recorded and released before I graduated high school.

Red lips and fragrance always top off an outfit for me.

Sometimes you just know what you're placed on this earth to do.

When you're young, it's so easy to get bull-dozed.

When I'm traveling on tour, one of my favorite things to do is to throw a baseball cap on and go to a Target. The company has always been good to me. They've got such a great creative team.

I definitely love women. They are more attractive to the naked eye.

I always wanted to have my own album released before I graduated from high school.

Right now I'm pretty single... My career is my boyfriend.

I have six-year-old fans that weren't even around for 'Genie in a Bottle' or even 'Fighter.'

I was very pushed to look a certain way and act a certain way, and it wasn't me, but I played by their rules to get my foot in the door.

I think all of us as women have this super-human quality. We create life, we give life, we are the sources of life for our children - we're all pretty bionic.

I don't see anything wrong with being comfortable with my own skin.

Being a mother, singer and actress is a definite juggling act, but I don't think I would be comfortable any other way.

I stray away from formulaic, the formatted.

I'm experimental by nature... always exploring my creativity.

I think they say that when you're breast feeding, you know, your weight kind of slims down. It's a little easier. It's like a workout within itself. It's very tiring actually and you find yourself snacking more often.

Being too thin. Being bigger. I've been criticized for being on both sides of the scale.

I don't have anything to hide but what happens is the media tend to beat up what I say.

I'm not just another bimbo.

I am Ecuadorian but people felt so safe passing me off as a skinny, blue-eyed white girl.

Basically, what I'm saying is there is nothing fake about what I do. I'm up-front, I'm real, I'm honest and I'm open with my feelings.

So, where's the Cannes Film Festival being held this year?

To be given the opportunity to help shape new artists' careers and mentor them to see their dreams come to fruition is a task I welcome with open arms.

I hate working out - I have to mentally push myself through it. I can get very whiny, saying things like, 'I can't do it!'

I don't want to believe my own hype.

I didn't want to do something that was easy for me.

Growing up with the childhood that I had, I learned to never let a man make me feel helpless, and it also embedded a deep need in me to always stick up for women.

I turned to music originally because of my past and needing a release or an outlet to get out anger or frustration or hurt.

For me the visual is just as important as the music.

I'm a bit of a night owl because that's when I feel the most creative and alive.

Now everyone is a critic.

It's been quite a roller coaster ride, but I've grown and learned a lot about myself. The greatest thing is being able to interact with fans and touch people's lives... for that I give thanks.

Certain people want to see me solely as a pop act, but there are many different sides to Christina Aguilera besides the pop girl.

The artists I look up to are the ones who push their own limits.

I'm addicted to your allure and I'm fiending for a cure.

I'm a risk taker and I've always been like that, especially when it comes to fashion.

I'm a lucky girl.

It's been a joy to be a part of other people's journey, to be able to inspire and be a part of new singers coming up in this business.

I want to be a poet and have a chance to explore that and let people know what's really on my mind.

You need to find the power within to make things happen for yourself. When you realize this, you are unstoppable.

Getting older, you just don't want to sing fluffy.

I like to be as free as possible at all times.

Mormons aren't gonna buy my album but, you know, what are you gonna do?

I went through my first big breakup, with a boyfriend who I had been with for more than two years. He had been one of my dancers, and it was my first love and his.

Toward the end of my pregnancy, I felt really big - I gained about 40 pounds, which is a lot for my size.

I think it's a given that people know what I can do vocally.

I feel things deeply.

I do reinvent old hits of mine and sort of give them a new life.

When I first came out there was no such thing as Twitter or Facebook. And the blogs! Like, what is that?

I really don't spend any time on the Internet, so I guess I live a little under a rock in that respect.

I just get really bored with sticking to the norm and having the proper conservative image. That's just so not me.

You are beautiful in every single way. Words can't bring you down.

You used to have to sing and convey emotion, and now, well, technically you can do anything with technology. It sucks for music today, but that's why that old music feels so good to me.

I'm one that likes to collaborate.

I feel so fortunate.

When success comes, people can try to trick you or take advantage of you.

I'm embracing many different things, but it's all feel-good.

I want to look good when people see me.

It's always nerve-wracking when you're hosting 'Saturday Night Live.' You either sink or swim.

I am a woman who has my extreme vulnerable side and my baggage - and at times I feel extremely weak.

Thankfully, I have my mom and a small group of close friends who are there for me 24/7 and whom I can trust and depend on.

When I learned how millions of children go to bed hungry, my only response was, 'What can I do to help?'

Time heals everything. Sometimes you have to go through that pain and heartbreak so that you can get to the other side and come out on top.

I'm at peace.

I'm a businesswoman.