1999 Rewind: Remembering Christina Aguilera’s Debut Album

Are y’all ready to party like it’s 1999? We all love the 90s here at Soul In Stereo, so it’s only right to revisit albums that are marking 25 years in 2024. 1999 Rewind looks back at all your old faves and see how well they hold up.

This may surprise some of you, but I was a closeted Christina Aguilera fan in the early 2000s. Among the Jay Z releases, the constant stream of Ruff Ryders drops and conscious records from greats like Mos Def, I was screaming about genies and bottles and reflections on the low. Christina’s R&B-fueled vocals made me a fan, and she was my far my favorite artist among the pop powerhouses of the coming millennium. My Va brethren Darius Keeton joins me to share memories of Christina’s debut.

Here we go: Share your first memories of this album.

Darius: I heard this album in full a few years later when I got a bit older, maybe around when YouTube just popped off, but I do recall hearing random album cuts here and there because I knew people who had the album around the time it dropped. But anything in the year of 1999 holds so much significance for me, it’s one of the years of my early childhood I remember very vividly from front to back. TRL was my go-to show after I got off the school bus so I pretty much remember everything about this era thanks to MTV but ironically I don’t remember the promotion for “I Turn To You” at all. But listening to the album in full for the first time when I had a chance gave me that jovial feeling of being happy and young, mainly because I was a part of the demographic aimed at the time.

Edd: We’ve spent a lot of time in this column talking about hip-hop and R&B’s continuing hot streak in 1999, but we haven’t yet talked about how MASSIVE the “bubblegum pop” era was in the late 90s. Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and their army of clones were all over pop radio (even infiltrating urban stations sometimes). But this playa wasn’t a fan at all. Sure the songs were catchy but they all felt too cookie cutter to me. There was only one artist from that era whose vocals were powerful enough, and just slightly soulful enough, to catch my ear – Christina Aguilera.

However, I’m man enough to admit 25 years later that I spent way too long running away from her greatness. I only bopped to tracks like “Genie in a Bottle” with the windows in my Chevy Cavalier rolled WAY up so no one would expect otherwise. When her album dropped in summer 1999, I ignored it. But by 2000, when it showed up in my monthly Columbia House catalog, I finally copped it (when it was discounted to like $2.99, of course). Once I got my hands on that album, I could deny Christina no longer – it quickly became one of my favorite albums of the era.

I still can’t name three Backstreet Boys songs but I can belt out every ad-lib on “Reflection.” I can’t deny my girl any longer, she’s dope.

What’s the best song on this project?

Darius: “Genie in a Bottle”

This song definitely sounds like a song of the time but I think it’s aged well. It was teenybopper and sugary bubblegum pop but it had this slick R&B edge to it that none of the other teen blondies were doing. Those stuttering 808 drum patterns hit hard and don’t get me started on those piano riffs because I swear that piano was the call of my rainbow awakening. A very well complex record and Xtina delivered with her vocals with those runs and growls sounding like a choir lady from my grandmother’s home southern Black baptist church somewhere deep in North Carolina.

Edd: “Love for All Seasons”

I spent way too long debating the No. 1 spot on my list. “Reflection” is so powerful – literally and figuratively –  and Christina’s stirring performance makes it all the more meaningful. There’s no way any of 2024’s Whisper Women could pull off a track like that. However, I gave “Love for All Seasons” a slight edge for being the best combo of strong vocals and that addictive 90s pop appeal. But I can go either way.

This project gave us several videos – which one is best?

Daruis: “Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You) – Single Mix”

I remember watching the making of this video on MTV’s Making The Video and being blown away from the visuals and loving the red streaks in her hair along with the choreography. Correct me if I’m wrong, I could be making this up but didn’t they use this video for a commercial for GAP or JCPenney? Because I really remember this being a commercial but it could be a Mandela Effect.

Edd: “Genie in a Bottle”

Yep Dary, “Come on Over Baby” was used for Sears and Levis. That song was EVERYWHERE for a minute, which is why my patience is still thin for it. In terms of videos, Christina’s didn’t really wow me in this era. They were essentially “stand in the studio and do nothing else” (“So Emotional”), “belt out notes while cartoons swirl around” (“Reflection”) and “goofy teens dance around for no good reason” (pretty much the rest of them). The best choreography probably goes to “Come on Over Baby” but the nighttime beach setting of “Genie in a Bottle” sticks out in my mind more. It was a pretty unique setting so I’ll give it the nod.

Which song should have been a single?

Darius: “So Emotional”

Now as this album was marketed as a teen pop package but there were many moments in the album where R&Btina was in full effect and this is a prime example. This song is pure R&B goodness and as I stated earlier that I don’t remember the promotion for the single release of “I Turn To You,” but I remember TRL randomly premiering a video for this song even though it was never a single. It was a very simple video of her just singing the song in the booth. That’s it. Maybe it was up for consideration as a single but got scrapped but I think it would have been a great single, maybe even have her chart on the R&B charts. This is probably my most favorite album cut.

Edd: “Love for All Seasons”

This project had plenty of singles but I’m still surprises “Love for All Seasons” didn’t make the cut. It’s full of pop appeal but Christina’s performance is straight up R&B – the crossover appeal is undeniable. Plus the song’s lyrics make it a perfect candidate for a big-time TRL music video.  “I’ll be the rain in your summer/The chill in your fall…” The outfit changes would be crazy. She’s be swapping wardrobes and color palates like Lil Kim in 1996.

What’s the most underrated track here?

Darius: “Blessed”

Another R&Btina moment but this time with a CCM and pop-gospel feel. Nobody really talks about this joint. It’s a real solid and peaceful moment in the album and another one of my favorites. Trin-i-tee 5:7 or Out of Eden could have definitely covered this joint.

Edd: “Blessed”

Gotta agree with Dary on this one. Christina’s habit for, ahem, oversinging is well documented (and a legit criticism at times). But we forget that she can slow things down and give us a measured, gentle delivery when times call for it. “Blessed” is such a simple, mellow song – the type of feel-good track that’s nonexistent today. We need more of this.

Y’all know Christina has vocals for days. What’s the best vocal performance on this album?

Darius: “So Emotional”

I have to give love again to this song. She really did her thing on this track and gave us all the high notes, adlibs, runs and growls which quickly became her signature sound.

Edd: “Reflection”

Not everyone won’t feel me on this one, especially Christina critics who hate when she throws subtlety out of the window during her performances. But I don’t care – we all know Christina is doing the most on “Reflection,” but it’s warranted. Her impassioned delivery is what makes this anthem of self-worth and identity so stirring. Forget singing like the rent is due, she’s performing like her life is on the line. It ranks really high on my list of best songs featured in a Disney film.

How does this project compare to the other “bubblegum pop” albums of its era?

Darius: 1999 was definitely the height of the bubblegum/teen pop era but with Christina, she stood out not because of her voice but, at least compared to the other teen girlies, she was definitely more soulful and R&B influenced compared to everyone else. Could be the same argument for Jessica Simpson since her debut single was a soul-pop ballad and was the only one who’s lead single was a ballad but Christina had a very different execution to her work which made her music standout.

Edd: In the Pop Royal Royale of 1999, Christina is throwing all the contenders over the top rope. I’m sure that’s just my soul bias speaking, but I stand by it. It features the best vocal performances among her peers and while others may have yielded bigger hits, none of those projects were as cohesive as this one. Most of those artists would go on to drop better albums in the future (as would Christina) but none showed the immediate promise that she did.

Summer 1999 had some joints. Would you call this the album of the summer? If not, what takes it?

Darius: Look, we had some heat in the summer of 1999. I’m pretty sure The Writing’s On the Wall by Destiny’s Child was out that summer, Backstreet Boys released Millennium somewhere around that time too, Shania Twain was still moving millions of units that summer with Come On Over which originally came out in the winter of ‘97 in it’s original pure country version, and ironically I remember many girls around me having a copy of Blaque’s debut around that time, J.Lo dropped her debut that summer after releasing a hot #1 lead single and I’m still leaving out some heat from that summer but If you would have asked me in 1999 if Christina had the album of the summer, I probably would have screamed YES at the top of my lungs. But full grown adult me would say it’s one of many great albums of the summer of ‘99. I really love this year, oh to be a kid again.

Edd: As we already covered in this space, summer ’99 gave us some heat. Missy’s sophomore album Da Real World showed that my fave was back with a vengeance. Likewise Destiny’s Child smashed the sophomore jinx myth with one of their best releases ever. Mary J. Blige took a huge risk with Mary and it paid off wonderfully. And I remember playing 702’s self-titled joint until the CD lost its shine. Christina’s debut was very good but, with the exception of 702, I’d put those other albums above it. But that just shows the level of competition in that era – we got heat on a weekly basis.

Is this Christina’s best album?

Darius: Probably not her best album of her whole catalog but i would definitely rank it high and is probably the album of hers that revisit the most but like I said before I just have a huge attachment to the year 1999.

Edd: Nah, Christina’s best and most defining work would be the follow-up, Stripped. That release was much more daring with a stronger message, while this one was a lot safer. But in terms of album quality, they’re pretty close and I definitely revisit her debut more often these days. Christina might not have had the rabid appeal that some of her pop peers enjoyed, but in terms of pure album quality, her debut beats them all. I’m just glad that I can finally admit it in 2024.

Whom do you agree with more, Darius or Edd? Let us know below and share your Christina memories too.