Christina Aguilera brought down the house with a powerhouse performance at the 2021 People’s Choice Awards on Tuesday (Dec. 7) at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, Calif.
Singing snippets of her hits from throughout her career across three different wardrobe changes, Aguilera kicked off her medley with a slowed down, gothic-style rendition of 1999’s “Genie in a Bottle” accompanied by a row of violinists.
Next up, the pop star picked up the pace as she changed out of her black ruffled gown and into a yellow, black, and leather look to sing verses from “Ain’t No Other Man” off Back to Basics (2006) and “Fighter” off Stripped (2002).
For the final segment, Aguilera switched to singing in Spanish with her recent single “Somos Nada” from her upcoming Spanish-language album Pa Mis Muchachas. She wrapped it up with her power ballad “Beautiful” from Stripped.
Apologies if you heard us screaming “YAS QUEEN” at our TV while @xtina absolutely crushed her #PCAs performance! 😳 pic.twitter.com/fOExQkoy4x
— People’s Choice (@peopleschoice) December 8, 2021
The performance was a lead up to the superstar accepting the music icon award presented by fellow Latin star Becky G, who shared how Aguilera’s “catalog of hits define pop music” in her introductory monologue.
Dressed in a hooded, yellow gown, Aguilera accepted the trophy and shared some powerful words during her speech. Besides paying tribute to all the women who have helped shape her music, Aguilera revealed how her “artistry is for the fighters.” She added how her role as an artist is to give “a voice to those unable to do so on their own.”
The veteran pop star has previously won five People’s Choice Awards, five Grammys, and one Latin Grammy.