Christina Aguilera Talks About ‘Genie In A Bottle’ 25 Years Later

“Genie in a Bottle” emerged as a defining pop anthem of the late ’90s, launching Christina Aguilera to international stardom.

The song topped the charts in over 20 countries, including the U.S., spending five weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It was later certified Platinum by the RIAA as it sold over 7 million copies worldwide.

Over two decades later, “Genie in a Bottle” remains a pop culture staple and is still widely recognized as one of the defining tracks of its time.

“Genie in a Bottle” earned Aguilera a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and helped her win the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2000. Now, 25 years later, the pop icon is reflecting on the hit that rose her to fame.

“I think the biggest word that sums up that first record for me is grateful,” she told Glamour. “Being thankful because it got my foot in the door. After 25 years, I’m so proud of it.”

“I think to sustain anything for a lengthy amount of time takes a lot of work and dedication and passion. There are many elements that go into being able to build something,” she continued.

To this day, Aguilera performs the hit song for fans–something that she has “a lot of fun” doing.

“I have a lot of fun re-creating ‘Genie in a Bottle,’” she said. “I interpret it differently, depending on which show or which tour or which genre we’re going for, what audience I’m playing for, what country. It’s really fun to be able to creatively do different things with those songs from the first album.”

Glamour interviewed the pop star in her studio, where they noticed many nods to the 25-year-old hit song. Per the outlet, she has a “Genie”-inspired lamp on her studio shelf.

Many millennials recall “Genie in a Bottle” dominating the charts during the summer of ’99. The song topped the charts in numerous countries, went double platinum, and earned Aguilera her first Grammy nomination.

Following this massive hit, she quickly delivered two more chart-toppers: “What a Girl Wants” and “Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You).” In just a few months, Aguilera cemented her status as teen-pop royalty.

Early critics were quick to recognize Aguilera’s “powerhouse vocals,” which distinguished her from the pack. She showcased her voice as much as possible on her debut album, but eventually felt constrained by the era’s pop scene.

“I didn’t love the bubblegum thing, where you had to play a virgin but not act like one,” she told Glamour. “When I was performing ‘Genie’ and ‘What a Girl Wants’ and ‘Come on Over,’ I got bored easily. Creatively, it was one-dimensional,” adding that she felt “boxed in.”

The pop star also recalled having little to no time to herself, telling the outlet, “Literally every second [of my life then] was accounted for in a schedule. You can’t just live your life for work, where it’s unenjoyable. You get burnt out.”

“Power through” became her motto, with no mental health check-ins and no substantial time off. “I was handling everything on my own,” Aguilera recalled of that time in her life.

After hitting her boiling point, the pop star said she went to find a new team–people who wouldn’t be afraid to stand up–people who said: “She needs a beat. She needs a minute to really work on her thing creatively.”

The result? Her second major pop album didn’t just showcase her powerhouse vocals—it slammed the door on her “teenybopper image” for good.

Now 43 years of age, Christina Aguilera says she is looking towards the future, acknowledging that, “This time in my life is about super awareness.”

“I know where I’ve been. I know what I’ve loved. I know what I haven’t loved,” she told the magazine. “And now more than ever, I just feel more wide-awake and more aware and more understanding. I’m not here to be a programmed robot. I’m here as a human being first before being a celebrity.”