Christina Aguilera: Mouseketeer Extraordinaire

Christina Aguilera's music has been popular now for almost a decade. This comes as no surprise, for the Christina Aguilera celebrity package has carefully been crafted with an ever-evolving look, multiple national tours and of course, some of the most amazing vocals the pop music industry has heard in years. But did you know that Christina Aguilera's first big gig was with the Mickey Mouse Club? That's right, Christina Aguilera was a Mouseketeer, alongside fellow Mouseketeers Keri Russell, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.

Christina Aguilera first auditioned for a role on the Mickey Mouse Club in 1991, when she was only eleven years old. At the time, Aguilera was too young to meet the age requirements to be on the Mickey Mouse Club, so she was forced to return home to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, where she kept busy by singing the "Star Spangled Banner" at games for a variety of sports teams, including the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team and the Pittsburg Steelers football team. In fact, Aguilera sang the national anthem at the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals, in which the Pittsburg Pirates baseball team played. After two years of singing at athletic events, Christina Aguilera decided to try again for the Mickey Mouse Club. This time, she made the cut. In fact, she was highly intimidating to the other Mouseketeer wannabes. Rumor has it, future pop-star Jessica Simpson went home crying after hearing Aguilera's audition for the Mickey Mouse Club.

After being selected for the Mickey Mouse Club, Aguilera's family moved from Pittsburgh to Orlando, Florida for a few months, so that the new Mouseketeer could film episodes of the Mickey Mouse Club. During this time, Aguilera went to school for three hours each day with other Mouseketeers at the "Mouseketeer Bungaloo." There, Aguilera and fellow Mouseketeers studied independently, while being monitored by a tutor. Christina Aguilera has been quoted as saying that, despite daily academics in the "Mouseketeer Bungaloo," her time on the Mickey Mouse Club show felt more like summer camp.

After her studies in the Bungaloo were finished, Aguilera performed on the Mickey Mouse Club show every evening. She acted in skits and sang a variety of songs. As a star Mouseketeer, Aguilera was nicknamed "the diva," after her signature singing and performing style. Although they would later become fierce rivals, Christina Aguilera and co-star Britney Spears were initially the best of friends. Christina's time as a Mouseketeer played an important role in launching what later was to be a very successful career.