Christina Aguilera - Just Be Free (1995)

After news that The All-New Mickey Mouse Club would be filming its final season, Christina Aguilera sought out a record deal, and she spent time in Philadelphia recording demo tracks with various producers, hoping to have an album released by the time she had finished high school. She began recording with New Jersey-based producers Robert Allecca and Michael Brown, after the pair gave her the opportunity to use a recording studio, and presented her with demo music. According to biographer Pier Dominguez, they told her that the demo recordings they would produce would be their property, but also that they would never commercially release the material. The tapes were conceived as a way of introducing Aguilera to the music industry, described as a "foot in the door" attempt to build interest in her musical abilities. During the recording sessions, she experimented with different languages, recording songs such as the title track 'Just Be Free' in Spanish, and musically the album generally consists of dance tracks and ballads, the latter of which were created in an effort to showcase Aguilera's vocal talents. Nearly all of the songs on the album were co-written by Aguilera with Bob Allecca and Michael Brown, and they showed that even at the age of fourteen she was first and foremost a talented musician and artist. 

However, the venture actually backfired after the recordings were not very well received among critics, and it was to be another two years before she started to attract the attention of the music industry. Six years after the completion of the album and Aguilera had achieved mainstream success, Brown and Allecca released the record, and after discovering this, Aguilera took steps to sue the pair in an effort to stop the release. She filed a suit against the label Warlock Records, and the affiliates Platinum Recordings and JFB Music for "improper use of her name and license on the upcoming album 'Just Be Free'". In response, Warlock Records filed their own lawsuit in an attempt to ensure the release of the record, and during the proceedings, Aguilera agreed to let Warlock Records release 'Just Be Free' after reaching a settlement with the company and its affiliates. She allowed the release under the condition that the label would have to include a letter written by Aguilera in each album released. The letter stated: 

"'Just Be Free' was recorded when I was 14 and 15 years old. At that young age, I made the recordings as a possible stepping stone to a career in music, which is my ultimate passion. They were made just so that I could get my foot in the door of the music business. I did not intend that the recordings would be widely released, especially after I signed with a major record label. I have not updated or finished the versions recorded in my childhood, and they are being released "as is," although I tried to prevent the release for several years. The recordings do not in any way reflect my current musical taste and where I am as an artist. The growth and vocal development I experienced as I matured into young adulthood is not reflected in the recordings. The album of new recordings that I intend to release this fall will be the album that truly reflects my artistry, my vision, and my passion. The 'Just Be Free' recordings will hopefully be a footnote in a musical career that I dream will last for many years to come." She realised that they were going to put out the album one way or another, and this way she got to make a statement on it, and so she was happy about that. She also chose the photograph that was used on the album's cover, which depicts her at the age the album was recorded. When it was eventually released it received generally negative reviews from critics, with most of them understanding why she tried to stop it appearing, as they thought that it contained dated club tracks, overwhelmed by poor effects and mundane beats. However, it is a historic artefact in her career and so for any fans who can no longer find a copy and want to hear it, here it is for you to try. 

Track listing

01 Just Be Free
02 By Your Side
03 Move It (dance mix)
04 Our Day Will Come
05 Believe Me
06 Make Me Happy
07 Dream A Dream
08 Move It
09 The Way You Talk to Me
10 Running Out Of Time
11 Believe Me (dance remix)
12 Just Be Free (Spanish version)

Christina Aguilera - Too Beautiful For Words (2006)

Christina Aguilera's recording career began in 1997, when she moved to Japan from the US, and recorded a duet with Japanese singer Keizo Nakanishi, with whom she performed in concert shows around the country. Their song, 'All I Wanna Do', was released as a single but failed to have any commercial success, and so in June 1997 she went on to Romania to represent the United States in a singers contest during the Golden Stag Festival, although she failed to win over the audience. On her return to the US she recorded numerous demo tapes, sending them to record labels such as Walt Disney Records, and they chose her to record 'Reflection', the theme song from the animated 1998 film 'Mulan'. Following the attention she received for this, she caught the ear of Ron Fair, the A&R executive from RCA Records, who consequently signed her to the label. In late 1998 she began to record her debut studio album, into which the label reportedly invested over $1 million worth of writers, producers and vocal lessons. It was around this time that her first solo recording was released, with 'I Come Undone' appearing on the 'The Scene Compilation – So. Cal Edition 3' various artists album. In May 1999, Aguilera released 'Genie In A Bottle', the lead single from her long-awaited debut album, and it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks, and became the second best-selling single of 1999. The song became an international success, increasing Aguilera's popularity worldwide, and from this point on her career was assured. Her self-titled debut album, 'Christina Aguilera', was released on 24 August 1999 to critical praise, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, and it was promoted by the release of a non-album promo singe, 'Dreamy Eyes'. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she tended not to add non-album songs to the b-sides of her singles, and so most of her rare recordings are songs recorded exclusively for film soundtracks, or are collaborations with other artists, and so I've collected the best of them here, including a couple of b-sides, a track from a joint EP with Justin Timberlake, an exclusive recording for a Mercedes Benz promotional campaign, and some guest appearances with Ricky Martin, Herbie Hancock, and P. Diddy. 

Track listing

01 All I Wanna Do (single featuring Keizo Nakanishi 1997)
02 I Come Undone (from 'The Scene Compilation – So. Cal Edition 3' 1998)
03 Dreamy Eyes (promo single to promote 'Christine Aguilera' 1999)
04 We're A Miracle (from the film 'Pokemon: The First Movie' 1999)
05 Don't Make Me Love You ('Til I'm Ready) (from the film 'The Next Big Thing' 1999)
06 Too Beautiful For Words (b-side of the German edition of 'What A Girl Wants' 1999)
07 Nobody Wants To Be Lonely (feat. Ricky Martin) (from 'Sound Loaded' by Ricky Martin 2000)
08 Lady Marmalade (with Lil' Kim, Mýa and P!nk) (from the film 'Moulin Rouge' 2001)
09 I Will Be (b-side of 'Dirrty' 2002)
10 That's What Love Can Do (from the 'Justin & Christina' EP 2003
11 Car Wash (feat. Missy Elliott) (from the film 'Shark Tale' 2004)
12 Hello (exclusive recording for the Mercedes Benz Promotional Campaign 2004)
13 A Song For You (feat. Herbie Hancock) (from 'Possibilities' by Herbie Hancock 2005)
14 Tell Me (feat. P. Diddy) (from 'Press Play' by P. Diddy 2006)