Christina Aguilar


Christina Aguilar is a Thai singer of Franco-Vietnamese and Spanish-Filipino descent, dubbed Thai "Queen of Dance". Her debut album Ninja was certified platinum for 1 million copies sold – a first for a Thai female singer. She is also the first and only Thai artist to have their first four studio albums sell over 1 million copies; her third album Red Beat is the best selling female artist's album of all time in Thai music industry, selling 3 million copies. Her eight solo albums have sold over 10.5 million copies.

Biography

1966–90: Early life

Christina Aguilar is the daughter of Spanish-Filipino musician, Tony Aguilar, and Franco-Vietnamese mother, Margaret. Christina was born in Bangkok, Thailand. She has two siblings, Anthony and Theresa. Her father was one of her most important music influences and she and her family often sang together.
Aguilar studied at the French Institute, pursuing a bachelor in business management studies in France. She does not have Thai heritage, but sometimes is mistaken for Thai because of her fair skin and ability to speak fluent Thai. In addition to Thai, Aguilar speaks French, English, and some Spanish. She first became known for her singing abilities while in France. During her college's annual party, she was asked by her friends to perform on stage; she sang "Sweet Memory".
When she graduated, she was recruited by a French advertising agency where she worked as an assistant account executive. She then returned to Thailand and briefly worked in a travel agency. The turning point in her career was when she met Rewat Bhuddhinan, then chief producer for GMM Grammy, who enticed her into the music industry.

1990–94: Early Success with ''Ninja'' and ''Arwut Lab (Secret Weapons)''

Aguilar first appeared on radio in 1990. Her debut single "Ninja", taken from the album of the same name, became a hit among Thai listeners. It was followed by the release of some other pop dance singles, including "Plik Lock " and "Prawatsart ", and some ballads, like "Hua Jai Kor Ma " and "Plao Rok Na ". Aguilar broke records by being the first female artist with a million-seller album in Thailand.
Arwut Lab was released in 1992. The video of the album's lead single, "Jing Mai Klua ", won MTV Asian Viewers Choice Award in Los Angeles, USA. It was the second music video by a Thai artist to win this award after Thongchai McIntyre. In the album's second video, "Wela Mai Chuai Arai ", Aguilar costarred with a Chinese-American actor Michael Wong. The album has sold over a million copies, like its predecessor.

1994–99: ''Red Beat''

In 1994, Aguilar released her third album "Red Beat". With a faster beat and a modern and sexy appearance, it became her most successful album to date, containing two of her most successful singles. One is the dance single "Mai Yag Rok " and the other is the love ballad "Rak Thur Thee Sood ". This was the third time that an Aguilar album sold more than one million copies. The album eventually reached the mark of three million copies sold, being the only female album to do so in Thailand. This album also became the third biggest-selling album of all time in Thai music history, only behind two albums of Thongchai McIntyre.
A year later, she was one of five guests of Thailand's most successful singer, Thongchai McIntyre, in the album Khon Nok Gub Dok Mai . She sang with Thongchai in Asanee-Wasan' s Rak Thur Samur . In the same year, with other five popular Thai artists at that time, Jetrin Wattanasin, Patipan Pataweekarn, Tata Young, UHT, and Myria Benedetti, she was included on the album 6-2-12. Both albums sold over a million copies.
Golden Eye was released three years later. She came back with a more grown up and mature image. She co-wrote a song named "Tai Pa Hom Oun " for this album. The album spawned hits such as "Ya Mong Trong Nan ", "Fak Kwam Yin Dee ", "Mai Tong Khob Jai ", "Tai Pa Hom Oun " and the gay anthem "Pood Eek Thee ". Moreover, Golden Eye contains Thai-French lyrics in the song "Bai Mai ", written by Aguilar. The album was still popular, although it was less successful than her previous efforts; it still sold, however, a million copies like its predecessors.

1999–2002: ''5th Avenue'', English-language debut and ''Dancing Queen''

In 1999, Aguilar explored a younger and more colorful image with her fifth album 5th Avenue. It spawned the hit single "Oon Jai ". It has been sold almost a million copies.
In the same year, Aguilar released her first English-language album. The album features Sarah Jane Fearnley, an English singer who sang backup for Spice Girls and on the soundtrack of the movie Evita. This album consists of re-arranged songs in English. However, it was not as successful overseas as her second studio album.
Her sixth album Dancing Queen was released in 2001. It was met with moderate reception. It was the first time Aguilar released a slow ballad as a lead single instead of uptempo one. However, "Kid Pid Kid Mai ", has managed to top several radio charts. Due to heavy piracy situation during that time, the album became her smallest-selling album since her debut, selling approximately 670,000 copies.

2003–07: ''Paradise'' and ''C.Space''

In 2003, Aguilar released her seventh album, Paradise. The album contained Latin sound. It spawned three singles: "Sawan Yoo Thee Jai ", "Hong Derm ", and "Yak Fung Kum Nun Talod Pai ". Paradise received well receptions, being sold over 760,000 copies. Four years later, Aguilar released her eighth album C.Space, featuring singles "Koh Khoom Laew", "An Everlasting Love", and "Wang Meed Dai Rue Yung". This was during an important change in Thai music industry when no cassette was released anymore.

2008–present: Live performances and concerts

Aguilar has not released any studio albums since C.Space. She has mainly focused on live performances and concerts. In late 2008, she started working on a project, Mai – Tina: Beauty on the Beat, collaborating with Mai Charoenpura. The new single "Burn" was produced and the concert was due on June 6, 2009. In 2010, Aguilar performed with various artists, including Tata Young, Mai Charoenpura, Marsha, Jetrin Wattanasin, and Dan, on a special project called "This is It, the Concert", a tribute to Michael Jackson, after his death in 2009. It took place on February 21 and 22, 2010 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.
Aguilar celebrated her 20th career anniversary on December 21, 2010. She held celebratory concerts on June 4 and 5, 2011 at the Royal Paragon Halls.
She has performed in several recurrent concerts of her previous projects, including "6.2.13" and "Kon Nok Kab Dok Mai: The Original Return". She has participated in many contributory concerts, special events and music festivals.
On May 21 and 22, 2016, Aguilar performed in the "Christina Kingdom Concert" as her 25th anniversary.
In 2016, at the "Million Albums Concert", Aguilar performed with various artists including Tata Young, Mai Charoenpura, Myria Benedetti, Beau Sunita, and Nicole Theriault on October 7–9, 2016 at Royal Paragon Hall.

Discography

Studio albums
Compilation, remix and cover albums
Special albums