Secret shame #72: Christina Aguilera

I remember when I first heard Genie in a Bottle back in 1999 on MTV. I went from "this looks lame" to "I kind of like it..." to "I do like it! Is that wrong?" Despite Christina Aguilera's sudden popularity, I felt I was, indeed, sort of wrong. This feeling was not helped by the fact that Corey decided to start singing snippets of the song to/at me from time to time ("She's a Julie in a bottle...") Thanks, buddy. Really.

Later, my college friend Todd and I bonded over our shared unspeakable love of The Aguilera (and also, I am loathe to admit, The Spears). During one memorable drive down to So Cal, we had a big old trashy pop music sing-off, and it was delightful. But there were still not many to whom I would admit my enjoyment of her tunes.

So, is it okay to like Christina Aguilera now? She's married, she's stopped wearing assless chaps, she's stopped publicly feuding with Fred Durst. Can I like her?

Look at this interview. She's even articulate and kind of sassy and she clearly likes her husband a lot, which is refreshing and sweet.

Or, check out her whole album over at the MTV website. Sure, she's still rocking the semi-pretentious interludes, but at least there isn't any painfully mispronounced Spanish this time around.

What do you think...is it ok for me to like the artist formerly known as Xtina? Or should I go shut myself in a closet and listen with my headphones on?