Singer Christina Aguilera may have been out of the spotlight for nearly a year after having her first child, but she sure knows how to return to it.Ten months after giving birth to her son Max, the Dirrty singer made her return to the stage in a series of eye-catching outfits at London's Albert Hall.Including a Bianca Jagger style white suit and fedora hat, albeit accessorised with a bra top.
The 27-year-old singer guaranteed all eyes were on her as she arrived in a Harlequin-esque Pucci tunic.The blonde singer teamed her $2,095 turtleneck, silk dress with leather-look leggings and $700 Yves Saint Laurent purple Tribute heels as she arrived at the Africa Rising Festival at London's Royal Albert Hall.Later she changed into a racy leopard-print leotard and cropped tuxedo, showing she's lost none of her pre-motherhood sex appeal.The event marked Christina's first performance since taking time out for motherhood late last year.She shared the stage with African supermodel Alek Wek and former US Secretary of State and retired general Colin Powell, who entertained the crowds with his funky dance moves.The Africa Rising event aims to raise awareness of African issues, such as poverty and trade and hopes to find 'sustainable solutions'.She revealed she was loving motherhood and was looking forward to having more children with her music executive husband Jordan Bratman.She said: 'Absolutely, we'll definitely have more kids.'I don't know (when). We'll play it by ear.'
Singer Christina Aguilera clearly isn't one to let standards slip, as she stepped out for dinner In Manhattan, with her family still looking every inch the diva. In a long patterned maxi dress, stacked wedge heels and a pair of huge sunglasses, Christina looked immaculate as she carried son Max, 7 months, in her arms, while husband Jordan followed. The 27-year old singer wore her platinum blonde hair loose and relaxed, and looked every inch the doting mother as she cuddled son Max Liron to her chest. Clearly, she's not one to let motherhood come between her glamorous diva image. And the birth of her first child hasn't slowed the platinum selling artist down, as Christina is currently working on her forthcoming album and preparing for a slew of major live appearances. Christina will perform at the 4th Annual Fashion Rocks benefit at New York's Radio City Music Hall on September 5 along with Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake, and Rihanna. The two-hour star-studded concert will see superstar performers paired with models strutting clothes designed by the cream of the fashion world. And her British fans are in for a treat, as the singer will headline will fly to Britain next month to headline the THISDAY Africa Rising Festival in London. The Dirrty singer will top the bill at the star-studded event on October 14 at the Royal Albert Hal in what will be her first major performance since giving birth to Max in January.at the star-studded event on October 14 at the Royal Albert Hall.
It's one of the big showbusiness secrets: when the stars show off their 'perfect' figures, many of the bodies we see really belong to someone else.As a TV show prepares to tell all, Rachael 'The Body' Carr reveals the inside story of life as a body double...Kylie Minogue sashays along the beach, her sarong billowing to reveal a bronzed, bikini-clad, perfect body. She stops and smiles, then a breeze blows away the flimsy cloth. She steps on to a raft before diving in to the sea. Seconds later, she walks back to the beach. She's dry, her hair perfectly coiffed.To anyone but the most practised observer, Kylie is the sole star of this advert for H&M. Which is true, of course, but only up to a point. For it's actually my body that is filmed.
Forget plastic surgery and airbrushing, we celebrity body doubles are the big secret of the entertainment industry. Look hard enough and you'll find us everywhere - from pop videos and adverts to films and magazines.For the past three years, I've been working as a celebrity body double and have seen parts of my body 'stolen' by some of the world's biggest female stars.Body doubling was never a great career ambition. In fact, before I became involved in the industry, I had no idea that this kind of model even existed.I grew up in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, and my parents were both headteachers. I always dreamed of making it as a singer, so I went to the Italia Conti stage school in London. I was there with Kelly Brook and the girls from Eternal and Liberty X.I left with a recording contract for our six-piece pop group Boom! We had a few hits and even toured with Westlife but we split up after three years. That was when I started going to modelling castings to make a bit of money while I thought about what to do next.
One day in 2005 I was called to a casting where they wanted a girl who was exactly 5ft 2in tall, weighed 7st and had a 23in waist. I was asked to dance in a bikini. The following day I was called back and told that the job was to be a body double for Britney Spears on Pepsi's ' Gladiator' advert. I was stunned, euphoric - and terrified.I met Britney in Rome on the shoot. Of all the celebrities I've known, she has the largest entourage - never fewer than 20 people - but she was so sweet. 'Oh my God, you're so cute,' she shrieked when she saw me.She was there for two days, during which she did all the dance routines. I watched her like a hawk all the time. I needed to capture her dance moves perfectly so when there were any shots that didn't require Britney's face on the screen, I could take her place. We worked two 20-hour days and I never heard her complain once.After she left - a star of her stature doesn't come cheap, so the aim is to keep her on set for as little time as possible - I was there for another couple of weeks. When I arrived home I was touched to find Britney had sent me a pair of boots that I had 
After that, offers of body-double work just kept coming in. Once stars and their people realise that you are professional and you aren't going to start asking for autographs or behaving as if the star is your new best friend - the two cardinal sins of body doubling - then they're happy to keep using you.Since that first shoot three years ago, I've worked with Kylie several times, with Christina Aguilera and with Britney again.The H&M advert I filmed with Kylie took two weeks in Acapulco, Mexico. She is easy-going and always works with the same people - they're like a family.She is my favourite celebrity to work with and she's also the closest to me in size. That's why, before she went on tour, I did all her costume and prop fittings. While she was rehearsing in the studio, I would be on the stage to ensure that everything from microphone stands and chairs were the right size.Last year, I did the Christina Aguilera 'Here To Stay' Pepsi advert, which sees her transported to Britain, America, the Czech Republic, Japan and India in eight days. Actually, I did the travelling - Christina did all her filming in a studio in America.
I usually earn £250 a day for rehearsals and £500 a day during the actual shoot. But I make only about £30,000 a year from being a body double - if a star is on tour or puts on weight, I'm going to be out of work for a while. Luckily, only about a third of my time is spent working as a body double, the rest is conventional modelling.I'm always running into other doubles. I've met the body doubles for everyone from Beyonce to Enrique Iglesias.Although I usually double for the whole body from the head down, other models specialise in specific body parts. Nina 'The Hand' is the queen of hand models and her perfect digits sometimes feature in several different adverts in the same magazine. Kayko 'The Legs' can earn £60,000 a year, while Colin 'The Feet' is used to make some of the best footballers in the world look better than they really are.
Obviously, most body doubles have a shelf life linked to the career of the stars they double for, but I'll keep doing it for as long as people want me. I'm only 29 and Kylie's 40, and she seems to go from strength to strength.However, I've also trained as a make-up artist as a preparation for the future - showbusiness is precarious and it's sensible to have a plan B.The obvious pitfall of basing your career on how good your body looks is the pressure to stay perfect. I have to work out regularly and be strict about what I eat and drink.My body is a temple but it does need occasional refurbishment: I've had two boob jobs and I've had my bottom resculpted. It would be hard to survive in this game without it, especially when all the celebrities have work done.I don't really have a favourite part of my own body, and despite being considered 'perfect', I do have 'fat days' like anyone else. And I, too, experience a flutter of envy when I see a star's perfect body in a commercial or video. It's sometimes hard even for me to remember that it's probably not their body.
The singer claims that all publicity is good publicity because negative comments prove people care about her.She said: "In terms of reading bad opinions, I tend to see all negativity and criticism as a good thing because people are at least talking about me, so they must care in some way."The 'Beautiful' singer also revealed she accepts that being "objectified" by the media is part of the territory of being famous, and remains unfazed by the attention she receives in the press.She added: "You have to take it with a pinch of salt, but I don't like it when the paparazzi get to the point of being dangerous."Christina, who gave birth to son Max in January, recently said she will be drawing on her experiences as a new mother as inspiration for her new album.She said: "This whole incredible thing that has taken part in my life, between the pregnancy and the birth, I've got so much to be inspired about and so much in my life to write about. This next album will have a whole new me, so there's a lot to look forward to."
She may be a new mother, but Christina Aguilera hasn't let it slow her down.The 27-year-old singer, who gave birth to son Max just four months ago, was at her glamorous best as she hit New York yesterday in a figure-hugging bright print dress.By evening, she'd slipped into a sheer grey vest which showed her leopard-print bra, black leggings and suede Christian Louboutin heels for a night of clubbing with her record executive husband Jordan Bratman.
While Christian has clearly mastered looking effortlessly chic after shedding her formerly Dirrty image, the same can not be said for Bratman, who looked rather dishevelled by comparison.The couple arrived in the city on Monday to attended Christian Dior fashion show.Christina is expected to return to the recording studio this month where she plans to work with DJ Premier.
OMG! Either Christina Aguilera is sick or sad or the universe is all out of whack. When was the last time you saw Xtina out, even dressed down in jeans, when she wasn’t rockin’ some awesome Louboutin’s? But unlike some other blonde LA girls (read: Jessica Simpson) Christina’s legs still look long and lean when she kicks in pink ballerina flats.
Here's Christina Aguilera, thankfully having retired that Bugle Girl from Company B shtick she's been flogging all over lately. I'm over it. Bitches are bitching that her new scent smells like death . Market research groups who tested people's first impressions of her new range - called Simply Christina - labelled it "tacky". A member of one London panel said: "The packaging looked cheap and we went away unimpressed." It probably smells like Rosie the Riveter and Burma Shave. That's the era she's goin' for!
