Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2011

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Christina Aguilera had an up-and-down year in 2010—mostly down. Her new album, Bionic, didn’t do well; her North American summer tour was canceled; she got a divorce; and she made her film debut to mixed reviews in Burlesque, co-starring Cher, Stanley Tucci and Kristen Bell.

Directed by Steven Antin, Burlesque tells the story of a country girl who hits the big time. Aguilera plays Ali, a spunky Iowa waitress who heads off to LA in search of stardom, but ends up at a Sunset Strip burlesque club that’s on the verge of bankruptcy. She’s soon pestering the owner (Cher) for a job, romancing the bartender (Cam Gigandet), and dealing with the club’s resident dancer shrew (Bell). In one scene, when Ali finally gets her chance to dance and lip sync on stage, Bell’s character unplugs the mic and she’s forced to improvise.

“That scene I could definitely identify with,” said Aguilera, 30, during a recent visit to Tokyo along with Antin, Bell and Gigandet. “When I was singing once as a child, someone pulled the plug on me. They didn’t believe I was actually singing.”

Aguilera, who lived in Japan from 1983-86, got her start in TV show The Mickey Mouse Club (1993-95), where her co-stars included Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. She later found success as a recording artist, selling more than 16 million albums in the US and winning five Grammy Awards. But acting in a film was another matter altogether, she admitted, and it took a bit of arm-twisting to get her on board. In fact, Antin, a veteran music video director, said he wrote the part of Ali with Aguilera in mind. “I knew she was a great singer and dancer. What I didn’t know was that she had an innate acting ability. She went toe-to-toe with Cher and Stanley Tucci.”

Aguilera (above, second from left, with Antin, Bell and Gigandet) said it was easy for her to get into character because “Cher is one of my idols. Even though I was a newcomer, she was warm and gave me a hug every day on the set. She taught me to use my natural instincts.” Bell, 30, was also full of praise for the 64-year-old Cher. “She is so iconic and speaks her mind. There is nothing fake about what she says.”

Aguilera wrote three songs for the film’s soundtrack, in addition to performing covers of originals by Etta James and Mae West. However, learning the dance moves was the toughest hurdle for both her and Bell.

“We had a lot of great teachers and they worked us day in, day out,” Aguilera said. “Although dancing has been part of my routine, I am a vocalist first and foremost, so it was a big challenge to look as if I could blend in with the terrific professional back-up dancers on stage. I learned a lot that I will continue to use.”

Bell, best known to TV audiences for her work in Heroes, said that she was reluctant at first to appear in Burlesque. “In America, there is a tendency to think of burlesque dancing as stripping,” she said. “I didn’t realize how beautiful and difficult it was until I tried it. I saw professionals doing it with sprained ankles. The other inducement for me was playing a morally bankrupt character, since I usually get offered a lot of good-girl roles.”

Chris Betros is the editor of Japan Today (www.japantoday.com).