Christina Aguilera Once Pressured Into Losing Weight To Boost Business

Singer Christina Aguilera was urged to lose weight in 2002 because label bosses feared her curvy figure would be bad for business.

The Fighter hitmaker recently opened up about her new fuller shape, insisting she loves her body no matter what critics say.

But the Grammy winner has not always been so confident and admits she was pressured into shedding 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) during the middle of her Stripped tour with pop star Justin Timberlake 10 years ago.

She tells Billboard magazine, "During the promotion of my album Stripped, I got tired of being a skinny, white girl. I am Ecuadorian but people felt so safe passing me off as a skinny, blue-eyed white girl.

"The next time my label saw me, I was heavier, darker and full of piercings! Let me tell you, that wasn't an easy pill for them to swallow. I had gained about 15 pounds during promotion and during my Stripped tour. They called this serious emergency meeting about how there was a lot of backlash about my weight. Basically, they told me I would affect a lot of people if I gained weight - the production, musical directors.

"(They claimed) people I toured with (like Timberlake) would also miss out if I gained weight because I would sell no records or tickets for my shows. I was young, so I lost the weight quickly and was toothpick thin during Back to Basics promos and touring (in 2006)."

However, the 31-year-old mum reveals she no longer worries about how her size will impact her brand: "I told them during this Lotus (2012) recording, 'You are working with a fat girl. Know it now and get over it.' They need a reminder sometimes that I don't belong to them. It's my body. My body can't put anyone in jeopardy of not making money anymore - my body is just not on the table that way anymore."