Grammys Flashback '00: Christina's Shocked

The Best New Artist Grammy is the ultimate affirmation for a music artist. In 2000, against a talented group of artists that would eventually have thriving careers, Christina Aguilera was shocked to be granted the esteemed award.

After her debut self-titled album skyrocketed up the charts, the then-19-year-old singer received her first Grammy nominations for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Genie in a Bottle" and Best New Artist.

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Amongst the stiff competition for the New Artist award, which also included Kid Rock, Macy Gray, and Susan Tedeschi, was fellow teenage pop sensation Britney Spears.

While Aguilera had a strong fan base at the time and had just performed at the Super Bowl halftime show, Spears was in the worldwide spotlight for her debut alum Baby One More Time, which made her a favorite to win the award.

Thus, Aguilera approached that year's Grammys assuming that Spears would be given the award; however, The Recording Academy decided against the masses and selected the "What a Girl Wants" singer as the Best New Artist.

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"I don't know anymore," Aguilera responds when asked by ET's former co-host Mark Steines if the moment seemed real. "I did not expect it at all. I had no speech prepared; nothing. I can't believe it."

What was going through her mind when she surprisingly received the award?

"Complete and utter shock. Just shock," she reveals. "I had no idea. I thought it was going to go to somebody else. I had no idea, no idea."

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Aguilera has gone on to receive three other awards out of a total of eighteen nominations, twice winning Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Her fellow pop star Spears hasn't has been received as warmly by The Recording Academy over the years. For her seven albums, Spears has only received one Grammy out of eight nominations, which came in 2005 for Best Dance Recording ("Toxic").