MTV News Online

When teen pop star Christina Aguilera kicked off her headlining tour Monday night at the Sandstone Amphitheater in Kansas City, Mo., she came packing a trunk full of new looks for the trek.

"You'll be seeing a lot of different looks on the tour," Aguilera said on Monday, just hours before she hit the stage. The day of the tour launch, those "different looks" included a three-toned pigtailed hairdo somewhere between TLC in their "No Scrubs" video and No Doubt's Gwen Stefani.

Aguilera's other fashion statements, as well as her stage set, are shaped by such hit videos as "Genie in a Bottle" (RealAudio excerpt) and "What a Girl Wants" (RealAudio excerpt), as well as her latest, "Come On Over (All I Want Is You)."

"Paul Hunter directed the ["Come On Over"] video, and we came up with a lot of different looks," Aguilera explained. "I did dye my hair red and blue, so it's blue, red, and blond right now, which I'm kind of psyched about, kicking off the tour with a different look. This is one of the looks that I'm sporting throughout the show, actually. The whole show opens with a genie-esque Arabian vibe, so I'm playing on that with certain hairstyles and clothing and musical intonation. It's a hot show."

For Aguilera, the headlining trek gives her a chance to really flex her onstage muscles after opening up for TLC and making the rounds on the radio-show circuit. So far, she is relishing the chance to put on a show that is uniquely hers.

"I couldn't be more thrilled that this is my first headlining tour," Aguilera said. "This has been a lifelong dream of mine. Looking up to incredible female performers like Madonna and Janet Jackson was kind of like my beginning, so I'm really, really excited.

"Of course, if it's your own headlining tour, you have a more hands-on say about what goes on with your tour, about what you want, and I've definitely put my visions into place," she said. "We put together a really fun show. We've got a live DJ to give it an edgy feel, along with certain costume changes. I'm totally rocking out on a couple of songs. There's a lot of surprises along the way.

"Expect the unexpected," Aguilera added.

Christina Aguilera tour dates:

Aug. 1; Maryland Heights, Mo.; Riverport Amphitheater

Aug. 3; Kearney, Neb.; Buffalo County Fair

Aug. 4; Omaha, Neb.; Douglas County Fair; Aksarben Coliseum

Aug. 5–6; Indianapolis, Ind.; Deer Creek Music Center

Aug. 7; Antioch, Tenn.; AmSouth Amphitheater

Aug. 10; Des Moines, Iowa; Iowa State Fair

Aug. 11; Springfield, Ill.; Illinois State Fair

Aug. 13; Sedalia, Mo.; Missouri State Fair

Aug. 15; Midland, Mich.; Midland County Fair

Aug. 16; Columbus, Ohio; Ohio State Fair; Celeste Center

Aug. 18; Louisville, Ky.; Kentucky State Fair; Freedom Hall

Aug. 19; Chicago, Ill.; United Center

Aug. 21; Cincinnati, Ohio; Riverbend Music Center

Aug. 23; Cleveland, Ohio; Gund Arena

Aug. 24; Clarkston, Mich.; Pine Knob Music Theater

Aug. 26; Burgettstown, Pa.; Post Gazette Pavilion; Star Lake

Aug. 28; Minneapolis, Minn.; Minnesota State Fair

Aug. 30; Buffalo, N.Y.; Darien Lake PAC

Aug. 31; Burlington, Vt.; Champlain Valley Expo

Sept. 1; Hartford, Conn.; Meadows Music Theatre

Sept. 3; Syracuse, N.Y.; New York State Fair

Sept. 4; Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Saratoga Performing Arts Center

Sept. 6; Holmdel, N.J.; PNC Bank Arts Center

Sept. 8; Wantagh, N.Y.; Jones Beach Amphitheater

Sept. 9; Mansfield, Mass.; Tweeter Center

Sept. 11; Virginia Beach, Va.; GTE VA Beach Amphitheater

Sept. 15; Camden, N.J.; Blockbuster/Sony E-Center

Sept. 16; Columbia, Md.; Merriweather Post Pavilion

Sept. 18; Charlotte, N.C.; Blockbuster Pavilion

Sept. 20; Atlanta, Ga.; Philips Arena

Sept. 22; Orlando, Fla.; TD Waterhouse Center

Sept. 23; Tampa, Fla.; Ice Palace

Sept. 25; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Mars Music Amphitheatre

Sept. 27; New Orleans, La.; Nat Kiefer UNO Lakefront

Sept. 29; Woodlands, Texas; Woodlands Pavilion

Sept. 30; Dallas, Texas; North Texas State Fair & Rodeo

Oct. 5; Denver, Colo.; Magness Arena

Oct. 8; Phoenix, Ariz.; America West Arena

Oct. 10; San Diego, Calif.; Coors Amphitheatre

Oct. 11–12; Los Angeles, Calif.; Universal Amphitheatre

Oct. 14; Marysville, Calif.; Sacramento Valley Amphitheatre

Oct. 15; Concord, Calif.; Chronicle Pavilion

Oct. 18; Portland, Ore.; Rose Garden Arena

Oct. 19; Seattle, Wash.; Key Arena

— Robert Mancini