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Christina Aguilera curls up on a plush sofa in her home theater and nervously tugs at the platinum blond locks tossed over her left shoulder. She’s practically sinking into the red velvet loveseat, and since all of the furnishings have an oversized Alice in Wonderland feel, she looks like a figurine.

“You want me to do what?” she asks, her already wide eyes taking on cartoonish proportions.

Here’s the request: Take a notebook full of questions. Answer the ones you want to. Skip the ones you don’t. But you have to answer honestly. No filter. No inhibitions.

The diminutive singer with the supernatural voice holds the notebook in her hands and eagerly flips through the pages.

“I’ve never done this before. It’s kind of intimate to see what a reporter thinks about me before we’ve met.”

She considers the notebook once more and then beams.

“Let’s do it!”

This could be her motto. Since 1999, Aguilera has never been one to second-guess her choices. With the exception of her self-titled debut album, for which she was shoehorned into the teen pop tidal wave, she’s done everything, musically and personally, her way—critics and naysayers be damned.

While her last album, Bionic, failed to garner the critical and commercial success of her previous platinum-certified and Grammy-winning efforts, Aguilera bounced back as a judge on the popular singing contest show The Voice and then released “Moves Like Jagger,” the explosively catchy hit single with The Voice cojudge Adam Levine from Maroon 5.

Next up, her as-yet-untitled album, more time spent with Max—her cherubic four-year-old son with ex- husband Jordan Bratman—and living her 30s with style and grace. But for the moment, she’s ready to say anything into a reporter’s recorder. Well, almost anything.

From the steely smile on her face (and her manager surreptitiously seated on the floor next to the sofa), it’s clear that Aguilera plans to duck and dodge the heavy stuff. But she swears up and down she’ll do her very best to tell the whole truth.

Aguilera: Hmmm. The first question here is, What did I do today? That one is easy [laughs]. Today was pretty low-key. When I’m shooting The Voice, it’s intense. On a day like today, my ex has my son and we are not shooting, so I slept and slept and I just slept. See, I love my bed. I love doing everything in my bed. Eating, sleeping . . . I love taking advantage of my bed.

LATINA: Well just how big is it?

Aguilera: It’s pretty big. I designed light-up steps leading up to it and carpeting underneath it. It’s a canopy four-poster with curtains. It’s my domain and my throne. I did a lot of work from there today as well. Scheduling studio time and stuff like that. Planning my son’s birthday party. I do it all in that bed.

While Christina peruses the questions in the notebook, she bites the inside of her lip, skipping the page with questions about recent reports on her weight gain and her flubbing of the national anthem. She quickly turns the page, a serious look on her face. As if reading her emotions, one of her three papillons jumps into her lap and she strokes his back with one hand, continuing to read questions with the other.

Aguilera: There are certain things here I won’t talk about. But I’m going to pick a topic I don’t usually talk about. There’s a question here about if I will ever reconnect with my dad.

LATINA: Jay-Z famously reconnected with his dad just months before he passed away . . . And Kelly Rowland said she’s ready to meet her dad for the first time in over a decade . . . 

Aguilera: The older I get and as I see my son grow up, I think about it more and more. It’s not really about him wanting to meet Max. It’s just about getting older and being ready to tackle stuff from my past. I’ve talked about how rough things were for me and I’m sure he’s heard it. He can’t be thrilled about it. So maybe one day we can do lunch. Maybe. I mean, I’m 31 years old now. Maybe it’s time.

LATINA: How did that happen anyway? You turning 30.

Aguilera: I have no idea. I was on the set of a film and the choreographer was 19 and I looked around at all the dancers and I was like, Whoa! I’m the oldest person in this room. When did that happen? [Laughs.]

LATINA: You’ve already been married—and divorced. Do you think you were too young to get married? Is that why it did not work out?

Christina hesitates briefly, closing the notebook and clutches it to her chest. Her dog leaps down and then curls up at her feet.

Aguilera: Was I too young? Not at all. I did the exact right thing at the time.  I follow my heart. Sometimes it’s great. Sometimes it isn’t. We were great for the time we were married. And if I had not married, I wouldn’t have my son, which I can’t even imagine. I definitely wasn’t too young. I have always been older than my age.

LATINA: True. Your 24 was not the typical 24.

Aguilera: Exactly. I was out of the house at 15. At 17, I got my deal out here and I lived out of a hotel out here by myself.

I gotta answer this question about gossip magazines and websites.

LATINA: They’ve been pretty brutal on you this year.

Aguilera: I wouldn’t know. I don’t read them. Ever. I’m completely out of the loop with that stuff. You can’t be looking out there if you want to win the race. I’m focused on my life. I don’t pay attention to any of that stuff. See, I don’t do anything unless I strongly believe in it. And once it’s out there, it’s out there, so I can’t do anything about it anyway. Why read what people are saying—good or bad? I am always aiming for the best note or the best performance or the best whatever. You have to live your life and then let these things go.

LATINA: What about all the good reviews?

Aguilera: [Shakes head vigorously.] No. Not even the good stuff. I want to stay in my moment and be true to myself. If something really crazy comes out that I have to address, my people will bring it to me, so we can clarify. Other than that? [Waves hand.] I’m off somewhere with my son and making new music. And that’s honest. You wrote on this question “BE HONEST” in all caps [laughs]. So there you have it. I’m being honest.

While Aguilera swears that complete honesty is her only policy, she pointedly skips over questions surrounding her arrest for public intoxication in March 2011. She lingers on the question, then rolls her eyes ever so slightly and turns the page.

Aguilera: There’s something here that says, How do I feel about people feeling like I’m not Latina enough? I’ve dealt with that my whole life. I don’t speak the language fluently. And I’m split right down the middle, half Irish and half Ecuadorean. I should not have to prove my ethnicity to anyone. I know who I am. I grew up hearing the language and living the culture. My mom speaks fluently and I swear I will too when I have time to sit down and study it.

LATINA: It’s not just the language though . . . 

Aguilera: No. It’s the way I look too. I’m a white girl with light eyes and blond hair. I wouldn’t be questioned if I looked more “stereotypically” Latina. Whatever that is. All I know is no one can tell me I’m not a proud Latina woman. I don’t pay attention to outside opinion. I dove headfirst into a Spanish-language album for that reason and I’m planning another one even though I don’t speak the language. I’m sure that doesn’t sit well with some people.

LATINA: But it doesn’t bother you.

Aguilera: Not in the least.

LATINA: And of course, another part of the issue is that you have the voice of a 40-year-old black woman.

Aguilera: [Laughs] Thank you! I can’t control what comes out of my mouth. Never could. It’s something in my soul and it is what it is. And I wouldn’t change a single note.

LATINA: Was choosing your own questions weird?

Aguilera: I felt a little on the spot, but it was a nice twist. I like holding questions on pen and paper. It’s the way I write lyrics. No computers. Very intimate.

LATINA: There are a few things on there you didn’t answer . . . 

And with that, she smiles, stands and offers a goodbye hug.