Christina Aguilera, Usher to teach online courses

Six-time Grammy Award-winning artist Christina Aguilera has partnered with new online education company MasterClass to teach a course focused on singing.

MasterClass, founded by David Rogier and Aaron Rasmussen, launched in May and has since offered courses in acting (with Dustin Hoffman), sport (with Serena Williams) and writing (with James Patterson).

Aguilera isn’t the first musician to offer her skills to MasterClass pupils; Usher’s course in performing was announced in July; pre-orders haven’t begun but a waitlist can be found here.

Each course, available for purchase at www.masterclass.com, cost $90 each and includes video lessons, interactive exercises, learning materials, and workbooks.

Portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz, who worked for Rolling Stone magazine in the ‘70s, is also working on a MasterClass course, her shots of musicians include that of the Rolling Stones, John Lennon (on the day he was murdered), Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and most recently Miley Cyrus for Vanity Fair.

Aguilera's class will begin production this month in LA for release in October or November.

Aguilera said in a statement: "I'm excited MasterClass has given me the opportunity to truly share all I have learned about my craft with the world. Coaching in this capacity not only gives me a chance to connect with my fans but lets me explore one of my true passions.”

Aguilera has sold 50 million albums worldwide, 31 million singles in the US alone and has had two of her tracks hold #1 on the Billboard chart for five weeks (Genie In A Bottle and Lady Marmalade).

Co-Founder and CEO David Rogier added: "Christina has one of the greatest voices of our generation. Not only that, but she truly wanted to teach! We're lucky to have her on board and can't wait to see what she has in store for students."

Each $90 MasterClass includes:

·       10-25 video lessons from the instructor (approx. 2-5 hours of video)

·       Interactive exercises: for example, in Dustin Hoffman's MasterClass students can be matched with other students to practice scenes from the class, and then upload videos for feedback from other students (and sometimes even Dustin himself!)

·       Learning materials: workbooks and class materials like excerpts from James Patterson's first drafts

·       Lifetime access, with classes that never expire

·       Learning materials and workbooks

·       Accessible from any device (access Serena's class on your smartphone right on the court).

Classes are available at www.masterclass.com.