Christina Aguilera Plays Personal Shopper For Lucky Fan at Sears Store in Los Angeles

Christina Aguilera and her tour sponsors, Sears and Levi's, made the wish of one special fan come true last night.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001013/CGF023 )

As the grand prize winner of the "Sears and Levi's Present Christina Aguilera In Concert" tour national promotion, 18-year-old Shawna Winton of Dickinson, Texas, had a special meeting last night with the Grammy winner backstage prior to Christina's performance at Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Shawna was invited on stage to introduce Christina before thousands of screaming fans and then joined her family to watch the performance from prime, front-row seats.

Following the performance, Christina and Shawna met at midnight at the Sears in Media City Center Mall where the two sat down for a one-on-one girl chat. Then, Christina helped Shawna spend $2,000 on a Sears shopping spree. Fans were able to enter the back-to-school sweepstakes by purchasing exclusive Christina enhanced CDs at 850 Sears full-line stores nationwide in August.

Meeting Christina was a welcome surprise following a difficult summer for Shawna, who has been undergoing treatment for myotonic dystrophy, a type of muscular dystrophy that causes delayed relaxation of muscles after contraction. Despite a June 20 foot surgery that often requires her to use a wheelchair, Shawna has pressed forward with determination. The high school senior, who competed last year in the Special Olympics in basketball, tennis, and volleyball, will compete this year in bowling. Shawna, who is very close to her family, chose to bring her mother and father, Theresa and Michael, and sisters Jennifer, 20, and Julie, 22, to the three-day concert and shopping extravaganza. The flight from Houston to Los Angeles was Shawn's first trip in an airplane.

"Shawna and I had a blast, just talking and shopping together. She was so excited," Christina said. "Sears and Levi's have created some fun chances for me to hang with my fans."

"It's been a hard year, but getting to meet Christina today was great," said Shawna. "It was amazing to go up on stage and introduce Christina before her show."

During the midnight shopping spree, Christina helped Shawna pick out a computer, Levi's jeans, jewelry, makeup, shoes and numerous items from the Christina Boutique.

The national promotion was designed to generate excitement and maximize awareness of Sears and Levi's sponsorship of Christina's inaugural tour that kicked off on July 31 in Kansas City, Kan., and wraps up Oct. 21 in Honolulu, Hi., visiting 35 cities in 11 weeks.

Shawna purchased the Christina enhanced CD and won the sweepstakes at the Sears at Mall of the Mainland in Texas City.

"Christina is a pop idol and her musical talent and trend-setting style are a hit with teens like Shawna," said John Lebbad, Sears director of event marketing and promotion. "Together with our partner Levi's, Sears is able to provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for fans."

"Winning the chance to meet Christina is an amazing opportunity for her fans, and watching Shawna, a young girl who has struggled so much recently, have her dream realized is gratifying to all our employees," said Sean Dee, director of marketing for the Levi's brand.

In addition to the national ticket promotion, Christina fans have captured the excitement of the tour through several programs including the tour's cause-related element "Come and Over and Do Something" which provides $500 Sears and Levi's grants to 50 youth activists throughout the tour.

Sponsorship of Christina's tour extends Sears commitment to younger customers continued last fall with sponsorship of the 1999 fall tour of pop sensation Backstreet Boys. Sears, Roebuck and Co. is a leading U.S. retailer of apparel, home and automotive products and services, with annual revenue of nearly $40 billion. The company serves families throughout the country through approximately 860 department stores, more than 2,100 specialized retail locations, and a variety of online offerings accessible through the company's Web site, http://www.sears.com/ .

Levi Strauss created the world's first pair of jeans in 1873. Today, the Levi's® Jeans brand is the No. 1 jeans brand in the world. Levi's® has a long history of supporting emerging music and community issues through tour sponsorships that give back, including an anti-violence initiative during the D'Angelo summer tour and support of Lauryn Hill's non-profit, The Refugee Project. For more information about the Levi's® brand, visit http://www.levi.com/ or call 1-800-USA-LEVI.

SOURCE: Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Contact: Aubree Galvin or Debbie Juarez of Donnellon Public Relations,
312-553-1240, for Sears, Roebuck and Co.; Lee Antonio of Sears, Roebuck and
Co., 847-286-5569; Danny Kraus of Levi Strauss & Co., 415-501-7682

Website: http://www.sears.com/

Website: http://www.levi.com/