AceShowbiz - Christina Aguilera broke down in tears after she was honoured with the Community Hero award from Southern Nevada-based domestic violence shelter, The Shade Tree.

The singer donates $1 (£0.82) from each ticket sold to her Las Vegas residency show "The Xperience" at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino to the organisation, which offers a 24-hour emergency shelter for women and children in crisis in the area.

Addressing the crowd at the awards ceremony last week (end October 06), in a video shared to her Instagram page, the visibly emotional star said: "It's just disgusting and it happens far too much to people, and it is very dear to my heart, because I did grow up in (violence) and am a survivor of it, as I'm sure many of you are."

"It's such a part of who I am, the music that I make, the lyrics that I write, from Fighter to Beautiful. It truly does come from the heart. If it doesn't feel genuine to me, I just don't do it, because authenticity's so important."

"That's why I don't mind the tears and the lashes coming off because there's more important things in life than an eyelash right?" she quipped.

Writing in the caption of the clip, the "Your Body" star once again thanked the organisation for the recognition, before recalling times in her childhood when she, her mother and her sister had to "up and escape in the middle of the night" to escape violence in the home.

"Some aren't so fortunate to get out... which is why it's so important to work together to put a stop to these horrific statistics," she added. "Moreover, this isn't just an issue in the U.S., but happens all over the world, in too many homes!!"