Beautiful (Christina Aguilera song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Beautiful"
Single by Christina Aguilera
from the album Stripped
Released	December 2002 (U.S.)
Format	CD single, 12" maxi single
Genre	Pop ballad
Length	3:58
Label	RCA Records
Writer(s)	Linda Perry
Producer(s)	Linda Perry
Certification	Platinum (ARIA)
Chart positions
#1 (New Zealand, Australia, Canada, UK) #2 (Dutch Top 40, U.S.) #16 (Latvia)
Christina Aguilera singles chronology
"Dirrty" (2002)	"Beautiful" (2002)	"Fighter" (2003)

"Beautiful" is a Grammy Award-winning song written and produced by Linda Perry, and recorded for American pop singer Christina Aguilera's second studio album, Stripped (2002). It is a cello-driven, classically-flavored ballad in which its protagonist deals with hurtful statements made against her that cause her to feel insecure and have low self-esteem. She does not let other people's negativity get the best of her, and proclaims, "I am beautiful no matter what they say, words can't bring me down". She also spreads the same message to her audience, with "You are beautiful in every single way". It was released as the album's second single in late 2002 (see 2002 in music) and reached number one in several countries. It is considered one of Aguilera's signature songs.

Contents 1 Background 2 Reception 3 Remixes 4 Alternative Covers 5 Charts

[edit] Background

Perry had written 'Beautiful' long before she let anyone hear it. She considered the song very dear and personal to her and was insecure about sharing it with anyone else. At first she had let P!nk hear 'Beautiful' before anyone else during their M!ssundaztood sessions. Pink was so impressed with the song that she had asked Perry if she could record it for her album, but Perry declined, feeling that she wanted to save it for her own singing career. A few months later, while Aguilera and Perry were recording for the Stripped session, Perry also let Aguilera listen to the song. Aguilera was so into the song, that while Perry was playing the piano for it, Aguilera took over the vocals for the song. After that, Aguilera told Perry that she needed this song on her album. Perry was both impressed by Aguilera and confused, because even though she was blown away by her rendition of the song, she still did not want to give it up. After Christina continued lobbing for the song, Perry was finally convinced that Aguilera matched the song perfectly and handed it over to her. After the songs release, it was rumored that Pink was upset that Christina got the song.

The song was only recorded on one take, the original demo of the song. Aguilera reportedly expressed concerns that she had hit some notes too flat and some too sharp, but Perry insisted that she leave them in. To her it represented the theme of "Beautiful", about how we are not perfect but each day we face life one step at a time, and Aguilera's imperfect vocal performance matched the theme of vulnerability within the song.

[edit] Reception

Stripped's first single "Dirrty" had failed to reach the top forty in the U.S. and Aguilera's record label quickly released "Beautiful" as a follow-up single to prevent the descent of Stripped on the albums chart. The song peaked at number two on the U.S. Hot 100 largely because of its strong radio airplay; it was released as a 12" maxi single and at the time sales of this format were much lower than those of regular CD and CD maxi singles. "Beautiful" stayed in the U.S. top forty for twenty-four weeks, and topped many other Billboard magazine charts. It was equally successful elsewhere, and reached number one on the charts in the UK (where it was her fourth number-one single), Australia (where it was her first) and Canada (where it was her second). The song's Jonas Åkerlund-directed music video garnered much attention, as it touched on the subjects of anorexia nervosa, homosexuality, bullying, self-esteem and transgender issues.

"Beautiful" won a 2004 Grammy Award for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance", and Linda Perry received a 2004 Grammy Award nomination for Song of the Year as well as a Musicnotes award for the song in the category of "Song of the Year". The song was ranked number two in the "Readers' Top Ten Singles" list at the 2004 Rolling Stone Music Awards, and its video was also placed at number two in the "Best Video, Readers' Pick" category. "Beautiful" also won "Video of the Year" and "Song of the Year" at the 2004 Groovevolt Music & Fashion Awards, and the video was the recipient of the "Popular Female Video" award at the 2003 Channel [V] Thailand Music Video Awards. A remix of "Beautiful" by Peter Rauhofer won a 2003 HX Award for "Dance Song of the Year".

Beautiful is considered to be the song that defined Aguilera's career. Beforehand, no one was sure if her success had just been limited to her debut album, as 'Stripped' started off as a slow seller due to the lack of airplay for 'Dirrty', however, as soon as 'Beautiful' was released to radio in November 2002, the song became the fastest rising song in Aguilera's entire career, and by January/February 2003, the song had reached it's peak in the US and around the globe. The song also became the most performed televised song by Christina, as she performed the song at dozens of award shows, late night shows, specials, etc throughout the year. Even years down the line, Aguilera still performs this song on tours, private concerts, or at media appearances when she's promoting her latest work. The success of the single put life back into her 'Stripped' album, as it ended up becoming a big and steady seller throughout 2003.

Elvis Costello covered the song for an episode of the television program House. It was also covered by Gloria Gaynor in the British television program, Hit Me Baby One More Time, where she performed a disco version of the song. In addition, guitarists Richard Fortus and Robin Finck of Guns N' Roses covered "Beautiful" instrumentally for the early shows of Guns N' Roses' 2006 tour. Later it was covered by Kenny G and Chaka Khan as well. Clem Snide covered the song as the title track to its 2004 A Beautiful EP.

[edit] Remixes

Official remixes

• "Beautiful" (Peter Rauhofer remix) — 10:29
• "Beautiful" (Peter Rauhofer mixshow) — 6:58
• "Beautiful" (Peter Rauhofer radio edit) — 3:56
• "Beautiful" (Brother Brown Divine mix) — 9:17
• "Beautiful" (Brother Brown mixshow) — 4:55
• "Beautiful" (Al B. Rich Next Level mix) — 8:33
• "Beautiful" (Al B. Rich radio edit) — 4:14
• "Beautiful" (Valentin club mix) — 5:51
• "Beautiful" (Valentin radio mix) — 3:57
• "Beautiful" (Shanghai Surprise mix)
• "Beautiful" (Tom Mandolini mix)
• "Beautiful" (FUG remix) — 5:43

Unofficial remixes by famous remixers

• Beautiful (Wayne G.'s Heaven Anthem) — 6:27
• Beautiful (Woz vocal remix)
• Beautiful (Woz Sun-Drenched dub)
• Beautiful (Woz Bonus Beat)
• Beautiful (Junior Vasquez remix)

[edit] Alternative Covers

Commercial	UK	France	Mexico	Track Sampler	Mixes	Remixes (Mexico)

[edit] Charts

The single went on to become the most played song in Aguilera's career, even beating her earlier mega hits Genie in a Bottle and Lady Marmalade.

Charts (2002)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	2 (1 week)
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	1 (5 weeks)
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	1 (5 weeks)
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Tracks	1 (3 weeks)
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1 (1 week)
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40	9
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	13
United World Chart	1 (6 weeks)
Irish Singles Chart	1 (4 weeks)
Israel Top 20	1 (4 weeks)
Mexican Top 100	1 (3 weeks)
UK Singles Chart	1 (2 weeks)
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	1 (1 week)
Canadian Singles Chart	1 (1 week)
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	1 (1 week)
Argentina Top 40 Singles	2
Dutch Singles Chart	2
Swedish Singles Chart	3
German Singles Chart	4
Swiss Singles Chart	7
Brazilian Singles Chart	1 (1 week)
Chile Singles Chart	1 (4 weeks)
French Singles Chart	27
Latvian Airplay Top	16

Preceded by: "Lose Yourself" by Eminem	ARIA (Australia) number one single March 2, 2003	Succeeded by: "Lost Without You" by Delta Goodrem
Preceded by: "The Ketchup Song" by Las Ketchup	Canadian number-one single March 15, 2003 (1 week)	Succeeded by: "I Drove All Night" by Céline Dion
Preceded by: "All the Things She Said" by t.A.T.u.	UK number one single March 2, 2003	Succeeded by: "Spirit in the Sky" by Gareth Gates featuring The Kumars