BEAUTIFUL (CHRISTINA AGUILERA SONG)

"'Beautiful'" is a song written and produced by Linda Perry, 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"''. It was released as the album's second single in late 2002 (see 2002 in music) and reached number one in several countries. The song earned her a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

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 Pink 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 so much liked 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 Aguilera continued lobbying for the song, Perry was finally convinced that Aguilera matched the song perfectly and handed it over to her.^[1]
The song was recorded in a single take. Aguilera reportedly expressed concerns that she had hit some notes too flat and some too sharp, but Perry insisted that she leave them in.
Some instruments used in this song include the cello, piano, violin and drums.

Music and structure

"Beautiful" is a ballad composed in the key of E♭ major.^[2] It is written in common time and moves at a slow 78 beats per minute. Aguilera's vocal range spans over an octave and a half, from B♭₃ to G♭₅. She uses several melismas in the song, fitting as many as seven notes in one syllable.

Critical reception

"Beautiful" received positive reviews from music critics. ''Entertainment Weekly'' found it to be a highlight of ''Stripped'', finding it "more restrained" than the rest of the album.^[3] ''Stylus Magazine'' described the song as "a typical ballad that actually tastefully reins in Aguilera's frequent vocal acrobatics".^[4]

Release and success

Christina Aguilera performing "Beautiful" on the Back to Basics Tour.

According to Perry, she and Aguilera's management had recommended "Beautiful" as the lead single from ''Stripped'' but that Aguilera insisted on releasing "Dirrty" instead.^[5] RCA Records stated that it had agreed with Aguilera to release "Dirrty" to attract attention; when the song only reached number forty-eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "Beautiful" was rush-released as the second single. 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).
"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. 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. 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".

Music video

A transwoman looking in a mirror in a scene dealing with LGBT and body image issues.

The song's music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund. The video opens with Aguilera speaking the line "Don't look at me", followed by scenes of her singing alone in a room intercut with self image-related sequences of other people, several of which deal with body image. An underweight girl examines herself in a mirror, eventually punching through it; a thin boy stands lifting weights in a room plastered with images of bodybuilders; and a girl rips out pages of women's magazines and throws them into a fire. In one sequence, a girl is assaulted by several peers, and in another, a goth sits at the back of a bus while several people get up and move. The video also touches on LGBT issues. One scene features two homosexual men, portrayed by Jordan Shannon and Justin Croft, French kissing on a bench and ignoring the stares of people who pass them.^[6] Another scene shows a transwoman, played by Robert Sherman, putting on makeup, a wig, and women's clothing.
The music video was successful on video chart programs. It debuted on MTV's ''Total Request Live'' on December 9, 2002 at number two.^[7] It was unable to reach the top of the countdown but remained on it for fifty days and retired at number six on February 25, 2003.^[8] The video topped MuchMusic's ''Countdown'' for two consecutive weeks and remained on the countdown for fifteen weeks.^[9] The video received a Special Recognition award, presented by David LaChapelle, from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation at its 14th annual media awards.^[10] After an a cappella performance of the song, Aguilera stated in her acceptance speech that "this song is definitely a universal message that everybody can relate to - anyone that's been discriminated against or unaccepted, unappreciated or disrespected just because of who you are."

Cover versions

Elvis Costello covered the song specifically for the ''House'' episode "Autopsy".^[11] The episode opens with a scene in which a girl afflicted with a blood clot listens to the original song, and it closes with her diagnostician, Gregory House, listening to Costello's cover on an iPod. Costello's cover will appear on the House M.D. - Original Television Soundtrack.
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 for Kenny G's ''At Last...The Duets Album''. Clem Snide covered the song as the title track to its 2004 ''A Beautiful EP''. ''MADtv'' parodied the music video as "Virginal", with Christina Moore portraying Aguilera. In the video, the public "didn't care to see [Aguilera's] pubic hair" in the "Dirrty" video, so Aguilera becomes "virginal", ultimately clarifying that if "this don't sell, then I'm going back to being a whore."^[12] Alex Parks winner of BBC TV's "Fame Academy" also recorded a version for her 2003 debut album and appeared as a b-side to her first single "Maybe That's What It Takes".

Formats and track listings

;American 12" vinyl single # "Beautiful" (Peter Rauhofer remix) # "Beautiful" (Al B Rich Next Level mix) # "Beautiful" (Valentin club mix) ;American digital download # "Beautiful" (Peter Rauhofer radio mix) # "Beautiful" (Al B Rich radio mix) # "Beautiful" (Valentin radio mix) # "Beautiful" (Peter Rauhofer short club) # "Beautiful" (Brother Brown mixshow) # "Beautiful" (Brother Brown Divine mix) # "Beautiful" (Al B Rich Next Level mix) # "Beautiful" (Peter Rauhofer Beautiful theme) # "Beautiful" (Valentin club mix) # "Beautiful" (Peter Rauhofer extended club) # "Beautiful" (Brother Brown dub)	;Australian CD single # "Beautiful" # "Dame Lo Que Yo Te Doy" # "Beautiful" (video) ;British 12" vinyl single # "Beautiful" (Shanghai Surprise mix) # "Beautiful" (Tom Mandolini mix) # "Beautiful" (Brother Brown mixshow) # "Beautiful" (Brother Brown Divine mix)

Credits and personnel

★ Lead vocals: Christina Aguilera

★ Producer: Linda Perry

★ Recording engineer: Linda Perry

★ Bass guitar: Linda Perry

★ Cello: Richard Dodd

★ Drums: Brian MacLeod

★ Keyboards: Damon Fox

★ Piano: Linda Perry

★ Violin: Eric Gorfain

★ Audio mixer: Dave Pensado

Charts

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	1
Canadian Singles Chart	1
Dutch Top 40	2
French Singles Chart	27
German Singles Chart	4
Greek Singles Chart	12
Irish Singles Chart	1
Italian Singles Chart	8
New Zealand Singles Chart	1
Swiss Singles Chart	7

Chart (2003)^[13]	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	1
United World Chart	1
U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100	2
U.S. ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary	1
U.S. ''Billboard'' Adult Top 40	9
U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play	1
U.S. ''Billboard'' Rhythmic Top 40	13
U.S. ''Billboard'' Top 40 Mainstream	1
U.S. ''Billboard'' Top 40 Tracks	1

References

External links

★ Christina Aguilera's official website

★
★ "Beautiful" audio

★
★ "Beautiful" music video

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