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- Duration: 3:59
- Published: 03 Oct 2009
- Uploaded: 19 Aug 2011
- Author: CAguileraVEVO
Name | Beautiful |
---|---|
Cover | 02_-_Beautiful.jpg |
Artist | Christina Aguilera |
Album | Stripped |
B-side | "Dame Lo Que Yo Te Doy" |
Released | December 24, 2002 (U.S.)March 3, 2003 (UK) |
Format | 12" single, CD single, digital download |
Recorded | 2001 |
Genre | Soft rock |
Length | 3:59 |
Label | RCA |
Writer | Linda Perry |
Producer | Linda Perry |
Certification | Platinum (ARIA)Gold (RIAA) |
Last single | "Dirrty"(2002) |
This single | "Beautiful"(2002) |
Next single | "Fighter"(2003) |
"Beautiful" is a song recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was written and produced by Linda Perry for Aguilera's fourth studio album, Stripped (2002). A cello-driven, classically-flavored ballad, it tells the story of someone who is fighting against low self-esteem and insecurity issues; its main message is about inner beauty and not letting other people's opinions and words disturb one's peace of mind.
The song was released as the album's second single on December 24, 2002 and reached number one in several countries; becoming the most successful single from Stripped, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and Canada as well as peaking at number 2 in the United States. It also was embraced by the LGBT community as an anthem.
Beautiful received general acclaim from critics and has been noted as one of Aguilera's strongest singles. The music video also gained Aguilera a Special Recognition GLAAD Award for its positive portrayal of gay and transgender people.
The song won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 ceremony and was also nominated for Song of the Year. It also was ranked number fifty-two on Rolling Stones Top 100 songs of the decade. UK LGBT rights charity Stonewall named Beautiful the most empowering song of the decade for LGBT people.
The song was the first single from the album, but Aguilera came into disagreement with her label to release the single "Dirrty", but after the poor performance of the single, her label released the second single quickly, not to harm album sales. The song became a massive success, becoming Aguilera's fifth number one single worldwide, and her fifth Top 10 hit in America. In addition, the song topped over 20 charts worldwide. Aguilera performed "Beautiful" on various TV shows and on thes tours; Justified/Stripped Tour, Stripped World Tour, Back to Basics Tour. In America, the single was viewed as a comeback single, due to the slight underperformance of her previous single, Dirrty, on the American charts, both released on a 12" format. As with "Genie in a Bottle", which was re-recorded as "Genie 2.0" and performed at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Aguilera has re-recorded "Beautiful" in an electronic style for inclusion alongside the original version on her greatest hits album Keeps Gettin' Better - A Decade of Hits with the name "You Are What You Are (Beautiful)".
"Beautiful" was released to American radio station on December 24, 2002. The single was released as a 12" single, and released as a CD Single later in late 2003. "Beautiful" was released on March 3, 2003 in the United Kingdom also as a 12" single. Also, the instrumental version of the song were accompanied by a remix of "Beautiful" made by Peter Rauhofer. In addition, another CD Single was released in Europe in late 2003. It included remixes by Peter Rauhofer, Brother Brown, and Tom Mandolini.
"Beautiful" is a gentle ballad composed in the key of E♭ major. It moves at a slow 78 beats per minute. Stylus Magazine described the song as "a typical ballad that actually tastefully reins in Aguilera's frequent vocal acrobatics". "Beautiful" received critical praise from some critics, appreciating how Aguilera and Perry released an opposite genre than the previous single, "Dirrty'. Some critics felt the change in Aguilera's style was too fast, but most appreciated her toying with her image. "I'm truly proud of that song. To me it almost sounds like a Beatles song. I was trying to write a song that affected everybody -- this almost desperate cry that 'I am beautiful, no matter what you say," Linda Perry once stated in an interview. Paul Bryant, music director of influential New York top 40 station Z-100, praised the track, saying "Beautiful' is hands-down a runaway number one record. It's taken her to the next level and given her more respect in the adult community. It's just a classic ballad."
The single proved to be another international phenomenon for Aguilera, entering the Top 5 in almost every European country it was released in, including Germany, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, and Austria. "Beautiful" stayed on the charts in Germany for 11 weeks, and for 42 weeks in Argentina's Top 100 Airplay, at #1. In the Pacific, "Beautiful" peaked at number one on the Australian Singles Chart, and got a Platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipments of 70,000. In New Zealand, the single also peaked at #1, staying on the chart for 22 weeks. It was eventually certified Gold there. In 2004 "Beautiful" won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Linda Perry received a 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". "Beautiful" went on to become one of the most played songs of the decade, with an audience impression of more than 6 billion.
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. 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. Bob Ricci recorded a parody of the song called "Unhackable" for his 2008 album Bob's Gone Wild. The band Hunchback recorded a cover version for their album Pray For Scars which features Michael Gerald from Killdozer. The Zutons performed a cover of the song for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. Israeli punk band Make It Rain often play a cover version in their shows. The Lemonheads cover the song on their album Varshons (2009). Suede singer Brett Anderson performed a version of the song on piano, which was uploaded to his official YouTube channel. Krezip performed this song as part of their unplugged "PURE" session for music channel The Box. This recording is available on CD and DVD "That'll be unpugged". Sandra Bernhard did an own version as the opening song to her 2007 comedy show "Everything Bad & Beautiful". In the end, after she sings a medley of "Just Like a Pill" by Pink and "Kiss Me Deadly" by Lita Ford, she repeats the line "so don't you bring me down today". Katharine McPhee performs the song on NBC's upcoming show Smash.
Aguilera's rendition was later mocked by Pink during her 2004 Try This Tour. During the tour, Pink performs a solo version of Lady Marmalade with four blow up dolls resembling herself, Lil' Kim, Mýa and Aguilera. Along with her background dancers, Pink performs several aggressive sexual acts with the dolls. As the song flows to Aguilera's verse, Pink stops the performance abruptly and states to the crowd, "I want you guys to see this face". She then begins to improv the chorus of "Beautiful", stating, "You are beautiful, no matter what I say."
On October 5 2010, several hundred people gathered in front of the Massachusetts State House and sang Beautiful as a tribute to the teenagers that committed suicide due to anti-gay bullying during the previous months. And in March 2011, the Columbus Children's Choir and Columbus Gay Men's Chorus joined to perform the song as a contribution to the It Gets Better Project.
;U.S. 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)
;Canadian CD single # "Beautiful" # "Dame Lo Que Yo Te Doy"
;UK CD single # "Beautiful (album version)" # "Dirrty (MaUVe Mix)" # "Beautiful" (video)
;UK 12" single # "Beautiful" (Shanghai Surprise mix) # "Beautiful" (Tom Mandolini mix) # "Beautiful" (Brother Brown mixshow) # "Beautiful" (Brother Brown Divine mix)
Category:2000s ballads Category:2000s pop songs Category:2002 singles Category:2003 singles Category:Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one singles Category:Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs number-one singles Category:Billboard Pop Songs number-one singles Category:Christina Aguilera songs Category:Music videos directed by Jonas Åkerlund Category:Number-one singles in Australia Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand Category:Number-one singles in Romania Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles Category:Pop ballads Category:Songs written by Linda Perry Category:Canadian Singles Chart number-one singles
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