Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 81.220.44.147 (talk) at 00:20, 3 June 2006 (→Song information). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Beautiful" Christina Aguilera song – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (Learn how and when to remove this message)

"Beautiful" is a single by American singer Christina Aguilera, the second from her second album, Stripped. Released in late 2002 (see 2002 in music), the single peaked at number two on the United States Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Aguilera's sixth top ten hit. Due to the song's success following the failure of its predecessor, "Dirrty", it is generally believed to be her first comeback single in the United States. The single also became her fourth UK number-one single, and her first in Australia. It is generally considered to be one of Aguilera's signature songs.

Song information

"Beautiful" (written and produced solely by Linda Perry) is considered one of Aguilera's signature songs. In this cello-driven, classically flavored ballad, Aguilera deals with hurtful statements made against her which cause her to feel insecure and have low self-esteem; however, she does not let others' negativity get the best of her, causing her to proclaim proudly, "I am beautiful no matter what they say, words can't bring me down".

American Idol judge Simon Cowell was so impressed with the song that he even went so far as to proclaim it one of the best pop recordings ever. . Ironically, the song almost did not reach its prominence, as Linda Perry had originally wanted to save the song for herself. However, with Perry's career as an artist floundering, but her career as a producer a success, she decided to switch gears permanently, and gave the song to Aguilera. (This song, along with P!nk's "Get The Party Started," are most known for helping to further Perry's career as a producer.)

The song was only recorded on one take, the original demo of the song. Aguilera 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 resonated the theme of the song's vulnerability. The single's Jonas Åkerlund-directed music video garnered much attention, as it touched on the subjects of anorexia nervosa, homosexuality and cross-dressing.

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 would cover this song instrumentally for the early shows of Guns N' Roses' 2006 tour. Later it was covered by Kenny G and Chaka Khan as well.

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) - remixed by Scott Wozniak
• Beautiful (Woz Sun-Drenched Dub) - remixed by Scott Wozniak
• Beautiful (Woz Bonus Beat) - remixed by Scott Wozniak
• Beautiful (Junior Vasquez Remix)

Chart performance

After the failure of "Dirrty", Aguilera's management quickly released the follow-up single "Beautiful" to prevent the descent of Stripped on the charts. The song succeeded in its task, peaking at number two on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot 100 Airplay. However, the track failed to chart on the Hot 100 Singles Sales (largely due to the fact that single was released as a 12" maxi single, and at the time, the sales of this format could not compete with those of the regular CD/CD maxi singles). The single was also an across-the-board number-one hit, topping many Billboard charts. Elsewhere, the single received just as much success as in the U.S., topping the charts in the UK (for two weeks), Australia (for one week) and Canada (for five weeks).

Charts

"Beautiful" debuted at number sixty-two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It remained on the chart for twenty-seven weeks, and was ranked sixteen on the Hot 100 Year End Charts (2003). It was Aguilera's first number-one single on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, her fourth on both the Top 40 Tracks and Top 40 Mainstream charts, and her first on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Beautiful" was also Aguilera's fourth number-one on the UK Singles Chart and her third on the Canadian Singles Chart.

Chart trajectory

Awards

• Christina Aguilera songs
• 2002 singles
• UK number one singles
• Canadian number one singles
• Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play number-one singles
• Gay anthems