Beautiful

"Beautiful" is a song recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera for her fourth studio album, Stripped (2002). It was released as the album's second single on November 15, 2002. A pop and R&B ballad, "Beautiful" was written and produced by Linda Perry and discusses inner-beauty, as well as self-esteem and insecurity. Aguilera commented that she put "her heart and soul" into the track, which she felt represented the theme of Stripped. "Beautiful" received universal acclaim from music critics, who have ranked it among Aguilera's strongest material. It won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 2004 ceremony. "Beautiful" was also a commercial success, topping the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Romania, and the United Kingdom. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, where it was certified double platinum for over 2 million units sold. "Beautiful" has been widely embraced as an anthem by the LGBT community for its message of self-empowerment and inner-beauty. An accompanying music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund, and earned Aguilera a GLAAD Media Award for its positive portrayal of gay and transgender people. In 2011, UK LGBT rights organization Stonewall named "Beautiful" the most empowering song of the previous decade for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. In 2009, Rolling Stone and VH1 listed it as one of the best songs of the 2000s. The song was later re-recorded in an electronic style, entitled "You Are What You Are (Beautiful)", for her first greatest hits album Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits (2008). Background and recording "Beautiful" was written and produced by Linda Perry. Christina Aguilera recorded the song at two studios: The Enterprise Studios in Burbank, California, and Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood. Prior to the collaboration with Aguilera, Perry had written the song and wanted to keep the "personal" record for her own singing career. Perry previewed the song for Pink during recording sessions for the latter's sophomore studio album Missundaztood (2001), on which Perry worked as a producer. However, after hearing Aguilera sing the song at Perry's house to "break the ice", Perry was very impressed and allowed Aguilera to include the track on her then-upcoming album Stripped, effectively deciding not to pursue a solo career.