Christina Aguilera releases new ‘Beautiful’ music video 20 years after its debut

Angelique Agarap

October 21, 2022

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  Photo: Christina Aguilera

  In line with the celebration of her Stripped album’s 20th anniversary and World Mental Health Day, American singer Christina Aguilera dropped a new music video for her self-love anthem, Beautiful.
  
  The 2022 version illustrates how social media beauty standards bring pressure to bear on young men and women. In some disturbing scenes, little girls are shown putting on makeup and posing for selfies, little boys getting intimidated by bodybuilders, and young women being marked up as if preparing for cosmetic surgery. As they struggle to fit into what is considered perfect, they eventually learn to accept themselves for who they are because they are beautiful.
  
  At the end of the video, a call-to-action says, “In the last 20 years, since Stripped was first released, social media has transformed our relationship with our bodies, and in turn, our mental health.”

  “Research suggests that time spent on social networking sites is associated with body image issues, self-harm, and disordered eating in children and teens. This needs to change,” the video also read before directing viewers to mental health resources on Aguilera’s website.
  
  In an Instagram post, Aguilera elaborated on the message of the song and music video.

  “Today, it’s harder than ever to hear our own voice amongst so many others infiltrating our feeds and minds with mixed messaging… ultimately leading us to tune-out our own truth and self worth,” the popstar said.
  

   

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  A post shared by Christina Aguilera (@xtina)

  She went on to say that Beautiful still carries an important message “to remember our core values outside of what’s being fed to us… to find a sense of balance and accepting ourselves for who we are.”
  
  Beautiful was first released in 2002, and has since become one of Aguilera’s signature songs and has been widely embraced as an anthem by the LGBT community for its message of self-empowerment and inner-beauty.

  The song received universal acclaim from music critics, ranking it among Aguilera’s strongest material. It won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2004 and was also nominated for Song of the Year.

  Watch the music video here:

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