stripped writeup

Christina Aguilera was the girl-next-door with the big voice, propelled to overnight sensation in 1999 with the smash “Genie in a Bottle”. She delivered coyly flirtatious bops with a soulful maturity that made her stand out from her peers. However, Christina did not identify with the sugar-sweet image that she was pressured to maintain, and yearned to show more facets of her artistry.

As her star grew and her work schedule intensified, Christina felt increasingly stifled and frustrated. She dealt with the highs (three number one hits, Grammy win for best New Artist) and lows (media-fueled rivalry with her childhood friend Britney, crass comments from Fred Durst and Eminem, defrauded by her management) of her first album cycle by journaling intensely; advice from her writing partners Rob Hoffman and Heather Holley was “literally write everything down.

“There must have been 20 to 30 journals, it was an incredible amount of writing. The person who returned from tour was like a new person—a more mature and, in some ways, a more scarred person as well.” said Hoffman.

“Stripped” had a double meaning. Aguilera was determined to bare her soul, but also reclaim her sexuality from packaged commodity to brash self expression. “Lady Marmalade” showed the public a preview of her new provocative persona, but they were not ready for what was to come next.

The first single from Stripped, “Dirrty” took the good girl gone bad trope to new extremes, showing Aguilera as a the barely-dressed ringleader of a rowdy underground party. With it’s grimy, sweaty, eyeliner-caked aesthetic, and brash hip-hop sound (brought to life by producer Rockwilder and indebted to collaborator’s Redman “Let’s Get Dirty”), Dirrty was a far cry from the non-threatening seductiveness of “Christina Aguilera”. It was about time for “Xtina”’s arrival.

Moral panic ensued. Critics took delight in dunking on her rebrand, calling her things like “the world’s skeeviest reptile woman”. https://www.bustle.com/p/christina-aguileras-dirrrty-received-sexist-backlash-15-years-ago-we-still-havent-learned-our-lesson-79677  Dirrty was a moderate flop in the USA as a result of the controversy (though a hit in Canada and Eruope). “Either women are not sexual enough or we're not fulfilling enough of a fantasy for you, but then if we're overtly sexual or feeling empowered in a certain kind of way, then we're shamed for it,” Christina reflected on the backlash in 2018.https://www.papermag.com/christina-aguilera-transformation-2553214651.html The second single “Beautiful”, completely flipped the narrative. Even though the release was marketed as an antidote to Dirrty, it was themetically the perfect follow-up, an affirmation of self-love in the face of insecurity and criticism. Xtina’s vulnerable humanity connected with listeners, cemented her vesratility,  and send the introspective yet triumphant ballad to number #2 on the Billboard charts.

Stripped was released on Oct ? 2002. Chistina’s conviction to speak her mind is the thread that ties the genre-hopping collection of 20 songs together. Her virtuositic voice had a never-heard-before rawness as she tackled themes of individuality, female empowerment, and resilience. On the searing rock-tinged anthem “Fighter” and the Eminem clapback “Can’t Hold Us Down” feat. Lil Kim, Christina confronts  the men who demeaned her, both personally and professionally. She She embraces romantic sensuality on Living Me 4 Me and Infuation, This frs Christina was mindful to not only empower herself, but everu listender feeling misunderstood or out of place. The video for Beautiful depicted a gay couple kissing and a trans woman getting dressed, at a time when LGBTQ representation was scarce https://www.grammy.com/news/christina-aguilera-beautiful-anniversary-stripped-20th-video-impact-lgbtq-anthem-mental-health-2022-version-self-love-acceptance. Soar and The Voice Within reassure young fans that they don’t need to change themselves.