{"id":308709,"date":"2026-02-25T02:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T02:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/308709\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T02:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T02:01:11","slug":"im-looking-at-this-hot-chick-whos-got-everything-going-on-or-at-least-thats-what-you-think-and-she-wants-the-song-ab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/308709\/","title":{"rendered":"\u200b\u200b\u201cI\u2019m looking at this \u2018hot chick\u2019 who’s got everything going on \u2013 or at least that\u2019s what you think \u2013 and she wants the song about being Beautiful? How vain is that?\u201d: How Christina Aguilera ended up recording a Linda Perry song that she’s now reclaimed"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 25 years after the release of her last solo album, former 4 Non Blonde Linda Perry<\/a> has finally announced her next one. Let It Die Here will be released on 8 May, but before then we have the first single, and it\u2019s a song that you\u2019ll almost certainly be familiar with.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re talking about Beautiful, the Perry-penned ballad that became a huge hit for Christina Aguilera back in 2002, but has now been reclaimed by its writer.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I wrote Beautiful, I had no idea I was struggling inside,\u201d Perry says now. \u201c\u2018I am beautiful no matter what they say.\u2019 \u2018They\u2019 represents the insecurities we all face, the fear that makes people unkind simply because someone or something is different.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

\u201cBeautiful is about self-expression, being free to be whoever you want to be. \u2018Don\u2019t you bring me down today.\u2019 Don\u2019t you dare try to make me feel less than, not good enough, or ugly because I don\u2019t look like you. Don\u2019t treat me like I don\u2019t matter just because I do not speak or think like you. I will shine in every single way, and no one can take that from me, you, or anyone.<\/p>\n

How Linda Perry Wrote Beautiful Sung By Christina Aguilera – YouTube
\n\"How<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s believed that Perry originally intended to release Beautiful herself, then later considered giving it to Pink. However, she ultimately decided to let Aguilera sing it after a moment of happenstance.<\/p>\n

Aguilera had shown up at Perry\u2019s studio with her entourage with a view to writing with her, but was told that her team would have to wait outside. \u201cNot allowed in my studio,\u201d Perry told American Songwriter in 2021, \u201cso she was really shy [and said] \u2018Can you sing a song or something to break the ice?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had just written Beautiful \u2013 I sat down at the piano and started playing,\u201d Perry explains. \u201cAnd then I just heard her little feet get closer and closer, and by the end of the song she was like, \u2018Can you demo that and give me the lyrics?\u2019 And I\u2019m like all, \u2018Huh? Why?\u2019 And she\u2019s like, \u2018Because I want that for my record.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here. <\/p>\n

That record would end up being Stripped, which Perry would ultimately contribute several songs to, but the singer-songwriter was initially dubious about giving Beautiful \u2013 a song that focuses on issues of self-esteem and insecurity \u2013 to a megawatt star like Aguilera.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking at this, you know, \u2018hot chick\u2019 that\u2019s got everything going on \u2013 or at least that\u2019s what you think \u2013 and she\u2019s wanting the song about being Beautiful? How vain is that?\u201d<\/p>\n

The penny dropped, though, when Aguilera returned to the studio to record Beautiful, with her one allotted friend in tow. With the tape running, the vulnerable singer turned to her friend and said \u2018Don\u2019t look at me\u2019 \u2013 a spoken line that you can hear on the finished track.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd those words at the top opened up a whole world for me,\u201d says Perry. \u201cBecause I realised that this beautiful girl that\u2019s on the charts, everybody knows her, is just as insecure as I am. That was pretty amazing, so Christina Aguilera, thank you for those words because it really did change my whole concept of what Beautiful really meant, and it was about someone struggling with the fact that maybe there is beauty beyond your visual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christina Aguilera – Beautiful (Official HD Video) – YouTube
\n\"Christina<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Such was the rawness of that original take that it\u2019s the one that was used on the record. It\u2019s believed that Aguilera wasn\u2019t happy with her vocals and wanted to re-record them, but Perry insisted that they went with her first attempt because it had the imperfection and vulnerability that was required.<\/p>\n

Why revisit the song now, though? Speaking to Consequence<\/a>, Perry says that she hadn\u2019t originally planned to record Beautiful, and that the decision to record it herself only came after the rest of her new album had been completed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, this is about my journey with my mum, and how fucked up she is, but how it all helped me become who I was, you know, who I am,\u201d says Perry. She decided that her journey \u201cwouldn\u2019t be complete\u201d without Beautiful being on the record.<\/p>\n

Rather than trying to reinvent the song, Perry has stayed pretty faithful to the original, but with a few key differences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll just do the exact version I did for Christina, but I won\u2019t put strings on it, I\u2019ll put Mellotron, and I\u2019ll add more guitar, but at the same tempo [and in] the same key,\u201d Perry decided. \u201cIt is pretty much the same structure, the same intent, but Christina, she\u2019s not me, you know? And I\u2019m not Christina. I just basically did the Linda version of that song.\u201d<\/p>\n

Linda Perry – Beautiful (Official Music Video) – YouTube
\n\"Linda<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Lo and behold, Perry\u2019s team (they weren\u2019t allowed in her studio, presumably) loved it, and it was decided that Beautiful mkII (or should that be Beautiful 0.5?) should be the single that reintroduced Perry \u2013 who, for the past 25 years, has been mainly known as a songwriter and producer \u2013 to the listening public.<\/p>\n

Let It Die Here will be released on 8 May, the same day as the documentary film of the same name, which tells the story of not only Perry\u2019s wildly successful career, but also her struggle to find purpose and meaning in it all.<\/p>\n

Linda Perry – Let It Die Here (Documentary Trailer) – YouTube
\n\"Linda<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 25 years after the release of her last solo album, former 4 Non Blonde Linda Perry…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[458,146,85,46],"class_list":["post-308709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}