“My favorite memory was just, I mean, the freedom to finally do what I wanted to do,” the voice of Christina Aguilera, pop princess of the early 2000s, can be heard saying over the rapidly firing footage. “As an artist, telling my stories, my personal messages for the first time. It was so important to me on my sophomore album that I truly made music that represented who I was.”
Videos by American Songwriter
The powerhouse vocalist announced she is celebrating two decades of Stripped, sharing a video montage of moments from the album’s era.
“Stripped gave me the strength and freedom as an artist to tell my story the way I wanted, for the first time,” the “What a Girl Wants” singer captioned a recent post on her social media. “Thank you to all of my fighters around the world for amplifying that strength and giving me the space to continue to share myself in my truest forms.”
She concluded the caption, writing “Today marks the kick off of the #20YearsOfStripped celebration,” promising there will be “more to come.”
The singer’s 2002 sophomore release catapulted her further into pop stardom with hits like “Fighter,” “Beautiful,” and “Dirrty.” The album also marked a distinct shift in her career, seeing her depart from a Mickey Mouse Club kid and teen icon to a young adult, exploring themes of sexuality and equality.
She told MTV upon the album’s release, Stripped‘s title represented “a new beginning.” She explained it’s “a re-introduction of myself as a new artist in a way, because for the first time people are really seeing and getting to know how I really am.”
Wednesday (Oct. 19), Aguilera dropped a brand new music video for her enduring hit “Beautiful” to kick off the 20th anniversary celebrations.
Revisit the original, below, and let us know what you think of the latest version in the comments.
Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Billboard
