Christina Aguilera Drops New Music Video for ‘Beautiful,’ Addressing Social Media and Mental Health

Christina Aguilera performs onstage during the amfAR Cannes Gala 2022 in Cap d'Antibes, France.Dominique Charriau/Getty Images

Christina Aguilera has done it again. Twenty years after the release of her hit “Beautiful,” the song that had all of us rethinking our relationships with our bodies and self-love, the Grammy Award winner dropped a revamped, powerful music video. The video was released on YouTube on Oct. 19, in conjunction with World Mental Health Day.

“Tune out and turn in,” Aguilera wrote a week earlier in a teaser on Instagram. “Take your space, log off, put your mind, body, and soul first.”

The new video, directed by Fiona Jane Burgess, is updated for an audience living in today’s world, directed at people with too much access to screens and social media. It features kids constantly on their phones struggling to accept their bodies and comparing themselves to each other, celebrities and photoshopped and retouched models on social media. By the end of the video each kid has some sort of epiphany—whether its wiping off their makeup, ripping up a magazine or talking to a therapist. They begin the journey of loving themselves and just living life the way kids (and people of any age) should, without pressure to look a certain way.

Aguilera posted a shoutout on Instagram to all the kids who starred in the music video. “Thank you to all of the incredible individuals who participated in bringing this new Beautiful video to life,” the 41-year-old wrote. “This song means so much to me and I deeply appreciate everyone’s boldness, bravery and courage in standing up for something bigger than ourselves! Im honored and I love you all 🤍✨”

Stripped, the 2002 album on which “Beautiful” was featured, was Aguilera’s fourth studio album. In a sappy Instagram montage of throwback performances, she revealed that the album gave her the “strength and freedom as an artist to tell my story the way I wanted, for the first time.” She thanked “fighters” around the world for “amplifying” her message and giving her a platform to share her true form. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album and also included the hits “Fighter” and “Dirrty.”

“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,” she added on the day of the video’s release. “The original ‘Beautiful’ video set out to bring awareness and a sense of compassion in the face of judgment, criticism, and outside opinions. It 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.”

Several fans chimed into the comments, reminiscing on Aguilera’s “unapologetic” era and noting the impact she and the album had on their lives.

Christina Aguilera performing "Beautiful" at the VH-1 Big in 2002 Awards.

KMazur/Getty Images

“It’s amazing how many people were inspired by this era,“ Stefano Marocco wrote. “I hope you take dimension of how great you are for all of us. Best Album Ever.”

“Beautiful” was honored with a special recognition award at the GLAAD Media Awards in 2003 and won the 2004 Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

“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,” a message on a bleeding phone reads at the end of the new music video. “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.”