Beautiful

"Beautiful" is a song written and produced by Linda Perry and recorded by American singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera for her second studio album, Stripped (2002). It is a cello-driven, classically-flavored ballad in which its protagonist deals with hurtful statements made against her that cause her to feel insecure and have low self-esteem. She does not let other people's negativity get the best of her. According to the Beautiful Songfacts, before recording the song, Aguilera and Perry talked, and Christina recalled suffering physical abuse at the hands of her father. Apparently, she began to cry and asked for the session to be abandoned, but Perry thought it was the perfect opportunity to record the song. It was released as the album's second single in late 2002 and reached number one in several countries. The song earned her a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

[Intro] Don't look at me [Verse 1] Every day is so wonderful Then suddenly it's hard to breathe Now and then I get insecure from all the pain I'm so ashamed [Chorus 1] I am beautiful no matter what they say Words can't bring me down I am beautiful in every single way Yes, words can't bring me down, oh no So don't you bring me down today [Verse 2] To all your friends, you're delirious So consumed in all your doom Trying hard to fill the emptiness The pieces gone, left the puzzle undone Is that the way it is? [Chorus 2] You are beautiful no matter what they say Words can't bring you down, oh no 'Cause you are beautiful in every single way Yes, words can't bring you down, oh no So don't you bring me down today [Bridge] No matter what we do (No matter what we do) No matter what we say (No matter what we say) We're the song inside the tune, yeah Full of beautiful mistakes And everywhere we go (And everywhere we go) The sun will always shine The sun will always, always shine (And tomorrow, we might wake on the other side) [Chorus 3] 'Cause we are beautiful no matter what they say Yes, words won't bring us down, no We are beautiful in every single way Yes, words can't bring us down, oh no So don't you bring me down today [Outro] Ooh, yeah, don't you bring me down today, yeah, ooh Ooh, don't you bring me down Ooh, today