Portal:Pop music/Selected song/3

"Beautiful" is a song recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was written and produced by Linda Perry for Aguilera's fourth studio album, Stripped (2002). A cello-driven, classically-flavored ballad, it tells the story of someone who is fighting against low self-esteem and insecurity issues; its main message is about inner beauty and not letting other people's opinions and words disturb one's peace of mind.

The song was released as the album's second single on December 24, 2002 and reached number one in several countries; becoming the most successful single from Stripped, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and Canada as well as peaking at number 2 in the United States. It also was embraced by the LGBT community as an anthem. "Beautiful" received general acclaim from critics and has been noted as one of Aguilera's strongest singles. The music video also gained Aguilera a Special Recognition GLAAD Award for its positive portrayal of gay and transgender people.

The song won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 ceremony and was also nominated for Song of the Year. It also was ranked number fifty-two on Rolling Stone's Top 100 songs of the decade. UK LGBT rights charity Stonewall named Beautiful the most empowering song of the decade for LGBT people.