Stripped is the fourth studio album by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was released on October 22, 2002, by RCA Records. Looking to transition from the teen pop styles of her self-titled debut album (1999), Aguilera took creative control over Stripped, both musically and lyrically. She also changed her public image and established her alter ego Xtina. Musically, the record incorporates pop and R&B with influences from many different genres, including soul, rock, hip hop, and Latin music. Lyrically, most of the album's songs discuss the theme of self-respect, while a few other songs talk about love, sex and feminism. As an executive producer, Aguilera enlisted numerous new collaborators for the album.

Stripped received polarized reviews from music critics; many criticized its lack of musical focus, while some of them called it "almost" an album for grown-ups, with comparisons made to Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson. Commercially, Stripped debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 330,000 copies. It was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping over five million copies in the United States. The album also charted within the top five of charts in Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It is Aguilera's best-performing album in the United Kingdom, becoming the 29th and 40th bestselling album of the decade and millennium there, respectively, with two million copies sold. Despite its initial critical reception, Stripped and its singles received five Grammy Award nominations, including one win, and has since gone on to receive critical praise. The album has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century.

Five singles were released from Stripped. The lead single "Dirrty" was met with criticism and controversy due to its sexual music video but was an international hit on the charts. The follow-up "Beautiful" was praised by critics and garnered chart success worldwide. The last three singles, "Fighter", "Can't Hold Us Down" and "The Voice Within", became top-ten hits in various countries. Aguilera performed various songs from Stripped live during a number of shows, notably during the 2002 MTV Europe Music Awards, the American Music Awards of 2003 (January), and the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Two concert tours were held in 2003 to promote the album, The Justified & Stripped Tour (co-headlined with Justin Timberlake) and The Stripped Tour.

Background and development

Following the release of her self-titled debut album in 1999, Aguilera had achieved major success with four worldwide hits, including "Genie in a Bottle" and "What a Girl Wants". Despite the international success, Aguilera was unsatisfied with the music and image that her former manager Steve Kurtz, had created for her, having been marketed as a bubblegum pop singer because of the genre's financial lure. She mentioned plans for her next album to have more musical and lyrical depth.

By late 2000, Aguilera decided not to continue the contract with Kurtz. After terminating Kurtz's services, Irving Azoff was hired as her new manager. Following the managerial shakeup, Aguilera decided to create her new style of music on the following album. She also used her new alter ego Xtina. She also changed her public appearance and persona, with her hair dyed black and nude photographs on magazine covers. Aguilera further commented about the event with USA Today: "When you're part of a pop phenomenon, you have so many opinions shoved down your throat. People try to tell you what you should do, how you should act, what you should wear, who you should be with. At the time things started happening for me, it was popular to be the squeaky-clean, cookie-cutter pop singer. But that role didn't speak to me, because it's so boring and superficial".

Recording and production In December 2000, Aguilera announced that she would begin recording material for her fourth studio album in February 2001. Aguilera had initially planned for the album to be released in the spring or summer of 2001, but in July, she said she intended to release it that fall. According to producer Steve Morales, RCA Records offered Aguilera an advance of US$5 million that year to complete the record sooner, which she rejected. In September, a representative for Aguilera said that the album would not be released until 2002.

In January 2002, a rep for RCA Records said the album would be released that June. By June, the record had been set for a tentative September 17 release; in August, it was ultimately postponed to its final release of late October. Aguilera later remarked that recording sessions had taken much longer than she first anticipated. She explained that many issues arose during that time, including her first breakup with her first boyfriend Jorge Santos. Aguilera believed that the lyrics of Stripped were so personal, and her vocals "represent a rawer, more bare-bones approach as well, with less of the ostentatious riffing that has miffed critics in the past". She stated, "I did the vocal gymnastics thing because it was fun. That's why I like blues, too, because you can experiment more with that side of your voice. But I thought the lyrics on this record are so personal, deep and good that I wanted to make them stand out more than what I could do with my voice technically". The recording sessions took place in studios around California and New York City, including Electric Lady Studios and The Hit Factory in New York City, The Enterprise Studios in Burbank, and Conway Recording Studios, Record Plant and NRG Recording Studios in Los Angeles.

On Stripped, Aguilera enlisted a wide range of songwriters and producers, including Alicia Keys, Scott Storch, and Linda Perry. Perry was one of the biggest influences to Aguilera during the making of the album. The singer stated, "She taught me that imperfections are good and should be kept because it comes from the heart. It makes things more believable and it's brave to share them with the world." Keys joined on the track "Impossible", which was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Another notable producer is Storch; he wrote and produced a total of seven songs from Stripped, including two singles. He stated that during the making of Stripped, Aguilera was one of his friends that he cared most. However, Storch did not produce her fifth studio album Back to Basics (2006), which started a feud between the two artists, which was stated by Aguilera in one of the track from Back to Basics, "F.U.S.S. (Interlude)".

Music and lyrics Stripped is a pop and R&B record which incorporates elements of many different genres, including soul, hip hop, heavy metal, rock, rock and roll, gospel, and Latin. The album broke her teen pop root from her self-titled debut studio album (1999). According to Aguilera, she wanted to be "real" in her next records because she was "overworked" at the time she was "a part of the big craze pop phenomenon". Multiple critics criticized its musical style, calling it a lack of musical concentration. On Stripped, Aguilera became the writer of most of the songs. She also revealed that Perry's songwriting on Pink's second studio album Missundaztood (2001) inspired Aguilera a lot. She further commented: "I wasn't a big fan of the Dallas Austin songs, but I really, really loved the Linda Perry song".

The album's opening track "Stripped Intro" describes her musical changes as she sings: "Sorry that I speak my mind / Sorry don't do what I'm told". The follow-up "Can't Hold Us Down" featuring Lil' Kim is an hip pop song which incorporates elements from dancehall toward its end. Lyrically, it talks about the theme of feminism, and was suggested that it is toward rapper Eminem and Fred Durst. The third track "Walk Away" is a piano ballad where she uses a "clever" metaphor to talk about an abusive relationship. Dotmusic editor Ian Watson compared it to Liza Minnelli's songs. It is followed by the fourth track and third single from Stripped, "Fighter", which incorporates strong elements from heavy metal and arena rock. It talks about a woman wants to thank a man who has done something wrong to her, and was inspired by Aguilera's unhappy childhood. It is followed-up by the interlude "Primer Amor Interlude", the Latin pop and flamenco track "Infatuation",The inside story of Christina Aguilera's new album Entertainment Weekly. and the interlude "Loves Embrace Interlude", respectively.

"Loving Me 4 Me" is a "sultry" classic R&B and neo soul ballad. The follow-ups "Impossible" and "Underappreciated" explore jazz and funk. The first of these incorporates a piano theme performed by Keys, while the second talks about the pain of a breakup. The piano ballad "Beautiful", which talks about the theme of self-respect, was deemed as the album's highlight by many critics, who praised its overall production. The next track "Make Over" is a salsa and dance-rock song that features a garage-rock beat. It was sued in the United Kingdom for illegally sampling the Sugababes' song "Overload" (2000), The Guardian also noted similarities between the two songs. Later, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) added the songwriting credits of Sugababes to the song. "Cruz" is a rock ballad that is musically similar to works of Michael Bolton. "Soar" is one of two tracks written for Stripped by Rob Hoffman and Heather Holley centered around themes of self-empowerment. The two next songs, "Get Mine, Get Yours", an R&B track, and "Dirrty", a hip hop and R&B-leaning anthem talks about the theme of sexual intercourse, and have been described as "majestically filthy". The latter is the remake of Redman's "Let's Get Dirty (I Can't Get in da Club)" (2001), and also features the rapper. The follow-up is the interlude "Stripped Pt. 2". The empowering ballad "The Voice Within" talks about trusting oneself. "I'm OK" is a ballad which incorporates strings and discusses Aguilera's abusive childhood with her father, and the final song from the album "Keep on Singin' My Song" incorporates elements from drum and bass with a gospel choir.

Additionally, a gospel-tinged song "I Will Be" appears on the twentieth anniversary version of Stripped, released in 2022. The track was composed circa 2000 by Aguilera, Heather Holley and Rob Hoffman, and the singer mentioned it in her interview for Rolling Stone in July 2000. Previously it was released as the B-side to "Dirrty" in the UK.

Release and promotion