"STRIPPED" BY CHRISTINA AGUILERA
Photo credit: Miranda Penn Turin
"Stripped" changed my life and I think it changed the music world forever.
Aguilera came back in 2002 with one of the best records of all time. I can’t tell how many times I listened to this album but what I can tell you is that I still know every lyric, every adlib, I still remember who produced each song and I still remember the tracklist by heart. I studied this album for a long time, and if I had to pick one album to listen to for the rest of my life, it will probably be this one.
When she dropped the first single “Dirrty” with Redman, I remember the whole world was shocked to watch the music video. But I was fascinated and amazed, and i thought to myself “ok she is going to change the world”. She was being her true self and she didn’t give a fuck. “Dirrty” is one of the most authentic songs ever released and Xtina is the one who got to release this. We’ve never heard something like “Dirrty”, or did we?
“Stripped” is one of the first albums I’ve ever bought. I just had to buy it. The topics on this album are so important and powerful - she wrote about things we rarely heard of back then - at least in pop music. But you know what, this album wasn't just about pop music, it had some r&b, soul and hip-hop, rock and some latino vibe.
She recorded inspiring and uplifting records like "The Voice Within", "Beautiful", "Soar", Keep on Singin' My Song", personal and vulnerable songs like "I'm OK", empowering records like "Can't Hold Us Down" and "Fighter". She wasn’t afraid to speak up and say what was on her mind with this record. That was fucking powerful.
My personal favorite back then was “Cruz” - mostly for the message and for her vocals. Damn, the vocal production on this record was amazing.
On a personal level, this album helped me through some tough times. I remember I would listen to her album every morning on my way to high-school and I would listen to it every time I would feel alone and sad. This record brought me strength. This record brought me hope. It was like a friend to me back then. “The Voice Within” was on repeat. It was the song I really needed. Today I'm 33 years old and this album still resonates with me deeply. I don’t think I ever connected that much with a record. That is why it is my all time favorite.
I read one article on Billboard about this Stripped album last year. It said it inspired the pop music scene many years later. It changed the game. Ever since she dropped this album, new female artists would write and sing about real shit . And today it is all we hear. It is a good thing I guess. Talking about real and deep important stuff often creates great art. Being true to who we are creates great art. I believe she didn't give a fuck about what other people would think of her when releasing this project. From the songs to her photos, to her videos, to her looks. She was being her true authentic self, and that's the best part of it. It was so inspiring to watch. If she released that album for the first time today, it wouldn’t do that good because they all do that now. But she was part of these rare artists who started this. It made a huge impact.
Back in the day, we had real albums with real songs and we would listen to the whole album without skipping. 20 fucking songs (even those interludes were sick) and I still listen to this album on a daily basis. I miss those days. But music lives forever and “Stripped” will live forever. If you haven’t listened to this record, please do. It will change your life. And if not, at least you will learn something from it because it changed the music scene for sure.
Anyway. That’s it.
Thank you Xtina for you what you did / do for music.