Christina Aguilera remakes 'Beautiful' music video, says she will always stand by song's message
It's been 20 years since Christina Aguilera first released the music video for her song, "Beautiful," from her album, "Stripped," and to mark its anniversary, the singer updated the music video.
On Wednesday, Aguilera shared "Beautiful (2022 Version)" on YouTube. When the song was first released in 2002, it became an anthem for self-love and acceptance.
In the 2022 version, Aguilera continues to use the song's message as a warning for young girls and boys about the dangers of social media's impact on children, with depictions of how girls are flooded with images of women with youthful faces and voluptuous bodies, while boys are encouraged to have the sculpted body of an action hero.
Throughout the video, children are either seen holding up their cameras to film what they are pressured to look like -- through the exposure of liposuction, bodybuilding and other cosmetic surgeries -- or have the camera trained on themselves to show how they're embracing these standards.
The music video also explores how isolating these messages are by showing a young, larger girl staring down a vending machine stuffed with diet pills, and also a boy fantasizing on how to end his life in a hospital room.
The video concludes with these same kids, without their phones, running around in the sun on a grassy field -- finally acting their age.
In the end, the video warns, "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. 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."
In an Instagram post she shared along with the music video, Aguilera said that the message of "Beautiful" is something she "will always stand by" and "prioritize" to instill in her own children.
"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 wrote.
"The original 'Beautiful' video set out to bring awareness and a sense of compassion in the face of judgment, criticism and outside opinions," she added. "It still carries an important message to remember our core values outside of what's being fed to us... to find a sense o balance and accepting ourselves for who we are."
The new music video officially kicks off the 20th anniversary celebration of the "Stripped" album.
