2002–2003

On October 29, 2002, after much delay, Aguilera's second full-length English album, Stripped, was released, selling more than 330,000 copies in the first week and peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200. Unlike previous work, the album showcased Aguilera's raunchier side. The majority of Stripped was co-written by Aguilera (who had recently signed a global music publishing contract with BMG Music Publishing), and was influenced by many different subjects and music styles, including rhythm and blues, gospel, soul, balladry, pop rock, hip-hop and jazz. Upon initial release, the album was very well-received by critics, although Aguilera's vocals were overlooked as she began to cultivate a more sexually provocative image. After the release of the album, she took part in photoshoots for magazines such as Maxim, Rolling Stone, and CosmoGirl!. Many of these photographs featured her nude or semi-nude. It was during this time Aguilera referred to herself as Xtina, even getting a tattoo of her nickname on the back of her neck and several piercings.

Audio samples:
Dirrty (2002)

The lead single from her album Stripped.
Beautiful (2002)

The most successful single from her album Stripped peaking at number-one in UK and number-two in U.S..
Fighter (2003)

The third single from her album Stripped.

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Initially, the raunchy image had a negative effect on Aguilera in the U.S., especially after the release of her controversial Dirrty music video. She denied that this change was a matter of publicity, claiming that the image better reflected her true personality than did the image she cultivated back in 1999. While the video for Dirrty became very popular on MTV, it disappointed on the U.S. singles chart. However, the single was a hit worldwide, reaching number one in the UK and Ireland. The album reached the top five on the U.K., U.S. and Canadian album charts, though it was initially considered a sophomore slump. The second single, Beautiful, became highly successful on the radio and earned her another Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Three more singles from the album (Fighter, Can't Hold Us Down featuring Lil' Kim, The Voice Within) were released in the following two years and were hits that helped the album stay on the charts for the next two years - Infatuation was only released as single in Spain instead of The Voice Within. Stripped stayed on the U.S. and UK album charts well into 2004, and went on to be certified four-times platinum in the U.S. with over nine million copies sold worldwide. It appeared at number ten on Billboard's year-end album chart. Kelly Clarkson's second single Miss Independent was co-written by Aguilera, having been half-finished for Stripped.


Aguilera performing in her Stripped Tour.In May 2003, Aguilera took part in the Wango Tango concert series where she performed a number of hits such as Beautiful, Fighter and a remake of Dirrty that was produced for her upcoming tour. which Aguilera joined Justin Timberlake that June on the final leg of his international Justified tour, held in the U.S. This portion of the tour became a co-headliner called the Justified & Stripped Tour. In August, an overhead lighting grid collapsed from the ceiling of the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, causing major damage to the sound and video equipment below. Because the collapse occurred hours before the show, only a few stagehands were injured, but a few shows were cancelled or postponed. In the fourth quarter of that year, Aguilera continued to tour internationally without Timberlake, and changed the name of the tour to the Stripped tour. She also dyed her hair black. It was one of the top-grossing tours of that year, and sold out most of its venues. Rolling Stone readers named it the best tour of the year. She became the muse and model for fashion house Versace. She also topped Maxim's Hot 100 list, setting record sales for the issue later saying, We had fun working with certain clothes, or the lack thereof.

In light of the tour's success, another U.S. tour was scheduled to begin in mid 2004 with a new theme and featuring Chingy as an opening act. The tour was scrapped because of the vocal cord injuries Aguilera suffered shortly before the tour's opening date. In a tribute to Madonna's performance at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards' ceremony, Aguilera performed a kiss with the singer-actress at the 2003 edition of the ceremony in August. The incident occurred during the opening performance of Madonna's songs Like a Virgin and Hollywood with fellow popstar Britney Spears.