Stripped by Christina Aguilera

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 her next album project, both musically and lyrically. She also changed her public image and established her alter ego Xtina. Musically, its music incorporates pop and R&B with influences from many different genres, including soul, rock, hip hop, and Latin music. Lyrically, most of the songs from the album discuss the theme of self-respect, while a few other songs talk about sex and feminism. As an executive producer, Aguilera enlisted many new collaborators for the album. Upon its release, Stripped received generally mixed reviews from music critics; most of them criticized its lack of musical focus, while some of them called it "almost" an album for grown-ups. However, the album received multiple Grammy Award nominations, including one win. Commercially, Stripped debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 330,000 copies. Consequently, it was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping over four 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 was Aguilera's best-performing album in the United Kingdom, becoming the twenty-ninth and fortieth best-selling album of the decade and millennium there, respectively, with two million copies sold. Stripped has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Five singles were released from the album. 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 several 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 and Stripped Tour (co-headlined with Justin Timberlake) and The Stripped Tour.