Linda Perry may be known best for her work in 4 Non Blondes – and her signature hat style. Her song “What’s Up” has remained a perennial favorite, finding new fans year after year, but she’s led an incredible life and written for a who’s who of pop and rock. That includes “Beautiful,” which became a huge hit for Christina Aguilera in 2002.
The song has become its own modern pop standard. Its message of body positivity, mental health, and self-worth feels just as urgent in 2026 as it did then. However, Perry wrote it from a very different headspace.
In a clip from the new documentary “Linda Perry: Let It Die Here,” Perry explains how the song came about.
“I was sitting at the piano, and I was just thinking about [David] Bowie,” she stated. “I wanted to write a song like David Bowie. That was it. All of a sudden, I was playing these chords.”
She then plays the song on the guitar and sings the chorus, afterward explaining she wrote it on the piano. “When I said that, ‘I am beautiful,’ I just cried and walked away from the piano. It just didn’t ring true, saying that.”
Check out the whole clip here:
In a 2019 interview with Rolling Stone, Perry elaborated on the feeling and how it changed the lyric. “When the words ‘I am beautiful’ came out, it was so shocking to me to say that because I don’t feel that way,” she said. “I was still in denial about this positive message that I could possibly be saying. That’s why I changed the second one to ‘You are beautiful’ and the third one to ‘We are beautiful’ — because I couldn’t bear to keep saying ‘I am beautiful.'”
Perry wrote the song while she was working with Pink, for whom she had already written “Get the Party Started.” However, the song was too personal to Perry to give it to just anyone: it had to be the right person.
Aguilera showed up to Perry’s studio after the song was finished, and Perry played it for her. The songwriter described the singer as “very vulnerable” as she asked to use it for her upcoming album. As Aguilera was recording the song, she whispered, “Don’t look at me.” That’s when Perry realized that she was the perfect person to capture the raw emotion of the song.
“I knew I was going to keep that on the record, and I knew she was the right person for the song,” Perry shared. “I realized, ‘Oh, she’s insecure. She’s one of those beautiful people who’s got everything but is super insecure. Okay, this song is hers.'”
The song’s emotional power is tied to the first take, which captures all the small inconsistencies and imperfections. Aguilera wanted to re-record it, but Perry wouldn’t allow it, pointing out that the flaws helped evoke the song’s true feelings.
The song would go to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2002 and, just like “What’s Up,” has stayed in the zeitgeist ever since.
The documentary “Linda Perry: Let It Die Here” will get its theatrical launch in New York City on May 8th with a wider rollout on May 19th.
Until then, dig into the emotional depth of “Beautiful”:
