Linda Perry Reveals Why She Hesitated to Give 'Beautiful' to Christina Aguilera

Shaunee FlowersSat, May 9, 2026 at 6:27 PM UTC

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Linda Perry Reveals Why She Hesitated to Give 'Beautiful' to Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera almost didn't get to sing one of her biggest hits, and the reason is as flattering as it is a lesson that everyone is going through something.

While appearing on TheZach Sang Show, Linda Perryopened up about writing one of Aguilera's biggest hits and weighed in on her thought process regarding who gets what.

The topic came up when Perry was talking about how she wrote the song "Beautiful" with herself in mind, writing about how she felt and just letting the words flow. But when Aguilera came to collaborate with her and asked Perry to sing for her to help break the ice and relax her nerves, the song took on a whole new life.

"That was the song that was the most fresh, and I played it to her, and she was like 'Okay I want that' and I'm thinking, in my mind I'm like 'No you're like a hot chick, I'm not giving you this song. No way, are you kidding me?'"

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She continued, "And then my manager at the time said, 'Why don't you just let her sing it and see what it sounds like?'"

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It turns out that's the best thing the 4 Non Blondes singer could have done. "I let her sing it, and it just took on a whole new... it made sense. Cuz then I was like.. that's when I discovered, I know, so late in the game, 'Oh, beautiful people are just as damaged as I am. Like, she's just as f----d up as I am. Then it broke the ice between the both of us when I saw that."

In the same interview, Perry explained how she doesn't edit when she writes because she doesn't think of herself as a songwriter but as a vessel and songs "just show up." Which is how "Beautiful" came to be and why she didn't edit it as the words and melody came to her.

Likewise, it's worth noting that Aguilera's recording of the song is her first run-through, which Perry said was exactly what she wanted: raw and emotional rather than polished and perfected.

Aguilera won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Beautiful" at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards in 2004. It also won her a GLAAD Media Award.

It's no secret that Perry is one of the most successful modern songwriters and, in addition to the "Beautiful" singer, she has also written songs for Pink, Gwen Stefani, andBritney Spears.

This story was originally published by Parade on May 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”