The Stripped Tour, also known as Stripped World Tour and Stripped... Live, was the third

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...

and second world tour by American singer

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

. The tour was launched in support of her fourth studio album, '' Stripped'' (2002), beginning on September 22, 2003, at the Color Line Arena in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany, and concluded on December 17, 2003, at the Rod Laver Arena in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. The tour visited cities in Europe, Asia and Australia throughout a total of 37 concerts. The Stripped Tour was the second tour in support of ''Stripped''. The album was promoted across North America through

The Justified & Stripped Tour The Justified & Stripped Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by American recording artists Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. It was launched in support of Timberlake's debut studio album, '' Justified'' (2002), and Aguilera's fourth stu ...

which was co-headlined with

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

. The tour concluded in September 2003. Aguilera extended her part of the show and continued the tour without Timberlake, taking the show to other territories. The tour was scheduled to return for another 29 dates in North America in May 2004, but it was ultimately cancelled due to Aguilera suffering a vocal cord injury in early 2004. The performances at the

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

in London were taped and broadcast in November 2003 under the name ''

Stripped Live in the U.K. ''Stripped Live in the U.K.'' is the second concert DVD by Christina Aguilera, and documents the premiere UK performances of The Stripped Tour. The DVD does not include "Make Over" which was situated after " Can't Hold Us Down". An extended ve ...

''. It was later released as a

video album A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

in October 2004.

Background

Despite achieving success with her early work, Aguilera was unsatisfied with the material and image created for her. Aguilera took creative control of the creation of her fourth studio album, adopting a more sexual image and an

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

named Xtina. '' Stripped'' was released in October 2002. After promoting the album through several promotional appearances, Aguilera scheduled a North American co-headlining tour with

, who she knew from '' The All-New Mickey Mouse Club''. The tour was held in support of ''Stripped'' and Timberlake's debut album, '' Justified'', which were released around the same time. The tour visited North America throughout summer 2003. The tour concluded on September 2, 2003. Aguilera scheduled an additional 37 international tour dates without Timberlake.

Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

returned as the opening act for the U.K. and Ireland shows, and

So Solid Crew So Solid Crew are a British UK garage and hip hop collective originating from Battersea, London, which achieved wide success in the early 2000s. The group consisted of many members, the most notable being Asher D (Ashley Walters), Lisa Ma ...

took the spot for the rest of the European shows.

Concert synopsis

The Stripped Tour's synopsis is quite similar to Aguilera's part during

in 2003. The tour began with the video introduction of "Stripped Intro", featuring Aguilera handcuffed, blindfolded and sitting in a chair as the words "scandal", "gossip" and "lies" flashed across the screen. Then, the curtain dropped, she strutted out singing "

Dirrty "Dirrty" is a song by American singer Christina Aguilera featuring American rapper Redman, released as the lead single from her fourth studio album '' Stripped''. Despite Aguilera's first three years of commercial success, she was displeased w ...

" and "Get Mine, Get Yours", with big curly black locks, a black and hot-pink halter with belly-baring plunging neckline, pants and spiked heels. She performed " The Voice Within" as the follow-up, with a long black dress. The acoustic version of " Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" sounded "like a seasoned veteran of decades". During the performance, she gave a speech, "Thank you so much for coming... I'm getting that feeling again and it's a blessing. Yes, I've grown up a little bit. Now I'm 22... I'm so happy you've grown with me". Aguilera took off the stage again, performing the "Egyptian-turned-metal" version "

Genie in a Bottle "Genie in a Bottle" is a song by the American singer Christina Aguilera from her debut studio album, ''Christina Aguilera'' (1999). Pam Sheyne, Steve Kipner, and David Frank wrote the track; the latter two produced it. The singer herself also ...

", where she rolled on a giant "X" which portrayed her then newly established

"Xtina". Wearing "hot pink straps attached to her outfit", she slowly unraveled herself as the "genie" in the song, provocatively danced her way out of the bottle. Stripped Tour - Make Over

The performance of " Can't Hold Us Down" featured a pink "spark-shooting" motorcycle, with girls dancing around and against boys who tried to poke them. Then, she belted out "Make Over", a "lush", midtempo pop rock song with the "rhythmic trot of a Spanish spaghetti Western", featuring "chain-link fence". During the medley of two Spanish songs from ''

Mi Reflejo (English: ''My Reflection'') is the second studio album and first Spanish-language album by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was released on September 12, 2000, as a joint effort between RCA Records and BMG U.S. Latin. After the commerc ...

'', "Contigo en la Distancia" and " Falsas Esperanzas", a male dancer ripped off the skirt she wore, revealing tiny denim boy-cut shorts underneath. Later, she "saucily" replied, "Just because my album is called ''Stripped,'' doesn't mean you can take my clothes off". Following the video interlude of "Loving Me 4 Me", she performed the ballad "Impossible". She changed into a "silky empire-waisted" red dress to channel her favorite singer,

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

, and performed James' two hits, " At Last" and "I Prefer You". The rendition of "

Lady Marmalade "Lady Marmalade" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan that is famous for the French refrain of "''Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir''?", which is a sexual proposition that translates into English as: "''Do you want to sleep with m ...

" from the soundtrack ''

Moulin Rouge! ''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows an English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan ...

'' was described as "a playful romp" between four male dancers dressed as sailors and four female members of the troupe in

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...

. She continued with the "gorgeous ache" of her own

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

ballad, "Walk Away". The performance of " Fighter" had more feelings and excitements, though the sound mix was lacking, and the performance version of " What a Girl Wants" was provided with some well-deserved dance moves, in which she dressed a purple shirt and shorts. Aguilera ended her part with " Beautiful", wearing jeans and a T-shirt which emblazoned with the words "God sees no color". Additionally, DMX's song " X Gon' Give It to Ya" was used as a transition between "What a Girl Wants" and the encore but it was cut out from the ''Stripped Live in the U.K.'' video album. This part was aired, however, on TV.

Broadcasts and recordings

The shows at the

in London were filmed and put together into a video recording of the show. Titled ''

'', it premiered on the

WB Network The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on b ...

at 9 PM on November 30, 2003. The video was later released on DVD format on October 12, 2004.

Set list

The following set list was obtained from the September 24, 2003 concert, held at the

Forum Copenhagen Forum Copenhagen () is a large multi-purpose, rentable indoor arena located in Frederiksberg, Denmark. It hosts a large variety of concerts, markets, exhibitions and other events. The venue can hold up to 10,000 people depending on the event. Th ...

in Copenhagen, Denmark. It does not represent all concerts during the tour. # "Stripped (Intro)" # "

" # "Get Mine, Get Yours" # " The Voice Within" # "

" # "Make Over" # " Contigo en la Distancia" / " Falsas Esperanzas" # "Infatuation" # " Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" # "Cruz" # "Loving Me 4 Me" # "Impossible" # " At Last" / "I Prefer You" # "

" # "Walk Away" # " Fighter" # "Stripped, Pt. 2 # " What a Girl Wants" # " Beautiful"

Shows

Attendance data

Cancelled shows

North American tour cancellation

The success of the tour lead to a series of dates being scheduled in North America. The show was expected to be revised and have a new theme for a summer tour in 2004. The tour was expected to begin on May 13, 2004, in Auburn, Washington, and to conclude on July 3, 2004, with American rapper

Chingy Howard Earl Bailey Jr. (born March 9, 1980), better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper. He toured as an opening act with fellow St. Louis rapper Nelly in 2002, and signed with Georgia-based rapper Ludacris' record label, D ...

joining her for 29 dates. Tickets went on sale on March 13, 2004. In April 2004, Aguilera was told by doctors to remain on vocal rest for six week after she suffered a vocal cord injury, leading to all 29 concerts getting cancelled one month prior to the tour's beginning. She expressed disappointment in having to cancel the tour, and it was announced that refunds would be processed. However, service company FansRule had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and had no ability to refund the money to buyers. Aguilera's team then hired legal representation to deal with the designated trustees for FansRule, Joe Baldiga and John Aquino, and the bankruptcy court to help the fans. According to Baldiga, $320,000 was due as repayment to the hundreds of Aguilera fans who had bought VIP tickets. Aguilera's publicists said in a statement:

You should know that Christina has arranged through her attorneys to ensure that consumers would be receiving the maximum return possible, by virtue of the fact that Christina has agreed that any amounts due to her and her company should instead be used to satisfy the claims of the many fans who purchased tickets through FansRule.

Fans would finally be able to get refunds two years after the cancellation.

Shows

Notes

References

External links

Christina Aguilera's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stripped Tour 2003 concert tours Christina Aguilera concert tours Concert tours of Australia Concert tours of Austria Concert tours of Belgium Concert tours of Denmark Concert tours of France Concert tours of Germany Concert tours of Ireland Concert tours of Italy Concert tours of Japan Concert tours of the Netherlands Concert tours of Norway Concert tours of Spain Concert tours of Sweden Concert tours of Switzerland Concert tours of the United Kingdom

Background

Concert synopsis

Broadcasts and recordings

Set list

Shows

Attendance data

Cancelled shows

North American tour cancellation

Shows

See also

Notes

References

External links