Entertainment
Linda Perry Wrote Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" & These Other Pop Songs You Love
Linda Perry is getting a new show on VH1 called The Linda Perry Project. “Wait, who the hell is Linda Perry?” you yell (please don’t do that, it’s very rude). Perry is a singer who had a one-hit wonder in the band 4 Non Blondes with the song "What's Up," (you know, the one in the ‘90s? She wore the most ridiculous hat in the existence of hats?) and went on to have a mildly successful solo career.
But Perry went the route of many singer-songwriters who couldn’t find huge success solo and became a powerhouse songwriter and producer working behind the scenes in the pop music factory. Perry has written and produced hit songs for some of the biggest pop princesses in the past decade and has been instrumental in the careers of artists like Pink and Christina Aguilera. In her new show, she'll use her music industry expertise to mentor up-and-coming artists.
The ones who show the most promise will be signed to her newly re-launched record label, Custard Records. So what kind of music can we expect from the artists on The Linda Perry Project? Maybe the most successful songs Perry has written for formerly up-and-coming artist can give us an idea…
Pink, "Get the Party Started"
Linda Perry was instrumental in Pink's rise to pop stardom. She and Pink collaborated intensely on the album that gained her the most success, M!ssundazstood.
Gwen Stefani, "What Are You Waiting For?"
When Stefani split from her band No Doubt, Linda Perry helped her channel her doubts about going solo into "What Are You Waiting For?" for her album Love.Angel.Music.Baby. The song ended up being the first single from the album and got an Alice in Wonderland music video treatment that was all over MTV (back when they still played music videos).
Alicia Keys, "Superwoman"
While it may not be Alicia Keys' most famous song, it's definitely her most inspirational and lady-positive. It was one of the highlights of Keys' soulful album As I Am, and inspired powerful ladies so much that it was even used as the opening song for the WNBA games.
Kelly Osbourne, "One Word"
Remember Kelly Osbourne's short-lived singing career? Her most well-known song was the shoutout to daddy Ozzy and pop-punk Madonna cover "Papa Don't Preach," but the Linda Perry-penned "One Word" was the much better of the two. Not only did it better showcase Osbourne's voice, but it had a minimal, new wave feel that wasn't seen in most pop songs at the time.
Christina Aguilera, "Beautiful"
That's right, Linda Perry wrote your favorite song to ugly-cry to. "Beautiful" became one of Aguilera's most popular songs, and it helped successfully transition the singer out of her "Dirrrty" phase (although she still kept her white girl dreads for the video).
