Tour by Christina Aguilera | |
Associated album | Stripped |
---|---|
Start date | September 22, 2003 |
End date | December 17, 2003 |
Legs | 2 |
No. of shows | 27 in Europe 3 in Asia 10 in Australia 37 total |
Christina Aguilera concert chronology |
The Stripped Tour (also known as Stripped Live) was the third concert tour by American recording artist, Christina Aguilera. It was launched support of her fourth studio album, Stripped (2002). Acting as a continuation of her Justified and Stripped Tour with Justin Timberlake, it reached Europe, Asia and Australia.
Aguilera was expected to return to North America in summer 2004, however, the 29 dates were canceled at the last minute due to Aguilera suffering vocal cord injuries.
The Tour garnered mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, who were divided on the tour's set list and Aguilera's performances.
After the success of the tour in 2003 which promoted, a US summer tour was scheduled with Chingy to begin in 2004 with a new theme, however it was scrapped due to vocal cord injuries Aguilera suffered shortly before the opening date. Doctors told Aguilera that she should not sing for the next six weeks, cancelling the tour. She said, "I'm extremely disappointed to have to cancel this tour. I was looking forward to being on the road again and spending time with my fans". 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. But it was a slow-going process, punctuated by hearings where the singer's lawyers had to fight motions from FansRule to pay the trustees before paying back 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."
The Stripped Tour's synopsis is quite similar to Aguilera's part during The Justified and Stripped Tour 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" 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", where she rolled on a giant "X" which portrayed her then newly established alter ego "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.