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 studio album, Stripped (2002). Timberlake announced that he would go on a co-headlining tour at the 2003 American Music Awards on January 13, 2003, and it was officially announced the following day that Aguilera would be the co-headlined artist of the tour. Tour dates were revealed on February 21, 2003; it kicked off on June 4, 2003 in Phoenix, Arizona and visited 45 cities in North America. The Black Eyed Peas were serviced as the tour's supporting act.^[2]

The Justified & Stripped Tour

Continental tour by Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera
Location	North America
Associated albums	Justified Stripped
Start date	June 4, 2003 (2003-06-04)
End date	September 2, 2003 (2003-09-02)
No. of shows	45
Supporting act(s)	Black Eyed Peas
Attendance	546,483
Box office	$31.8 million ($54.36 million in 2024 dollars)[1]
Justin Timberlake tour chronology The Justified World Tour (2003–04) The Justified & Stripped Tour (2003) FutureSex/ LoveShow (2007) Christina Aguilera tour chronology Christina Aguilera in Concert (2000–01) The Justified & Stripped Tour (2003) The Stripped Tour (2003)

The set list was composed generally from Timberlake's Justified and Aguilera's Stripped. However, both artists also added material from their early works, including Timberlake's work with NSYNC and Aguilera's self-titled debut album; she also performed two of Etta James's songs: "At Last" and "I Prefer You". The Justified and Stripped Tour was divided into five segments, two for Aguilera and three for Timberlake, with each segment being followed by an interlude to the next segment, and it ended with an encore, lasting for a total of 160 minutes.

The tour was met with mixed reviews from most contemporary music critics. Some praised the maturities of the two artists, while others criticized their vocal abilities during the tour. They also believed that Aguilera's image during the tour resembled that of American recording artist Cher, and her part concentrated too much on her vocal abilities, while Timberlake's part worked his considerable sex appeal. However, the tour was a commercial success, garnering more than US$30 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing tour in 2003.^[3] It also became the third-highest-grossing co-headlining tour of the year. In late 2003, the tour's extension, The Stripped Tour was held to promote Aguilera's Stripped without Timberlake's act. An extended play, entitled Justin & Christina, was released exclusively at Target Stores to support the tour.

Development

When she was asked why they decided to go on tour together, Aguilera replied, "We both put out records around the same time that kind of introduced ourselves to the world as new artists, in a way. So it was just a good time. And I've known Justin since the Mickey Mouse Club days, since we were twelve or thirteen, so we go back in our friendship, and it kind of works."^[4]

Concert synopsis

During the tour, Aguilera paid tribute to her idol Etta James by channeling her in a red silk dress and performing two of her songs, "At Last" and "I Prefer You".

The concert 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.^[5] Backed by a five-piece band and eight back-up dancers, Aguilera strutted out singing "Dirrty" and "Get Mine, Get Yours", with curly black hair, a black and "hot-pink halter with belly-baring plunging neckline", pants and spiked heels.^[6] She performed "The Voice Within" as the follow-up, with a long black dress. During the acoustic version of "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", 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".^[6] Aguilera went onstage 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".^[6][7] Wearing "hot pink straps attached to her outfit", she slowly unraveled herself as the "genie" in the song, provocatively dancing her way out of the bottle.^[6] The performance of "Can't Hold Us Down" featured a pink "spark-shooting" motorcycle.^[7] Then, she belted out "Make Over" with the "rhythmic trot of a Spanish spaghetti Western",^[8] featuring "chain-link fence".^[7]

Following the video interlude of "Loving Me 4 Me", she performed the ballad "Impossible".^[9] She later changed into a "silky empire-waisted" red dress to channel her favorite singer, Etta James, and performed two of James' hits, "At Last" and "I Prefer You".^[6] The rendition of "Lady Marmalade" from the soundtrack Moulin Rouge! was described as "a playful romp" between four male dancers dressed as sailors and four female members of the troupe in lingerie.^[6][10] During the medley of two Spanish songs from Mi Reflejo, "Contigo en la Distancia" and "Falsas Esperanzas", a male dancer ripped off the skirt she wore, revealing tiny denim boy-cut shorts underneath.^[10] Later, she "saucily" replied, "Just because my album name is Stripped, doesn't mean you can take my clothes off".^[6][10] She continued with the "gorgeous ache" of "Walk Away".^[8] The performance of "Fighter" "had more feelings and excitements",^[11] and the performance version of "What a Girl Wants" was provided with some "well-deserved" dance moves, in which she wore a purple shirt and shorts.^[9] Aguilera ended her part with "Beautiful",^[9] wearing jeans and a T-shirt which emblazoned with the words "God sees no color".^[6]

Timberlake's part began with a video interlude of "Ghetto Blaster", followed by the performance of "Rock Your Body". He yelled, "Scream!", "What's up?", "We got some crazy people in the crowd tonight", he responded. "I'll be your host for this evening. I'm gonna test your knowledge a little bit with this one. Let's see if you can spot this one". Timberlake showed real depth in his craft, playing a variety of instruments and really showing his dancing chops; princible choreography (Marty Kudelka and Blake Anthony).[4][5]

Justin & Christina

Justin & Christina
EP by Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera
Released	July 1, 2003
Genre	Pop electronic
Label	RCA Jive BMG
Justin Timberlake chronology
Justified (2002) Justin & Christina (2003) FutureSex/ LoveSounds (2006)
Christina Aguilera chronology
Stripped (2002) Justin & Christina (2003) Back to Basics (2006)

Justin & Christina is an extended play (EP) by Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera released on July 1, 2003 by RCA, Jive, and BMG Records. The EP was released exclusively at the American retail chain Target. Timberlake and Aguilera both contributed three songs to the six-track EP, which consists of one new original composition from each artist alongside remixes of previous singles from Aguilera's Stripped and Timberlake's Justified albums.^[12]

Track listing

Justin & Christina

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performer	Length
1.	"That's What Love Can Do"	Christina Aguilera	Aguilera	3:44
2.	"Why, When, How"	Anthony Nance Antonio Dixon Justin Timberlake	Timberlake	4:01
3.	"Beautiful" (Valentin Club Mix)	Linda Perry	Aguilera	5:56
4.	"Rock Your Body" (Paul Oakenfold Mix)	Chad Hugo Timberlake Pharrell Williams	Timberlake	5:38
5.	"Fighter" (Hellraiser Remix)	Aguilera Scott Storch	Aguilera	5:13
6.	"Cry Me a River" (Bill Hamel Justinough Vocal Mix)	Timberlake Storch Timothy Mosley	Timberlake	7:44
Total length:				32:16

Reception

The Justified and Stripped Tour garnered mixed reviews from contemporary critics. Longtime critic Robert Hilburn for the Los Angeles Times called Aguilera's part "tedious" and her stage persona "uncertain", while praising Timberlake's act, considering him "born for the stage (with) the savvy instincts to put together a show that works. Rather than make himself the constant center of attention, he was comfortable enough at times simply to be part of a talented ensemble."^[13] By contrast, the Orange County Register's Ben Wener complimented Aguilera's performance, writing "I'd favor Aguilera's sex-appeal feast over Timberlake's club jam... Christina is simply a more well-rounded entertainer."^[13] Meanwhile, he criticized Timberlake's part and compared him to George Michael.^[13] Darryl Morder from The Hollywood Reporter was not impressed with either artist, naming the tour "more a case of egofied and cluttered."^[13] Morder further said that Aguilera's numbers were "too often swathed in bloated arrangements", while Timberlake's voice was "whiny and thin."^[13]

Multiple critics also believed that Aguilera's image during the tour resembled Cher's look during the 1980s. Christina Fuoco from MTV News drew similarities between the two artists: big curly black locks, a black and hot-pink halter with belly-baring plunging neckline, pants, and spiked heels.^[6] Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, Neva Chonin also compared Aguilera to Cher, with "a torso-baring black ensemble, a shock of dark hair exploding from the back of her head".^[6] In 2003, the tour was the sixteenth-highest-grossing tour of the year, with a total gross of US$30,261,670.^[3] 546,483 tickets were sold out of 592,360 available (approximately 92%), including 23 sellout shows out of 45 (approximately 51%).^[3] It was also the third-top-grossing co-headlining tour of the year, only behind Face to Face by Billy Joel and Elton John, and Rocksimus Maximus by Aerosmith and Kiss.^[3]

Accolades

Year	Ceremony	Category	Result	Ref.
2003	Pollstar Awards	Most Creative Tour Package	Nominated	[14]
		Most Creative Stage Production	Nominated
2003	Teen Choice Awards	Teen Choice Award for Choice Music – Tour	Won	[15]
2003	Teen People Choice Awards	Best Tour	Won	[16]
2004	Rolling Stone Music Awards	Best Tour – Public's Choice	Won	[17]

Set lists

Christina Aguilera^[6][7]

1. "Stripped Intro" (Video Introduction)
2. "Dirrty"
3. "Get Mine, Get Yours"
4. "The Voice Within"
5. "Genie in a Bottle"
6. "Can't Hold Us Down"
7. "Make Over"
8. "Contigo en la Distancia" / "Falsas Esperanzas"
9. "Infatuation"
10. "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)"
11. "Loving Me 4 Me" (Video Interlude)
12. "Impossible"
13. "At Last"
14. "I Prefer You"
15. "Lady Marmalade"
16. "Walk Away"
17. "Fighter"
18. "What a Girl Wants"

Encore

19. "Beautiful"

Justin Timberlake^[6][7]

1. "Ghetto Blaster" (contains elements of "Like I Love You", "Girlfriend" and "Rock Your Body") (Video Introduction)
2. "Rock Your Body"
3. "Right For Me"
4. "Gone" / "Girlfriend" / "Señorita"
5. "Still On My Brain"
6. "Nothin' Else"
7. "Tap Dance" (Dance Interlude)
8. "Cry Me a River"
9. "Let's Take A Ride"
10. "Beat Box" (Dance Interlude)
11. "Last Night"
12. "Take It From Here"

Encore

13. "Like I Love You"

Shows

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, opening acts, tickets sold, number of available tickets and gross revenue^[18][19][20]

Date (2003)	City	Country	Venue	Opening act[21]	Attendance[22]	Revenue
June 4	Phoenix	United States	America West Arena	The Black Eyed Peas	12,584 / 12,988	$672,922
June 6	Oakland		The Arena in Oakland		12,194 / 14,200	$699,827
June 8	Tacoma		Tacoma Dome		13,063 / 15,763	$657,736
June 10	Portland		Rose Garden		9,764 / 12,400	$494,872
June 13	Sacramento		ARCO Arena		10,653 / 12,200	$552,815
June 14	San Jose		HP Pavilion		13,934 / 13,934	$733,800
June 16	Los Angeles		Staples Center		44,188 / 44,589	$2,708,186
June 17
June 20
June 21	Las Vegas		MGM Grand Garden Arena		12,030 / 12,030	$1,036,214
June 23	Denver		Pepsi Center		10,838 / 12,428	$513,210
June 25	Oklahoma City		Ford Center		12,050 / 13,300	$633,787
June 26	Dallas		American Airlines Center		12,613 / 13,025	$717,161
June 28	San Antonio		SBC Center		11,002 / 12,800	$507,977
June 29	Houston		Compaq Center		10,980 / 11,347	$659,540
July 5	St. Louis		Savvis Center		12,304 / 12,304	$569,852
July 6	North Little Rock		Alltel Arena		7,669 / 10,100	$336,645
July 8	New Orleans		New Orleans Arena		11,139 / 11,139	$512,733
July 9	Bossier City		CenturyTel Center		10,646 / 10,646	$450,945
July 11	Memphis		Pyramid Arena		12,753 / 12,753	$448,175
July 12	Atlanta		Philips Arena		13,352 / 13,352	$784,320
July 14	Tampa		St. Pete Times Forum		12,679 / 12,679	$633,787
July 15	Orlando		TD Waterhouse Centre		—	—
July 16	Sunrise		Office Depot Center		11,831 / 11,831	$718,146
July 22	Rosemont		Allstate Arena		13,732 / 13,732	$822,466
July 23	Chicago		United Center		13,422 / 13,422	$846,143
July 25	Auburn Hills		The Palace of Auburn Hills		15,316 / 15,316	$897,043
July 26	Cincinnati		U.S. Bank Arena		—	—
July 28	Pittsburgh		Mellon Arena		12,349 / 12,349	$639,450
July 29[a]	Toronto	Canada	Air Canada Centre		42,073 / 42,073	$3,938,460
July 31
August 1	Buffalo	United States	HSBC Arena		10,964 / 10,964	$620,630
August 3	Columbus		Value City Arena		11,657 / 11,657	$642,398
August 5	Boston		FleetCenter		26,877 / 27,149	$1,694,442
August 6
August 8	Philadelphia		First Union Center		15,269 / 15,269	$1,004,555
August 18[b]	Uniondale		Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum		23,304 / 23,688	$1,464,069
August 19[c]
August 20[d]	East Rutherford		Continental Airlines Arena		15,391 / 15,391	$913,208
August 22[e]	Hartford		Hartford Civic Center		10,848 / 11,884	$572,185
August 23[f]	Albany		Pepsi Arena		5,417 / 7,407	$345,235
August 25[g]	Washington, D.C.		MCI Center		12,921 / 12,921	$789,050
August 31[h]	Indianapolis		Conseco Fieldhouse		9,357 / 14,951	$480,706
September 1[i]	Milwaukee		Bradley Center		9,909 / 15,179	$572,185
September 2[j]	Saint Paul		Xcel Energy Center		12,016 / 12,016	$762,307
Total					539,088 / 571,176 (94.38%)	$32,047,182

Cancelled shows

List of cancelled concerts, showing date, city, country, venue and reason for cancellation

Date (2003)	City	Country	Venue	Reason
June 11	Vancouver	Canada	Pacific Coliseum	Unable to cross the border[23]
August 9	Atlantic City	United States	Boardwalk Hall	Lighting grid collapse[20]

See also

• List of Christina Aguilera concerts
• List of Christina Aguilera concert tours

Notes

1. The show on July 29, 2003 was originally scheduled to take place on August 3, 2003.
2. The show on August 18, 2003 was originally scheduled to take place on August 16, 2003, but was postponed due to a lighting grid collapse.
3. The show on August 19, 2003 was originally scheduled to take place on August 17, 2003, but was postponed due to a lighting grid collapse.
4. The show on August 20, 2003 was originally scheduled to take place on August 13, 2003, but was postponed due to a lighting grid collapse.
5. The show on August 22, 2003 was originally scheduled to take place on August 14, 2003, but was postponed due to a lighting grid collapse.
6. The show on August 23, 2003 was originally scheduled to take place on August 11, 2003, but was postponed due to a lighting grid collapse.
7. The show on August 25, 2003 was originally scheduled to take place on August 19, 2003, but was postponed due to a lighting grid collapse.
8. The show on August 31, 2003 was originally scheduled to take place on August 21, 2003, but was postponed due to a lighting grid collapse.
9. The show on September 1, 2003 was originally scheduled to take place on August 23, 2003, but was postponed due to a lighting grid collapse.
10. The show on September 2, 2003 was originally scheduled to take place on August 24, 2003, but was postponed due to a lighting grid collapse.