Chad Gray of Mudvayne and Hellyeah has released a video for his version of Beautiful, the Christina Aguilera single that Linda Perry wrote in 2002.
He is not pretending it is an obvious move. "I know no one had me covering a pop song in 2026 on their bingo card, but here we are," he says. What drew him to it was the subject: self acceptance, inner beauty and getting past insecurity, three things he says he has struggled with his whole life.
"When I heard it years ago, it spoke to me, I felt what Linda Perry was trying to say with the lyrics," he explains. "As I have found sobriety and worked on myself, I have found even more of a connection with this song. My songwriting has always been driven by my experiences and feelings, from dark to light from helpless to hopeful."
Alex Bemis directed the video. It arrives after a long stretch in which the news around this singer has been about his voice rather than his songs, so a cover recorded on purpose rather than a cancelled date is a change of weather.