The Justified & Stripped Tour

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."[3]

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.[4] 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.[5] 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".[5] 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".[5][6] 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.[5] The performance of "Can't Hold Us Down" featured a pink "spark-shooting" motorcycle.[6] Then, she belted out "Make Over" with the "rhythmic trot of a Spanish spaghetti Western",[7] featuring "chain-link fence".[6]

Following the video interlude of "Loving Me 4 Me", she performed the ballad "Impossible".[8] 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".[5] 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.[5][9] 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.[9] Later, she "saucily" replied, "Just because my album name is Stripped, doesn't mean you can take my clothes off".[5][9] She continued with the "gorgeous ache" of "Walk Away".[7] The performance of "Fighter" "had more feelings and excitements",[10] 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.[8] Aguilera ended her part with "Beautiful",[8] wearing jeans and a T-shirt which emblazoned with the words "God sees no color".[5]

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".[4][5]

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."[11] 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."[11] Meanwhile, he criticized Timberlake's part and compared him to George Michael.[11] Darryl Morder from The Hollywood Reporter was not impressed with either artist, naming the tour "more a case of egofied and cluttered."[11] Morder further said that Aguilera's numbers were "too often swathed in bloated arrangements", while Timberlake's voice was "whiny and thin."[11]

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.[5] 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".[5] In 2003, the tour was the sixteenth-highest-grossing tour of the year, with a total gross of US$30,261,670.[2] 546,483 tickets were sold out of 592,360 available (approximately 92%), including 23 sellout shows out of 45 (approximately 51%).[2] 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.[2]