Daily Times

Singer and songwriter Christina Aguilera dedicated her new song “Change” to the victims of the Orlando shooting. The singer also unveiled the lyric video for the track, an empowering song about self-identity and acceptance.

“The horrific tragedy that occurred in Orlando continues to weigh heavily on my mind. I am sending so much love and so many prayers to the victims and their families,” Christina Aguilera wrote on her website. “Like so many, I want to help be part of the change this world needs to make it a beautiful inclusive place where humanity can love each other freely and passionately.”

“Stand tall, be proud and lift your voices/ Let ‘em know who we are and our choices/ And one day we won’t have to sing this chorus,” Aguilera sings on the track, which she co-wrote with singer Fancy Hagood and Flo Reutter. “Waiting on a change to set us free/ Waiting for the day that you can be you and I can be me.”

All proceeds from the download of “Change” on iTunes between June 17 and September 14 will benefit the National Compassion Fund, which raises funds for the victims and families affected by the Pulse shooting in Orlando.

Read Aguilera’s complete statement, “The horrific tragedy that occurred in Orlando continues to weigh heavily on my mind. I am sending so much love and so many prayers to the victims and their families. Like so many, I want to help be part of the change this world needs to make it a beautiful inclusive place where humanity can love each other freely and passionately. We live in a time of diversity, in a time of endless possibilities, in a time where expression of oneself is something to be celebrated. And I am left wondering how people filled with so much love could be taken by so much hate. Though there is such heavy sadness I believe that there is much more love in the world than we know. We need to learn to love again, we need to learn that one person does make a difference; we need to keep love in our hearts. As Nelson Mandela once said, ‘No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite’. We all have the choice to spread love, encourage individuality and make a difference to others – we are all in this together, as one, united in love. Sending all my love, thoughts and prayers.”