It’s been over 20 years since Christina Aguilera, Mýa, Pink, Lil Kim, and Missy Elliott joined forces to make history with their 2001 Grammy-winning, chart-topping collaboration, “Lady Marmalade.”
Over the weekend during L.A. Pride 2022, Aguilera and Mýa reunited for an enchanting performance from Aguilera’s headlining set at Los Angeles State Historic Park. “Reuniting with Mya for this pride performance is so special to me. It was very nostalgic,” Aguilera shared with W Magazine following the performance. “I walked into rehearsal and she was already singing and in the middle of ‘Lady M.’ I ran up to her and embraced her—it’s so wonderful when, after so many years, something amazing in your life comes back. As grown women who have survived this industry for so many years, it’s still magical when we’re able to come together. I’m used to singing her part in the first verse so it was just so cool, first of all, to give myself a break in the beginning, but to also hear her voice, that iconic voice that we all know from the record. That touched my heart.”
Though their other collaborators weren’t present, Lil Kim performed her verse during WeHo Pride’s Outloud Festival the weekend prior.
As popularized by LaBelle in 1974, the Elliott-produced remake was the lead single from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, spent five weeks as No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and won the 2002 GRAMMY for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Not to mention they were all able to perform “Lady Marmalade” at the 2002 GRAMMYs, alongside Patti LaBelle.
In a retrospective, journalist Bianca Gracie expressed the remake “highlighted each artist’s signature style: Lil Kim’s raunchy raps, Pink’s soulful tone, Mya’s sultry coos, and Aguilera’s theatrical vocal runs.” When celebrating the 20th anniversary, Elliott reflected on her process with Cosmo. “We wanted to showcase each of the ‘four badass chicks from the Moulin Rouge’ bringing together their different skills and personas into a true celebration of diversity, talent, and female unity,” she stated.
Despite some rumored tension during the recording process, Aguilera recalled, “I think the overall goal was to go big or go home.” Mýa added, “the moment was very empowering, because women are usually pitted against each other, especially in entertainment. There was none of that, to my recollection. It was truly about coming together, being women, being slightly over the top, expressing ourselves, and exuding our bold approach to being sexual beings.”
Watch Mýa and Christina Aguilera’s recent performance in full below.