Grammys flashback: ‘Lady Marmalade’ was a major breakthrough for female superstar collabs

Jaime Rodriguez
·5 min read
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Before “Rain on Me” by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande and “Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat and SZA became Grammy-winning female collabs, there was a combo of women that managed to snag a big win in the pop field: Christina Aguilera’s “Lady Marmalade” featuring Pink, Lil Kim, and Mýa. The star-studded collaboration, a cover of the number-one hit made famous by the group Labelle, solidified all four artists as pop mainstays, and made history at the Grammys as a diverse, all-female win.

The 2001 “Lady Marmalade” was released in April of that year as part of the soundtrack for “Moulin Rouge,” the Oscar-winning Baz Luhrmann film. The track was quite unusual, on paper. Pink, Lil Kim, Mýa, and Aguilera made very different music, ranging from pop to hip-hop to R&B. On top of that, the track was produced by the iconic Missy Elliott, giving it yet more star cred. Such a major collaboration was bound to make people take notice, especially considering how all of the involved artists were rising at the time.

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Mýa was a budding R&B talent with two top-10s under her belt including the number-two hit “Case of the Ex.” Pink had made a big splash with her debut album, netting three top-40 hits including the top-10s “There You Go” and “Most Girls.” Lil Kim had become rap’s most relevant female MC at the time, especially with hits like “Not Tonight” and “It’s All About the Benjamins.”

And then, of course, there was Aguilera, who was definitely a bigger name in pop culture that year. Less than two years prior she had had a banner debut era with three number-one hits under her belt and a Grammy win for Best New Artist, on top of three additional top-20s. As such, music fans were clamoring for her return, and while “Lady Marmalade” wasn’t from her next album, it was quite an introduction to it. The new album would eventually showcase a more sensual side of Aguilera with a more direct approach to sex, so “Marmalade” was a great preview of things to come, namely her next lead single, “Dirrty.”

“Lady Marmalade” was a huge success. The track was a massive airplay and sales hit and spent five weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. It also became the world’s best selling single of 2001, moving over five million copies that year alone. It was clear that the song was going to be a serious contender for a Grammy, especially with Aguilera already being a winner and Kim and Mýa being previous nominees. Even before the Grammys the song proved to be an awards player by winning Video of the Year at the VMAs earlier in the season.

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The song was up against some formidable contenders at the Grammys for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Tony Bennett and Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” could’ve been a sentimental favorite; it was a cover of a Joel classic honoring the victims of 9/11. Also nominated was another Aguilera song: “Nobody Wants to Be Lonely,” her duet with Ricky Martin, which was a moderate hit in the US. But perhaps the biggest threat was Shaggy’s iconic “It Wasn’t Me” featuring RikRok. In the end, though, Shaggy probably didn’t have enough clout as an artist to take home the award, and it didn’t help that that song was over a year old when final voting was occurring. Plus, with “Moulin Rouge” being a box office hit and an Oscar contender, voters were likely reminded of “Lady Marmalade” all the more.

The song took the Grammy, just after the women finished performing it live on the telecast. This gave Lil Kim and Mýa the only Grammy Awards of their careers, it gave Pink her first of an eventual three to date, and it added a second to Aguilera’s growing mantel (as of this writing she has won five). Plus, it opened the door for all-female collabs to win in the pop field, after major contenders like Sheryl Crow and Sarah McLachlan’s “The Difficult Kind” and Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston’s “When You Believe” were nominated but failed to win.

And “Lady Marmalade” stands the test of time. Not so long ago it became a widespread TikTok sound due to the “Krissed” trend. So, all in all, the song’s win helped not only push careers, but open doors for women at the Grammys. That’s what we call an iconic song.

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