Christina Aguilera, Pink, Mya, and Lil Kim all have a reason to celebrate.

For, their 2001 smash ‘Lady Marmalade’ has just crossed a major milestone 20 years later.

More details below…

It’s no April Fool’s joke!  Released at the top of April 2001, the sultry jam has just been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) 20 years later.  This means it’s reached sales equivalence of 1,000,000 units in the United States.

Happy Anniversary, Lady Marmalade ❤️ Now certified Platinum by the @RIAA! Listen now: https://t.co/aqIsq7NrAb Congats @xtina @myaplanet9 @lilkim @pink 💿 pic.twitter.com/1QJjc9Kv3k

— Roc Nation (@RocNation) April 2, 2021

The song was first made popular in 1974 by the legendary group Labelle, before the iconic Pop divas remade it for the 2001 film, ‘Moulin Rouge!’ 

Upon its release, the revamped ‘Lady Marmalade’ was met with copious critical acclaim and went on to top the charts globally, including the US and UK (with it spending five weeks atop the former).

To honor its enduring impact, Xtina took to ‘Vogue’ recently to dish on the behind the scenes action of the song’s recording.

ON WHY ‘MARMALADE’ WAS SPECIAL TO HER:

“We each brought our own interpretations to the table and then just blew it out of water,” Aguilera states. “It was the first time I was able to sing the way I love to sing. I got to really let loose creatively, sing vocals that I truly loved and believed in. I could belt and do my ad-libs and my runs and be as soulful as I wanted to be. I got to have fun.”

ON HOW IT HELPED TRANSITION HER TO HER ‘DIRRTY’ PHASE:

“I was in a transition stage at that point,” Aguilera remembers. “I was coming off the success of my first record, where I was kind of boxed in to sing a certain kind of way. Every time I tried to sing a little more the way I wanted to, it was like, you’re singing too much, you need to be softer, we need to lessen that. It was all about fitting a certain mold. When I went on to work with Rockwilder on ‘Dirrty,’ I got to do the music that I wanted to do; that same gritty, bassy feel that wasn’t thin-sounding, that you can sink your teeth into as a vocalist.”

Getty Images

ON THOSE EYE-POPPING COSTUMES:

“The costuming was a huge part of the visual aspect of this whole song,” Aguilera explained. “It was about being over the top and feeling comfortable in your own skin, and not worrying about the labeling and double standards that went on at the time around sexuality. We were just living our best life.”

ON THAT UNFORGETTABLE MUSIC VIDEO:

“What I remember best is standing on the stage for that end shot where we’re all marching out in unison together, all singing our parts and belting our asses off, and it just felt so cool,” Aguilera regaled of the Paul Hunter-directed music video. “It was an unforgettable moment, it just felt like it was meant to be. Sometimes you have these things in life where it just felt like the right time and the right place, and this was definitely one of those great moments in my career.” 

Click here to read the entire ‘Vogue’ feature.

*****

Xtina wasn’t the only one tributing the timeless tune.  Look below to see what P!nk, Mya, and Missy Elliott had to say.

 

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A post shared by MYA (@myaplanet9)

🎊🎉🙌🏾 20th year Anniversary “Lady Marmalade” One of the BIGGEST Collabs in HISTORY big up to @xtina @LilKim @Pink @MYAPLANET9 “The Labelle”to🙌🏾🎉 https://t.co/oTGZSjcov6 pic.twitter.com/95Qq8imIx9

— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) March 27, 2021

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