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In 2007, Mya was chosen to open for Prince twice during his legendary, record-breaking 21 Nights in London residency at the O2 Arena — a memory she still holds close to her heart. “It was an amazing experience,” Mya explains. “My band and I, we rehearsed for two weeks before we got here. I had an amazing conversation with him that night, and then we went to the after-party at IndigoO2.”

Rewind 11 years, when performing on prestigious stages was all a dream, a 16-year-old Mya was discovered by record executive Haaq Islam, who signed the soulful hopeful as the first-ever R&B artist to Interscope Records. The label, which was founded in 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field, was once a predominantly rock and hip-hop label. Early signees included Dr. Dre, No Doubt, Sublime, and Snoop Dogg, to name a few. Mya’s 1998 self-titled debut album, which bridged the gap between previous successors Brandy and Monica and future stars Ashanti and Ciara, wouldn’t hit shelves until two years later. But when it did, it proved a smash, going platinum in the US in just six months. Collaborations included Sisqo, Missy Elliott, Babyface, and Diane Warren, so really, what could seriously have gone wrong? 

In the years that followed, it was nothing but uphill for Mya. Her sophomore release, Fear of Flying, became her most successful and global album to date and featured her most recognisable solo smash, “Case of the Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do).” Prior, Mya had already become the go-to vocalist for standout collaborations, having lent her vocals to several movie soundtrack hits—from Pras’ “Ghetto Superstar” for Bulworth to “Take Me There” with Blackstreet and Mase for The Rugrats Movie. Still, the best was yet to come. In 2001, for the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, Mya teamed up with Christina Aguilera, P!nk, and Lil’ Kim to record a cover of “Lady Marmalade,” which, arguably, has become the most iconic female collaboration of all time. The song topped the charts globally in over 15 countries, won a Grammy Award, and took home the coveted Video of the Year at the VMAs. Two decades on, it remains the standard for an all-female collaboration. 

As Mya is reminded of these milestones and time stamps while in glam, she admits she isn’t very good at measuring time. Furthermore, she shares it also doesn’t feel like she’s been in the business for nearly three decades. “Definitely not,” she declares. “Life passes you by, and my measure of time is when I see my nieces and nephews because they’re growing, and it’s concrete evidence.” In 2026, Fear of Flying and “Lady Marmalade” will both be turning 25. In an industry that loves to dwell on nostalgia, Mya prefers to focus on the present. She’s so nonchalant about the past that she tells me she doesn’t bother putting up her plaques in her own home and even confessed she was unsure where her Grammy trophy was. 

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“I usually don’t look back because I’m always creating. At this point in my life, and where I am now, I make a lot of songs, but the universe itself doesn’t get it until like three years later because there’s so much business that has to take place before it can be released,” she says. “But I’m always a controller,” she adds, before explaining that some things are completely out of her control. “I went to Taormina in Italy for a wedding recently, and I didn’t know I would end up in the same place 25 years later, where I sang the title track to my sophomore album in the town square. I saw a very similar square that looked like a special that I filmed for Music in High Places. I was just sitting, having dinner by myself, and I looked on YouTube, and it happened to be the same place. It’s times like that when I’ll be forced to reflect and look back. But, I mean, I’m always looking forward.”

Despite this mentality, even Mya can’t deny that a full “Lady Marmalade” reunion next year is something the world needs to see. “I would love that! The supporters would, too,” she says. “Our schedules are all over the place, but we’d be planning for a miracle. Everything has to align in our worlds, demographically and schedule-wise.” As the song maintains its iconic status, Mya never initially anticipated what it would do for her career at the time. “You never know,” she says. “As an artist, I’m not really thinking that way when I’m recording. But it was a hit before it was a hit for us, so it’s sort of cheating if you ask me. It did very well, and some of us still perform it to this day. But it was a timeless music piece to begin with, so we can’t really take credit for that. At the same time, it was certainly a moment for our era. Girl power! Sending love to Ms. Patti LaBelle!”

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The song holds a special place in the LGBTQ+ community, a group Mya has long celebrated. On her 2003 album Moodring, she delivered “Whatever Bitch,” a track that drew from the ballroom scene—years before it would influence mainstream pop. Bold and unapologetic, the song showcased Mya’s deep respect for queer culture and her willingness to push boundaries. Yet while she hoped it would shine on its own, her label overlooked its potential, leaving a groundbreaking moment underappreciated.

“I fought my label on trying to make that have a music video,” Mya says as she begins to giggle. “The closest thing that I could do with that song to a visual was incorporating it into my live show and TV appearances. There was a show called Mad TV and then another one called Pepsi Smash where I brought the queens out, and we vogued down. It was different back then, but I paid for it myself because they didn’t get it. But I did because I was going to the balls. I was going to the clubs, and I was a part of the scene. A lot of my dancers and friends were frequently going. New York was the place at the time to go and have fun.”

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Mya’s career has been full of other star-shining moments. In 2001, she was also asked to honour Janet Jackson with a dance tribute alongside Usher and P!nk for Jackson’s MTV Icon special. P!nk and Usher performed “Miss You Much” and “Alright,” respectively, while Mya was given the challenge of “The Pleasure Principle.” She nailed it, of course. But just because Mya made it look easy, doesn’t mean it was. “I believe I only had two days to learn everything. It was a very intense rehearsal,” she admits. “I rehearsed with a choreographer named Omar, and that was the first time I met a young choreographer named Brian Friedman. He said that I was his very first job.” Just a few years later, Friedman would work closely with Britney Spears. 

“That was a turning point for him,” Mya adds. “He and I reconvened in 2003, but also a few years ago for the 25th anniversary of “It’s All About Me, my very first single. We did a dance video to show the more grown Mya. He’s a great dancer, and honestly, performing for Janet Jackson was everything. But then to get a good response, the applause is really nice, because then you’ve done your job.” 

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In 2008, after signing two major label deals, Mya transitioned to life as an independent artist and founded her own label, Planet 9. At the time, independent artists didn’t receive the recognition they do today—a shift Mya attributes to the music industry’s significant evolution since then. 

“It is the norm now because that’s how the world has transformed in the field of technology, digital, social age. I think the day that you need to be in a studio or have a record label to break through and create a fan base and also deliver music has changed with technology,” she says. “There’s social media where you can get discovered. There are also laptops and software where you can record, and everything can be done virtually in your room, in a hotel room if you travel, in a bathroom, if you just need to record. There is a distribution that allows you to be distributed worldwide through global digital and streaming platforms that didn’t exist when I came out with my very first cassette tape.”

To date, Mya has released four major label studio albums, a mixtape, three EPs, and 5 albums under Planet 9. Her personal favourite? Not an easy choice! “I’m most proud of Sugar & Spice because it was my very first independent release in a new space. But sonically, my favourite, on the pop side, would probably be K.I.S.S. (Keep It Sexy & Simple). On the hood side, Beauty & the Streets. There are a lot of underground rap records, strip club records. Nicki Minaj is on that one. A lot of heavy hardcore rappers from the South also feature on it. But then, when you get into real traditional R&B, Smoove Jones is a favourite.” The latter she mentioned earned Mya her second-ever Grammy nomination in 2017 for Best R&B Album. The accolade came 16 years on from winning for “Lady Marmalade” and gave Mya the reassurance she needed.

“It was the extra layer of confirmation for me to keep going and make music from a pure place and nothing else. It’s the music that I resonate with, but also the music that made me sign up to be a recording artist in the first place, or inspired me to get into music. That was music that made me feel. On that album, it’s very positive. It’s also uplifting,” she says. Prince played a huge part in the production pointers: “When I met with him at the O2 in London, he was dropping gems with direction to create positive, high vibrational music, but no samples, and playing an instrument on an album. So I incorporated all those things with the Smoove Jones independent project.

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Mya’s most recent album currently stands with 2018’s T.K.O. (The Knock Out). Many singles and collaborations have since followed. However, fans have been asking for a new studio release for quite some time. Finally, the wait is nearly over. “The album is scheduled for later this year,” she says with determination. The album, whose title she is keeping a secret for now, has been many years in the making, and for a handful of reasons. “Legal processes and paperwork take a long time. Featured artist agreements and label clearances can take a long time. Funding everything yourself, as the label can also take a while. There’s a lot that goes into it,” she says. Mya and her production partner were also hit with a tragedy during the production process. “Our mixing engineer passed away, so we also needed some time to grieve and begin the mixing process over from scratch. Rest in peace to Malcolm Tariq Smith. We miss him dearly,” she says. “I do believe in divine timing, so in the interim, we released several singles after the T.K.O. project, just to hold the fans over.”

Showcasing a huge variety, the album is set to be a celebration of all the sounds Mya has loved over the years. “There’s some funk, but it’s also going to be contemporary. There’s so many influences from the late ‘70s to the ‘80s from my childhood. There is still hip hop on there, there is still R&B on there. There’s pop. It’s a blend of that combined era from over the years with contemporary sounds,” she says.

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Mya’s latest single, the groovy “Give It to You,” offers a small glimpse into the album. Early stages of the song first began taking shape in 2017 while Mya was creating T.K.O. (The Knock Out) and marked the first track she cut for the forthcoming release. Mya recalls discovering the beat almost by chance. “So during my time recording with MyGuyMars during my previous project T.K.O., we’d created so many different, I would say, blueprints of projects together as production partners. We worked in a studio that had four rooms, and across the hall, Mike and Keys, who he often works with, were playing some music. I walked across the hall and said, ‘Excuse me. Who is that beat for?’ They said, ‘No one.’ I was like, ‘Well, it’s mine now.’ They gave me the track and I immediately got to work on it, because all of these melodies started coming to me, and I loved the feeling,”  she explains. “It reminded me of all the good times in my living room as a kid. My dad is a musician; and always had the house filled with joyful, funk music. It reminded me of that time in life, so I wanted to bring those good vibes back,” she adds.

Mya states the album has been technically complete since 2021. However, she is still in the process of mixing the whole thing in Dolby Atmos. “I’ve played the album for Terry Lewis, of Jam and Lewis, just to give his ear since I’m honoring a lot of the pioneers of the funk era, so it’s only right that I make sure it’s right if I’m gonna do a homage,” she says. “He gave me some pointers and mixing engineer pointers as well to make sure the things that need to be brought up sonically are brought out. He’s giving it extra legendary ears before the world hears it.”

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As our conversation closes out, Mya teases that artists have been jumping on board to feature on the record. But how many can we currently expect? She begins to count on her fingers. “Right now, we have, I would say, four or five,” she says. So, how many tracks in total? That answer, she is gatekeeping. On that note, let’s all watch this space.

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