In 2003, 24-year-old Kelis had a hit talking about milkshakes and how to capture the attention of the opposite sex.
Videos by American Songwriter
The Meaning of “Milkshake”
“Milkshake” stands for what makes a girl stand apart from others, along with other sensual innuendos. The lyrics coyly describe a girl who knows how to dance, or shake, to bring all the boys to the yard.
My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard
And they’re like, it’s better than yours
Damn right it’s better than yours
I can teach you, but I have to charge
My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard
And they’re like, it’s better than yours
Damn right it’s better than yours
I can teach you, but I have to charge
Oh, once you get involved
Everyone will look this way, so
You must maintain your charm
Same time maintain your halo
Just get the perfect blend
Plus what you have within
Then next his eyes’ll squint
Then he’s picked up your scent
“Milkshake” was never actually about milkshakes,” said Kelis. ”It means a lot of things. I think that’s why the song has lasted so long, because, like any other art, you can turn the metaphor into whatever you want.”
‘Tasty’
After graduating La Guardia High School in New York City (the school that inspired the 1980 film Fame), Kelis released her debut album, Kaleidoscope, which was produced by The Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. The two also produced her second album, Wanderland, followed by Tasty in 2003, featuring “Milkshake,” which was also written by Williams and Hugo.
Tasty peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with “Milkshake” peaking at No. 3 on the Hot 100.
At the Diner
In the music video, Kelis is seen seductively sipping milkshakes at a diner, but, according to the singer, the tone or visuals around the song weren’t meant to be seductive. “It was really important for me to do something different than all the other female artists coming out at that time,” shared Kelis. “It was important that it made the noise that it did. That was the plan, though.”
In 2014, Kelis admitted that she doesn’t think about her past music much, but she still feels a connection to “Milkshake,” which turned 20 in 2023.
“I love the song,” she said. “It’s bright. I know what it meant, I know what it did for music and for female artists in that era. I’m not saying I single-handedly did it, but you know it played a huge part in where music went. I’m aware of that, I don’t regret it or resent it at all, and I’ve found new fun ways to perform it and to do it and make it enjoyable for people. I don’t put too much thought into it.
Comfort Food
Today, Kelis knows how to make a milkshake—and then some. Training part-time as a saucier from 2006 through 2010, Kelis graduated from Le Cordon Bleu and debuted her sauce line, Bounty & Full, in 2013. A year later, she appeared on the Cooking Channel show Saucy & Sweet, which she complemented with her sixth album, Food, and released her first cookbook, My Life on a Plate, in 2015. The cookbook didn’t feature any milkshake recipes but did feature foods representing her Puerto Rican heritage.
Soon after, she left the city behind, selling her Los Angeles home and relocating with her family to a 24-acre farm in Temecula, California to live a more agricultural life, surrounded by cows, chickens, goats, an olive grove, and a bounty of fruits and vegetables grown on the land. She has since expanded Bounty & Full into more of a health, wellness, and beauty brand.
An homage to the song that started it all for her, Kelis released a milkshake recipe with Baileys in 2017 and later appeared on the 2020 Netflix cooking competition series Cooked with Cannabis.
Read our 2020 interview with Kelis around the 20th anniversary of Kaleidoscope, HERE.
Photo: Prince Williams/Getty Images
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