Which queer anthem by Christina Aguilera was originally meant for Miley Cyrus?

Singer and songwriter to the stars Bonnie McKee has revealed that one of Christina Aguilera‘s most beloved queer anthems was originally written for none other than Miley Cyrus.

McKee, who is also behind such mammoth hits as Britney Spears‘s ‘Hold It Against Me’ and Katy Perry‘s ‘Teenage Dream’, took to Instagram to share a piece of previously unheard trivia with her followers. The songwriter revealed that Aguilera’s 2013 single ‘Let There Be Love’ was first pitched to Cyrus, who eventually passed on the song.

“[Cyrus] came into the studio and she actually sang it but she wanted to do something more organic with it and she ended up passing on the song,” McKee spilled. Once Cyrus, who was likely in recording sessions for her 2013 album Bangerz, had opted not to proceed, the track eventually found its way to Aguilera who was recording material for her 2012 album Lotus.

“I grew up listening to Christina and Britney, like they were my idols,” McKee revealed. “A lot of the pop stars I’ve worked with have a huge queer audience, and that is my audience and my people and that’s generally who I like to write to and for.

“I like to make everyone feel good and give everyone something to dance to and love to and feel good to, so I’m really proud to have co-written this queer anthem. I love Christina Aguilera, it’s just such an honour to be a part of this song with Christina.”

Aguilera eventually went on to release the song as the second single from Lotus. The single was accompanied by a DIY-style music video which featured cameos from celebrities like Nicole Richie and Christina Milian making a ‘L’ sign for ‘love’, and others holding signs with slogans like ‘Racism sucks’ and  ‘Accept’, and ‘Amo a mi hijo gay’ (‘I love my gay son’). It also features shots of gay couples kissing.

The ‘Fighter’ singer previously won a GLAAD Media Award in 2003 for her groundbreaking ‘Beautiful’ music video which featured two men sharing a kiss, a transgender woman putting on her make-up and wig, and an anorexic girl examining her body in a mirror.

Speaking to W Magazine in 2023, the clip’s director Jonas Åkerlund recalled planning the video with Aguilera, saying: “The LGBT representation was both of our ideas. We listed all these different issues and that was part of it. We weren’t thinking, ‘Oh, wow, we’re gonna do two guys kissing and it’s gonna break the Internet.’ It just felt like the most natural thing to do. Over the years, I’ve met people who tell me it’s the first gay kiss they ever saw, and people sent me letters.”