A member of the band Girlicious is scrutinizing the ‘hypersexualized’ culture of the noughties that pressured aspiring young stars to wear as little as possible in an exclusive interview with The Daily Mail.
Natalie Mejia was a member of the pop band Girlicious, a group formed by the creator of The Pussycat Dolls who discovered the singers on the second season of the 2008 reality competition show, Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious.
It was an era in which controversial reality shows such as America’s Next Top Model and Making The Band flourished – and a pre-MeToo society that prioritized a woman’s sexual desirability and her ability to push the wardrobe envelope.
With their abs on display in itty bitty outfits, Girlicious were just as sexy (if not even racier) as their predecessors The Pussycat Dolls and also visually represented the industry’s values at the time.
Now age 37 and a mother, Mejia is taking a look back at the ‘underwear’ she was asked to wear on stage with a more critical lens.
‘I was chasing the success, and it meant so much to me to finally get into the position of having this big label and this management and these people behind you and I think for me, I was like, “Oh I guess this is what it takes,”‘ she told The Daily Mail.
Girlicious star Natalie Mejia, pictured center R in 2008, spoke exclusively with The Daily Mail about her experience on the girl group and her musical comeback
Mejia is now 37 and a mother who views the ‘underwear’ she was asked to wear on stage with a more critical lens
Mejia thought wearing skimpy clothing was what it would take to reach her goals
Mejia was just 19 when she joined the band and trusted the wardrobe decisions were taking her career to the next level.
‘So as a small, like as a young adolescent girl, like at 19, I was like, “Well this is what the people who are in charge say is gonna get me there, so I guess this is what we’re going to do.” And at times, especially as a mom now, looking back I’m like, “Okay, we were in our underwear.”
Not only has becoming a mother shifted her perspective, but society has made strides since then.
‘I think the times have changed so much as well. We’re kind of looking at different things about like Me Too and just the young adolescent girl being so hypersexualized, it’s important that everybody’s comfortability level is respected.
‘I think it’s making space for an elegance or an image that you can still be sexy and beautiful and lovely but not have to be completely vulnerable in your bare skimpies if you don’t want to.’
The dilemma over how to present herself in image-obsessed Hollywood continues to this day, but Mejia has struck a balance in a way that stays true to both her faith and a desire to feel her best.
‘The music industry and entertainment industry has so much demands with the beauty industry, right? So it’s like, you know, how risque are you willing to go, or what’s your sex appeal?
‘And that’s kind of an important part of Hollywood culture and things like that. So I’ve definitely had to find a balance of elegance and things that represent my faith in a way that feels true to myself, but still feeling confident in myself with the beauty standards and things like that.’
Mejia was selected to join Girlicious, the band formed by Pussycat Creator Robin A after winning a reality show seeking to form a girl group
Mejia’s perspective on the clothing she wore has changed after she became a mother and in part with the strides society has made with women’s rights
Girlicious ultimately did not last forever and Mejia is now a mother making a musical comeback with Holy Exodus, an album released last year that focuses on the Christian faith she has embraced in recent years.
Discovered by Pussycat Dolls creator Robin Antin, Girlicious consisted of Mejia, Nichole Cordova, Tiffanie Anderson, and Chrystina Sayers.
They dropped their eponymous debut album in 2008 and disbanded just a few years later but memories of her time with Girlicious remain fresh in her mind.
Members were selected after competing and winning the reality show, a series that portrayed outspoken Mejia as a villain.
‘I actually was very surprised that I was kind of categorized as the villain because in my experience, I was, I feel like the crybaby,’ she told The Daily Mail.
‘I was always crying every minute, and it didn’t really portray that like on the interview, it was very selective as to which parts they moved forward with, and there was a lot of sound bites, so some things I was saying but not in that moment.
Mejia was portrayed as the villain on her reality show, an image she was surprised by
The singer said she was actually the ‘cry baby’ of her season but audiences didn’t get that whole vision
Now a mother, Natalie sees the outfits they wore on stage with a different lens
Mejia has struck a balance in how she presents herself in image-obsessed Hollywood in a way that respects her faith and her desire to feel her best
‘And so it just kind of fit perfectly into a scene that maybe wasn’t actually like the how it transpired, but I had to brave that as the villain, because it was like a love-hate thing, like either you loved me or you hated me on the show.
‘And I think that I was very outspoken, and sometimes it had some backlash, but overall, I felt like I was very vulnerable and I was very a teenage girl in the moment in a competition reality show.’
Mejia has remained in touch with several of her Girlicious bandmates: ‘I spoke to Nichole not too long ago, as well as Chrystina.’
Chrystina, who has found Jesus Christ and shares her religious and conservative values on Instagram, is ‘doing really well,’ according to Mejia, who is ‘really happy’ for her.
‘She’s very bold and very brave to go out and be able to speak her truth,’ Mejia said. ‘I respect and admire that she can stand the I guess, what the backlash, or, you know, whatever may have you, for being able to stand on a truth that means something to her.’
Mejia embraced her faith after she was hit by an unshakeable feeling of disappointment once obtaining all her career goals
Mejia forged a solo singing career after Girlicious before starting a family, getting married, and re-introducing herself to the world as a woman of faith who has learned some lessons in Hollywood.
In her new song Redemption, she sings about finding fame after years of blood, sweat, and tears – as well as a ‘price’ to be paid at ‘the top of the charts.’
That ‘price’ was an unshakeable feeling of disappointment that struck Mejia once she achieved her dreams.
‘It was kind of a slight disappointment, because at the top of… what felt like the top of my career, the pinnacle, there was a lot of growing up to do on camera and dealing with your emotions and anxieties and stresses that was very public and I felt at that time, it was a slight challenge to feel this disappointment of like, “wait, what’s missing?”‘
The dissatisfaction is what pulled her closer to her religion.
‘So I really felt one of the key components of me finding this faith is thinking about all of the worldly goals that I had for myself, and then reaching this height and then feeling that dissatisfaction. So I said, “there must be something missing. There must be something more.”‘
Mejia has begun to pursue acting and will be appearing in a series that is faith-based as well.
‘I will be actually acting in the series. So it’s definitely more about testimony and my faith as well, but a lot of people from Hollywood who have actually found their faith as well and what their stories are.’
Natalie started off in music but has since spread her wings into acting, with a new role in the works; pictured 2011
Though still busy with her music and acting, her schedule is much more manageable compared to her past life as an in-demand pop star who was unable to take a moment to breathe.
‘From my own personal experience, this schedule is very demanding. Like I said, you will be on a flight, you will be at a radio or an interview show, followed by a 30 minute performance, followed by a meet and greet, then you have a flight at 6am and it’s like a non-stop thing that just doesn’t wait for anyone,’ she said.
But she is open to revisiting those times with her Girlicious peers in a reality TV style reunion.
‘I would honestly love to get in a space to just do even, like a sit down reunion, kind of like reality TV style. Like, where are you now?… I don’t know who would be open to doing that. I would, let me know if you are Nichole, Tiffany, Chrystina!’
