“The Queens: 4 Legends, 1 Stage” is not just another package tour—it’s a celebration of music royalty.
Featuring the legendary Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, and Stephanie Mills, this must-see show, coming to Oakland Arena on Sat/10, is a once-in-a-lifetime gathering of icons who have defined the soundscape of R&B, soul, and pop for decades.
The excitement around this tour is palpable, and for Mills, it’s the culmination of a longtime dream.
“I prayed for this tour for years because I’ve always wanted to work with my sisters,” she tells 48hills.
Fans who have admired these four legends separately will now get to witness their brilliance united in one unforgettable night.
Mills, who famously covered Gladys Knight’s “If I Were Your Woman” in 1987 and participated in a Verzuz battle with Chaka Khan in 2021, has deep admiration for her tourmates.
“I look at Patti and Gladys, who came before me and paved the way, as royalty, and Chaka and I are new friends,” she says. “I love them. I’m so happy because I don’t think this is ever gonna happen again with all of us being on the tour.”
Mills also has a long and loving history with the Bay Area, where the tour will make a much-anticipated stop this week. She’s been coming to Oakland and San Francisco for years and loves shopping there. Her son, now 24, loved riding its trolley cars as a young child.
“The Bay Area is like a home away from home,” she says fondly.
As fans celebrate not just “The Queens” tour but also the 50th anniversary of The Wiz, Mills, who originated the role of Dorothy on Broadway, is reflecting on the meaning of home.
“I just went back to Broadway last year doing Hadestown for five months, and I felt like I was home because the theater is where I started, and the people there were like, ‘Welcome home,'” says Mills. “So I feel like you can always go home.”
The enduring emotional resonance of her music also remains strong, especially a classic like “Never Knew Love Like This Before,” which has taken on new meaning for Mills since giving birth to her son in 2001. Since then, she says, it’s become an expression of maternal love.
To keep her voice solid, solid as a rock, Mills relies on a routine that is charmingly simple—and soulful.
“I sing Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson songs every day in the shower,” she says. “I do it because the bathroom has the best acoustics, and I sing their songs because they are very soulful but melody-driven. It’s very important for singers not to forget the melody because people who come to see the show want you to sing the songs that they’re hearing on your album.”
Mills’ devotion to melody is on full display with her new cover of Ashford & Simpson’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” a song made famous by “Queen of Motown” Diana Ross.
“I am a Diana Ross fan forever,” says Mills. “She can do no wrong, and I’ve always wanted to do ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ because I used to go to all of Diana’s shows in Vegas and see her performing it.”
This is a full-circle moment for Mills, whose theatrical rendition of “Home” was famously covered by Ross in The Wiz’s movie adaptation.
Reflecting on her roots in theater, Mills acknowledges how much the Broadway stage shaped her. She compares her early experience in theater to graduating from college with honors, saying that it made her a better, more confident performer.
Mills’ assurance shines when she discusses the deeper issues in entertainment and politics, starting with the tortured life of late rapper DMX, whose 2001 track “When I’m Nothing” samples Mills’ 1979 hit “What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin’” and features the singer.
“He was so sensitive, affectionate, and brilliant at what he did, but he was a person who had been traumatized,” she says. “For your mother to say you’re going out somewhere and then take you to a place and leave you, that has to be traumatic for a child.”
Known for speaking her mind, Mills explained why she’s never afraid to use her platform, whether defending Michael Jackson against Sam Smith in 2018 or calling out societal injustices today.
“I have my opinion about certain things,” says Mills. “I don’t like bullies, and I don’t have any fear. I’m 68. What can they do to me?”
Recently, she stood up for children with autism, criticizing a recent set of ignorant and unsubstantiated comments made by RFK Jr.
Her friend and actress Holly Robinson, who has a son with autism, repudiated comments made by the acting United States Secretary of Health and Human Services—and Mills, who has a special-needs son with Down syndrome, was quick to back her up.
“RFK Jr. should never say what those children can and cannot do,” she says. “Until he has lived with a special-needs child and raised one, he does not know what he’s talking about, and he should be quiet.”
When it comes to her memories of Michael Jackson, Mills softens, speaking with extreme tenderness and conviction on his controversial legacy.
“He was so gentle, pure, and incredibly talented,” she says. “I never heard Michael say a bad thing or discouraging thing about anyone. The way they accused him… our world was just unfair.”
The bond between the pop king and R&B queen, it turns out, was even closer than many fans realized. In fact, Mills says they dated in the late ‘70s.
“He was my boyfriend during the time that we knew each other,” she says. “Whether he considered me his girlfriend, I don’t know. But he was my boyfriend. I claimed him during those years.”
Now, Mills moves forward with gratitude, passion, and her sights set firmly on what she loves most: music.
“The Queens” tour, her new single, and another stint on Broadway are just three of the latest signposts on the Yellow Brick Road of career growth for the decades-long legend.
“I do what I do because I love it,” says Mills. “I love singing and performing, and I’m blessed now to be able to do it on my terms. I set up my life so that I can do what I wanna do when I want to—and that’s what I’m doing.”
THE QUEENS: 4 LEGENDS, 1 STAGE Sat/10. Oakland Arena. Tickets and more info here.
