By Matt Paco

On Wednesday night (June 9), the biggest surprise at Elle magazine's first-ever "Women In Music" event was a performance by none other than the original Lady Marmalade, Patti LaBelle. Once she hit the stage, everyone in attendance immediately pushed to the front of the Highline Ballroom's stage.

Elle organized the bash to celebrate their July issue, which features Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Ke$ha, Christina Aguilera and Paramore singer Hayley Williams. "They all have a look, and they all express different things with their look," explained Elle Editor-In-Chief Roberta Myers. "It's where performance and art and fashion come together."

"When we found out we were going to be in the issue, I think some of us screamed," exclaimed Elizabeth "Z" Berg, frontwoman for California strum-poppers the Like. "I think after we did the photo shoot, [bandmate and organist] Annie [Monroe] sat in the car for 10 minutes saying, 'Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!'"

The Like got the party started by performing four songs from their upcoming album Release Me, including "Wishing He Was Dead," "Release Me," and "He's Not a Boy." But the headliner for the evening was the milkshaker herself, Kelis, who will also be featured in the July issue. Wearing a floral-checked dress, the Grammy-nominated singer pumped up the crowd by performing "Trick Me," a remix of “Milkshake" (which got mashed up with Madonna's "Holiday") and Kelis' song of the summer "Acapella," along with two other tracks from her upcoming fifth album Flesh Tone.

Also at the star-studded event were Whitney Port, Olivia Palermo and Roxy Olin from "The City" along with fashion designer Catherine Malandrino, rapper Fabolous and up-and-coming artist Alexis Jordan.