TLC (band)
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| TLC | |
|---|---|
 TLC (from left to right), Tionne Watkins, Lisa Lopes and Rozonda Thomas.
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | 2nd Nature |
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| Genre(s) | R&B, hip hop, alternative hip hop, hip hop soul, dance-pop, new jack swing, soul |
| Years active | 1991 –2005 |
| Label(s) | LaFace, Arista |
| Associated acts | Dallas Austin Babyface |
| Former members | |
| Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes (deceased) Crystal Jones (1991) (2nd Nature) |
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TLC was an American music group, whose repertoire spanned R&B, hip hop and pop. Originally known as 2nd Nature, the group was formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 1991 by Crystal Jones, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. Before signing to LaFace Records through a production deal with R&B singer Perri "Pebbles" Reid, the group's name was changed to "TLC", and soon after Crystal Jones was replaced by Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas.
According to RIAA, TLC has sold over 22 million of album copies in the United States alone [1], making them the second best selling female groups in music history. Their second album, CrazySexyCool (1994), was the first album by a female group to be awarded diamond certification by the RIAA for selling over 10 million copies. Billboard ranks the group as one of the greatest musical trios of all time[2]. The group was just as well-known for their controversy as well as their success, from their use of condoms as fashion accessories in the early 1990s, to Left-Eye's troubles with both the law and disputes with her groupmates.
Just before the release of TLC's fourth LP, 3D (2002), Left Eye was killed in a car crash while on vacation in La Ceiba, Honduras. T-Boz and Chilli promoted 3D as a duo, and in 2005 hosted a reality television show, R U the Girl. The grand prize for R U the Girl, won by Tiffany "O'so Krispie" Baker, was a chance to record a song and perform once in concert with T-Boz and Chilli.
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[edit] Career
[edit] 2nd Nature
In 1990, Atlanta teenager Crystal Jones put out a call for two more girls to join her in a trio to be called 2nd Nature. Her request was eventually answered by Tionne Watkins, a native of Des Moines, Iowa who moved to Atlanta with her family at an early age, and Lisa Lopes, a rapper who had just moved to the city from her native Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with only a keyboard and $750. 2nd Nature eventually managed to arrange an audition with R&B singer Perri "Pebbles" Reid, who had started her own management and production company, Pebbitone. Impressed by the girls, Pebbles renamed the group "TLC" and arranged an audition for the group with local record label LaFace Records, run by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Pebbles' husband, Antonio "L.A." Reid. Reid was impressed with Watkins and Lopes but felt that Jones should be replaced; within a few months, former Damian Dame backup dancer Rozonda Thomas was brought in to replace Jones. The girls were signed to LaFace through a production deal with Pebbitone (with Pebbles taking the role of the group's manager) (see Artist development deal) and almost immediately went into the studio with producers Reid and Babyface, Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri, and Marley Marl to produce their first album. TLC also sang the opening theme for the hit nickelodeon sketch comedy show, All That.
Besides being an acronym for "tender loving care", the name "TLC" was based upon the first names of the original members of the group: Tionne, Lisa, and Crystal. Therefore, when Thomas joined, the girls thought about nicknames that fit them: Watkins became "T-Boz", Lopes "Left Eye", and Thomas "Chilli".
[edit] Ooooooohhh.... On the TLC Tip (1992)
The first TLC album, Ooooooohhh.... On the TLC Tip, was released in February 1992 by LaFace. The songs on the album are a blend of funk (T-Boz), hip-hop (Left-Eye), and R&B (Chilli), similar to the "new jack swing" sound popularized by producer Teddy Riley in the late-1980s; TLC's sound was dubbed "new jill swing". The album was a critical and commercial success, being certified quadruple-platinum within a year and launching a number of U.S. Billboard Hot 100 top ten singles with "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg" , "What About Your Friends", and "Baby-Baby-Baby."
TLC's lyrics, chiefly written by Left Eye and Dallas Austin, were playful, female-empowering anthems characterized by Left Eye's quirky, nasal-toned raps, T-Boz's low-voiced lead vocals, and Chilli's powerful vocals and harmonization. The musical formula was augmented by the girls' brightly-colored videos and curious costuming: each girl wore wrapped condoms on their clothing (Left Eye also wore one in a pair of glasses over her left eye).
During TLC's first national tour as MC Hammer's opening act, Left Eye and Chilli discovered that T-Boz had sickle-cell disease, an ailment which she kept a closely-guarded secret until she became ill while TLC was touring the southwestern U.S. T-Boz would continue to battle her condition and eventually became a spokesperson for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America in the late 1990s.[3] At the conclusion of the tour, TLC decided to take more control of their careers and thus informed Pebbles that they no longer wished her to be their manager. Pebbles released the group from its management deal, but they remained signed to Pebbitone, and Pebbles continued to receive a share of their earnings.
In 1993, TLC played the musical group "Sex as a Weapon" in the New Line Cinema feature film House Party 3, starring Kid 'n Play.
[edit] CrazySexyCool (1994)
Left-Eye had started dating Atlanta Falcons American football player Andre Rison shortly after the release of Ooooooohhh.... On the TLC Tip, and by 1994 the two were living together in Rison's upscale double-story home. Their relationship was allegedly filled with violent moments, and Left-Eye filed an assault charge against Rison on September 2, 1993, although Rison later denied battering her. Left-Eye was also battling alcoholism, having been a heavy drinker since her early teen years. After another fight between Left-Eye and Rison in the early morning hours of June 9, 1994, Left-Eye, tipsy from alcohol, tossed numerous pairs of Rison's newly purchased sneakers into a bathtub, doused them with lighter fluid, and lit them on fire. The Plexiglas bathtub quickly melted and set the structural frame of the house on fire. Although firefighters were called to the scene, the house could not be saved due to the toxic fumes from the gasoline. Left-Eye was eventually arrested for and indicted on charges of first-degree arson; she was sentenced to five years of probation and required to enter alcoholism rehabilitation. Rison eventually reconciled with Left-Eye, and they continued dating on-and-off for most of the next few years.
During the fall of 1994, TLC re-entered the studio with Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri, Babyface, Organized Noize, and Sean "Puffy" Combs to record their second album, CrazySexyCool. Left Eye was released from rehab to attend the recording sessions, but the finished album featured significantly less of her raps and vocals. The album instead focused more on T-Boz's and Chili's contributions and a smoother, more fluid sound, similar to the most successful single from the first album, the U.S. #2 hit "Baby-Baby-Baby". All four singles from CrazySexyCool reached the Billboard Hot 100 top five, while "Creep" and "Waterfalls" peaked at number-one while Red Light Special peaked at #2 and "Diggin' on You" peaked at #5. "Waterfalls", an Organized-Noise produced record that featured an old-school soul-based musical arrangement, socially conscious lyrics criticizing drug dealing and unsafe sex, and an introspective rap from Left Eye, became TLC's biggest hit, and its million-dollar music video was an MTV staple for many months.
CrazySexyCool eventually sold over 11 million copies in the U.S., becoming one of only seven R&B albums to ever receive a diamond certification from the RIAA, and won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. However, many were shocked when, in the midst of their apparent success, the members of TLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 3, 1995.[4]
They declared debts totaling 3.5 million dollars, much of it because of Lopes' insurance payments citing from the Rison arson incident and Watkins' medical bills, but the primary reason being that each member of the group was taking home less than $35,000 a year after paying managers, producers, expenses, and taxes. They sought to renegotiate their contract with LaFace—under their 1991 contract, they only received seven percent of the revenues from their album sales—and to dissolve their association with Pebbitone. Both Pebbitone and LaFace countered that TLC simply wanted more money and were in no real financial danger, resulting in two years of legal hassles before the cases were finally settled in late 1996. TLC's contract was renegotiated, their production deal with Pebbitone and Pebbles (who had separated from husband Reid by this time) was rescinded, and the group was set to re-enter the recording studio in 1997 after signing a new contract with LaFace.
[edit] FanMail (1999)
Preliminary work on TLC's third album, FanMail, was delayed when friction arose between the group and their main producer Dallas Austin, who was by this time dating Chilli and helping to raise their young son Tron. Austin wanted $4.2 million and creative control to work on the project, resulting in a stand-off between the producer and the artists. During this period, Chilli appeared in the independent film HavPlenty, and T-Boz co-starred in Hype Williams' 1998 film Belly with rappers Nas and DMX. T-Boz made a solo song in late 1996 called Touch Myself. Left Eye started her own Left Eye Productions artist development company and signed Blaque, a TLC-like female R&B trio. She also appeared on the "Not Tonight" remix with fellow female rappers including Lil' Kim, which garnered the ladies a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo, Band, or Group in 1998.
TLC eventually began working with other producers for the FanMail album, until finally negotiating with Austin, who produced the bulk of FanMail and gave the album a futuristic, more pop-based feel. FanMail was another success for TLC, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart and selling over 6 million copies in the U.S. The album featured the number-one hit "No Scrubs", produced by Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, and the single "Unpretty," an alternative rock-styled song about self-love written by T-Boz and Dallas Austin (another version of it sampled Dennis Edwards' 1984 hit "Don't Look Any Further"), that also reached the top of the charts. At the Lady of Soul Awards the groups was honored with the Aretha Franklin entertainer of the year award.
The videos for both songs were heavily featured on MTV and BET, and three more singles received decent radio play: "Silly Ho", "I'm Good at Being Bad", and Babyface-written ballad, "Dear Lie". A music video was also released for "Dear Lie". Like CrazySexyCool, FanMail won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album of 2000. The group went on a worldwide tour simply named The Fanmail tour. While the first leg of the tour sold poorly and made the group lose 500,000 dollars, most of the second leg of the tour was sold out. The group had a PayPerView special of their tour which at the time became PayPerView's highest grossing televised special.
During and after the release of FanMail, Left Eye made it known to the press on multiple occasions that she felt that she was unable to fully express herself working with TLC and Dallas Austin. Her contributions to the songs had been reduced to periodic eight-bar raps, and studio session singers (most often Debra Killings) often took her place on the background vocals for the groups' songs. In its November 28, 1999 issue, Entertainment Weekly ran a letter from Left Eye that challenged her groupmates to record solo albums and let the fans judge which of the three was the most talented:
- "I challenge Tionne 'Player' Watkins (T-Boz) and Rozonda 'Hater' Thomas (Chilli) to an album entitled The Challenge... a 3-CD set that contains three solo albums. Each (album)... will be due to the record label by October 1, 2000... I also challenge [producer] Dallas 'The Manipulator' Austin to produce all of the material and do it at a fraction of his normal rate. As I think about it, I'm sure LaFace would not mind throwing in a $1.5 million dollar prize for the winner."
The ladies eventually settled the feud, and The Challenge was never followed through. After the conclusion of the successful FanMail tour, the ladies, however, took some time off and pursued personal interests. Left Eye was the first to begin recording her solo album, Supernova. In the year 2000, she released a single with Spice Girl Melanie C in the UK and Europe, called "Never Be the Same Again"; it became a massive success reaching number-one in many countries.
[edit] 3D (2002)
Before the recording of their fourth album, "3D," there was a dispute between Left Eye and T-Boz/Chilli. Left Eye originally wanted to withdraw from the group in order to see if they could duplicate their prior success without her contributions. Left Eye eventually pursued solo stardom and recorded her first album Supernova, however it underperformed overseas and was never officially released in the United States. Tragically before the album was completed, Left Eye died in a fatal car crash.
Returning from yet another hiatus after Left Eye's death in a car crash in 2002 while on missionary work in Honduras, TLC and Austin decided that they would complete the remainder of their fourth album without Left Eye, to be called 3D, which also featured production from Rodney Jerkins, The Neptunes, Raphael Saadiq, Missy Elliott and Timbaland. The decision was also made that TLC would retire after the release and promotion of 3D; Left Eye would not be replaced. The rapper had already completed her vocals for four songs; the remainder were performed by T-Boz and Chilli alone, who gave reverence to Left Eye on a number of the tracks. It was their most personal and meaningful album in most fans eyes, despite it being poorly received.
The first single for 3D was "Girl Talk", the video for which featured T-Boz and Chilli alone in live-action segments and Left Eye in animated segments. Its follow-up, "Hands Up", featured only T-Boz and Chili in its video, but took place in a nightclub named Club Left Eye (Lopes' production company's "eye" logo was a prominent feature on the club's walls). The album only sold two million copies in its first year of release, and "Girl Talk" was the only single to reach the U.S. top forty with a peak position of number 28; "Hands Up" never charted, and a third single, "Damaged", reached number 53. However, the singles enjoyed a bit more success in Europe and Asia.
In June 2003, at Zootopia, an annual concert hosted by New York radio station Z100 held at Giants Stadium, TLC appeared in what was announced to be their last performance. The group, introduced by Carson Daly, showed a video montage dedicated to Lopes, and went on to perform songs against video footage of Lopes performing the same songs, and wearing the same outfits, that were appearing onstage. Fan reaction to the performance led Watkins and Thomas to decide not to disband the group.
[edit] Now and Forever: The Hits (2005) and beyond
In 2003, LaFace had scheduled the release of Now and Forever: The Hits, a TLC greatest hits album with a new song, "Come Get Some", featuring Lil Jon and Sean Paul of the YoungBloodZ. However, the compilation was not released domestically until June 2005, although versions of the compilation were released internationally in 2004 and the album was also available as a legal download from the iTunes Music Store in November 2004. On June 21, 2005, Now and Forever: The Hits was quietly released in the United States; the album debuted at number 53 with 20,000 copies sold.
On June 25, 2004, T-Boz and Chilli announced that they were pitching a reality television show, where contestants would compete for a chance to record a single and perform in concert with the two of them. The show was eventually picked up for development by UPN. R U The Girl with T-Boz & Chilli debuted on UPN on July 27, 2005. The winner of the show would record with them on a new single and perform the track with them in a live concert finale in Atlanta. Roughly 4.1 million viewers tuned in for the season finale of R U The Girl on September 20, 2005, with 20 year old Tiffany "O'so Krispie" Baker as the winner. Despite media speculation that the winner of the series was to become a new, permanent member of TLC, Watkins and Thomas have stated never to replace Lopes with a new member, suggesting that they will continue to record and perform together as TLC.[5]
On October 4, 2005, "I Bet", TLC's first new single in over two years, was released as a single to radio and on the iTunes Music Store, credited to "R U The Girl with T-Boz & Chilli" with no mention of the TLC name on the package. The song was also appended to pressings of Now and Forever: The Hits released after October 11, 2005. "I Bet" failed to chart in America and Europe, ending reports that Watkins and Thomas were putting the finishing touches on a repackaged Greatest Hits album.
During the fall of 2005, Watkins lent her vocals to both "It's Good", a track from the Youngbloodz' 2005 album Ev'rybody Know Me, and an Atlanta sports anthem titled "The ATL", featuring Monica, and Ciara, among other artists. Furthermore she co-produced the motion picture ATL (based on Dallas Austins' high school experiences) and worked on a clothing line for kids titled, "Chase's Closet".
On May 15, 2007, Now and Forever: The Video Hits was finally released in the United States, after over 4 years of delayed release dates. A documentary on the final days of Lisa Lopes entitled, Last Days of Left Eye premiered Saturday, May 19, 2007 on VH1 and VH1 Soul. The documentary chronicled the surreal final days of Lisa Lopes' life up to moments before her fatal crash that claimed her life.
On August 20, 2007 a new Greatest Hits album was released in the UK called Crazy Sexy Hits: The Very Best of TLC, a play on the groups's best selling album title Crazy Sexy Cool. Now and Forever: The Video Hits was also released in the UK for the first time on the same date. The album fared better than previous compilation Now and Forever: The Hits, peaking at #57 on the UK album chart (Now and Forever: The Hits made #86).
[edit] Future Solo Endeavors
On August 14, 2007, T-Boz spoke with CyberTLC World about upcoming plans which included her solo album which she had already begun recording. No planned release date on the album at the moment. In that interview, Watkins also spoke about a possible TLC movie which bandmember Rozonda Thomas is pretty interested in making. At the moment there is no word whether or not T-Boz and Chilli will be playing themselves. An upcoming TLC-related television program is also in the works as well as an "uplifting" book that Watkins is currently writing. During the interview, Tionne also spoke about TLC's future as a group, stating it was not likely that there will ever be another album from the group but that there will possibly be a farewell tour sometime before she releases her solo project. A full interview can be found on the TLC fansite, CyberTLC World.
Thomas' debut solo album titled, "Bipolar" is scheduled to be released September 2. The first single, "Dumb Dumb Dumb" was released to radio in Atlanta by Thomas herself in April. She will be releasing her album through her own label, "Tron Muzik" for which the major label distribution will be announced soon. To promote her new single, Thomas has been appear at various radio stations across the country. She also recently held a contest to pick dancers for her upcoming promotional tour. The contest was also to create a "Dumb Dumb Dumb" dance, for which she is still looking for.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Tours
- 1992-1993: (as opening act) MC Hammer's Too Legit to Quit Tour
- 1994-1995: Tours co-headlining with Boyz II Men
- 2000: FanMail Tour
[edit] Awards and nominations
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Young Artist Awards for Favorite New Music Artists.[6] |
| 1992 | Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Song for Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg to Dallas Austin and Lisa Lopes |
| 1993 | American Music Award nominations for Favorite New Artist - Rap / Hip-Hop, Favorite Artist - Rap / Hip-Hop, Favorite New Artist - Pop / Rock.[7] |
| 1995 | MTV Video Music Award wins for Best Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Best R&B Video, Viewer's Choice for "Waterfalls".[8] |
| 1995 | MTV Video Music Award nominations for Best Special Effects, Best Editor, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Breakthrough Video for "Waterfalls". |
| 1995 | Billboard Music Award wins for Artist of the Year, R&B Artist of the Year, R&B Single of the Year ("Creep"). |
| 1995 | Lady of Soul Award wins for Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo ("Creep"), Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year - Group, Band or Duo ("CrazySexyCool"). |
| 1996 | Grammy Award wins for Best R&B Album ("Crazysexycool"), and Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group with Vocals("Creep").[9] |
| 1996 | Grammy Award wins for Record of the Year, Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group with Vocal for "Waterfalls". |
| 1996 | American Music Award nominations for Favorite Soul/R&B Album ("Crazysexycool"), Favorite Soul/R&B Band, Duo or Group, and Favorite Artist of the Year.[10] |
| 1996 | Soul Train Music Award wins for Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo ("Waterfalls"), Best R&B/Soul Album - Group, Band or Duo ("Crazysexycool"), Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video ("Waterfalls").[11] |
| 1996 | American Music Award nomination for Favorite Soul/R&B Band, Duo or Group. |
| 1996 | Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo ("Waterfalls"). |
| 1999 | MTV Video Music Award win for Best Group Video ("No Scrubs").[12] |
| 1999 | MTV Video Music Award nominations for Hip Hop Video of the Year, Best Art Direction, Best Director, Best Editing, and Viewer's Choice for "No Scrubs". |
| 1999 | Soul Train Music Award wins for Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo ("No Scrubs"), Best R&B/Soul Album - Group, Band or Duo ("FanMail"). |
| 2000 | Grammy Award wins for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group with Vocals ("No Scrubs"), Best R&B Song ("No Scrubs"), and Best R&B Album ("FanMail"). |
| 2000 | Grammy Award nominations for Record of the Year ("No Scrubs"), Album of the Year ("FanMail"), Pop Vocal Group ("Unpretty"), Short Form Music Video ("Unpretty") |
| 2000 | Lady of Soul Award wins for Aretha Franklin Award (Entertainer of the Year), Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo ("No Scrubs"), Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year - Group, Band or Duo ("FanMail"). |
| 2000 | American Music Award win for Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Soul / Rhythm & Blues |
| 2003 | Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance By A
Duo or Group with Vocals ("Girl Talk"). |
| 2003 | Soul Train Award nomination for Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo ("Girl Talk"). |
| 2003 | NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Duo or Group |
| 2003 | Lady of Soul nominations for Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo ("Girl Talk"), and Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year - Group, Band or Duo ("3D"). |
| 2004 | Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group with Vocals ("Hands Up"). |
[edit] See also
- List of best-selling music artists in the United States
- Girl Group
- List of best selling female R&B groups
[edit] References
- ^ Top selling artists
- ^ Greatest Trios of All Time
- ^ Our Georgia History: TLC.
- ^ Henriques, Diana B. and Samuels, Anita M. (February 5, 1996). Does Going 'Broke' Mean Artist Really Doesn't Have Any Money?. New York Times.
- ^ Radio interview with Tionne Watkins and Rozonda Thomas about R U The Girl (see "Interview Audio" link above)
- ^ http://www.goldderby.com/lostmind/year/1991/1991ya.htm Goldderby.com Retrieved on 04-18-07
- ^ http://www.goldderby.com/lostmind/year/1992/1992ama.htm Goldderby.com Retrieved on 04-18-07
- ^ http://www.goldderby.com/lostmind/year/1995/1995mtvv.htm Goldderby.com Retrieved on 04-18-07
- ^ http://www.goldderby.com/lostmind/year/1995/1995grammy.htm Goldderby.com Retrieved on 04-18-07
- ^ http://www.goldderby.com/lostmind/year/1995/1995ama.htm Goldderby.com Retrieved on 04-18-07
- ^ http://www.goldderby.com/lostmind/year/1995/1995stma.htm Goldderby.com Retrieved on 04-18-07
- ^ http://www.goldderby.com/lostmind/year/1999/1999mtvv.htm Goldderby.com Retrieved on 04-18-07
[edit] External links
- TLC's Official Fan Site
- TLC Now and Forever Forum
- Fansite about Lisa Lopes
- TLC at Allmusic
- TLC at LyricWiki
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