TLC (band)
| TLC | |
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 TLC at the 1995 MTV Movie Awards
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | 2nd Nature |
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| Genre(s) | Contemporary R&B, hip hop, hip hop soul, new jack swing, pop, dance-pop, electropop, pop rock, soul |
| Years active | 1991–2005 |
| Label(s) | LaFace, Arista |
| Associated acts | Babyface Goodie Mob André 3000 Debra Killings |
| Members | |
| Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas |
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| Former members | |
| Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes (deceased) | |
TLC was a Grammy Award-winning American contemporary R&B, hip hop, and pop group, consisting of Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Billboard magazine ranks the group as one of the greatest musical trios of all time.[1] They have sold more than 45 million records worldwide.[2] According to the RIAA and Billboard, TLC has been certified for more than 22 million albums and singles in the United States[3]. In 1999, the group was inducted into the All Time Hot 100 Artist Hall of Fame. [4]
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 in the USA and shipping over 15 million copies worldwide.[5] The group was sometimes controversial, from their use of condoms as fashion accessories in the early 1990s, to Lopes's troubles with both the law and her groupmates.
In early 2002, just before the release of TLC's fourth LP, 3D, Lopes was killed in a car accident in Honduras. Watkins and Thomas promoted 3D as a duo, and in 2005, hosted a reality television show, R U the Girl, with a grand prize of a chance to record a song and perform once in concert with the surviving group members, both of whom have released solo material and continued to occasionally collaborate.
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Career
2nd Nature
In 1990, Atlanta, Georgia 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 US$750. The group 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, Reid renamed the group "TLC" and arranged an audition for them with local record label LaFace Records, run by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Reid's then-husband, Antonio "L.A." Reid. The latter Reid saw potential in Watkins and Lopes but felt that Jones should be replaced; within a few days, part-time 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 Perri Reid taking the role of the group's manager) (see Artist development deal) and almost immediately went into the studio with producers Reid and Edmonds, 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" consisted of the initials of the first names of the original members of the group. Therefore, when Thomas joined, the girls came up with nicknames to match these letters: Watkins became "T-Boz", Lopes "Left Eye", and Thomas "Chilli".
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 (Watkins), hip-hop (Lopes), and R&B (Thomas), 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 US 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 Lopes and Dallas Austin, were playful, female-empowering anthems characterized by Lopes's quirky, nasal-toned raps, Watkins's low-voiced lead vocals, and Thomas'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 (Lopes also wore one in a pair of glasses over her left eye).
During TLC's first national tour, as MC Hammer's opening act, Lopes and Thomas discovered that Watkins had sickle-cell disease, an ailment which she kept a closely-guarded secret until she became ill while TLC was touring the Southwest US. Watkins continued to battle her condition and eventually became a spokesperson for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America in the late 1990s.[6] At the conclusion of the tour, TLC decided to take more control of their careers and thus informed Perri Reid that they no longer wished her to be their manager. Reid released the group from its management deal, but they remained signed to Pebbitone, and Reid continued to receive a share of their earnings.
CrazySexyCool (1994)
Lopes 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 Lopes filed an assault charge against Rison on September 2, 1993. Rison denied battering her. Lopes was also battling alcoholism, having been a heavy drinker since her early teen years. After another fight between the couple in the early morning hours of June 9, 1994, Lopes tossed numerous pairs of Rison's newly purchased shoes 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. Lopes was arrested and indicted on charges of first-degree arson; she was sentenced to five years of probation and a $10,000 fine. Rison eventually reconciled with Lopes, and they continued dating on-and-off for most of the next few years.[7]
During the fall of 1994, TLC re-entered the studio with Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri, Perri Reid, Organized Noize, and Sean "Puffy" Combs to record their second album, CrazySexyCool. Lopes 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 the contributions from Watson and Thomas, and had a smoother, more fluid sound, similar to the most successful single from the first album, the US #2 hit "Baby-Baby-Baby".[8] All four singles from CrazySexyCool reached the top 5 of the US Hot 100, while "Creep" and "Waterfalls" peaked at no. 1, while Red Light Special reached no. 2 and "Diggin' on You" reached no. 5. "Waterfalls",[8] an Organized Noise-produced song that featured an old-school soul-based musical arrangement, socially-conscious lyrics criticizing drug dealing and unsafe sex, and an introspective rap from Lopes, 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 US, 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.[9]
They declared debts totaling 3.5 million dollars, much of it because of Lopes's insurance payments arising from the arson incident and Watkins's 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 1991 contract with LaFace, under which 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 debates before the cases were finally settled in late 1996. TLC's contract was renegotiated, their production deal with Pebbitone and Perri Reid (who had separated from her husband 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.
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 Thomas 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, Thomas appeared in the independent film HavPlenty, and Watkins co-starred in Hype Williams' 1998 film Belly with rappers Nas and DMX. Watkins made a solo song in late 1996 called "Touch Myself". Lopes started her own Lopes Productions artist development company and signed Blaque, a TLC-like female R&B trio. She also appeared on the "Ladies Night" remix with fellow female rappers including Lil' Kim, which garnered the group 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 No. 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 Watkins 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 Edmonds-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, Lopes made it known to the press on multiple occasions that she felt that she was unable to fully express herself working with TLC and Austin. Her contributions to the songs had been reduced to periodic eight-bar raps, and studio session singers such as 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 Lopes 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 (Watkins) and Rozonda 'Hater' Thomas (Thomas) 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. Lopes was the first to begin recording her solo album, Supernova. In 2000, Spice Girl Melanie C released a single co-written with Lopes in the UK and Europe, called "Never Be the Same Again"; it became a hit reaching no. 1 in many countries.
3D (2002)
Before the recording of their fourth album, 3D, there was a dispute between Lopes on one side and Watkins and Thomas on the other. Lopes originally wanted to withdraw from the group in order to see if they could duplicate their prior success without her contributions. Lopes eventually pursued solo stardom and recorded her first album Supernova, however it underperformed overseas and was never officially released in the United States. Before the album was completed, Lopes died in a car crash.
Returning from yet another hiatus after Lopes's death in a car crash in 2002 while on missionary work in Honduras, Watkins, Thomas and Austin decided that they would complete the remainder of their fourth album, 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, rather than replace Lopes and continue. Lopes had already completed her vocals for four songs; the remainder were performed by the remaining group members alone, who eulogized Lopes 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 Watkins and Thomas alone in live-action segments and Lopes in animated segments. Its follow-up, "Hands Up", featured only Watkins and Thomas in its video, but took place in a nightclub named Club Lopes (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.[8] 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.
Now & Forever: The Hits (2003-2005)
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, Watkins and Thomas 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 Watkins & Thomas 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.
On October 4, 2005, "I Bet", the first new Watkins and Thomas single in over two years, was released to radio and on the iTunes Music Store, credited to "R U The Girl with Watkins & Thomas" 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 2005 Youngbloodz 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 four years of delayed release dates. A documentary on Lisa Lopes entitled Last Days of Left Eye premiered Saturday, May 19, 2007 on VH1 and VH1 Soul. The documentary chronicled the final days of 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).
On June 24, 2008, Watkins and Thomas made a special appearance on the BET Awards. They, along with the original members of En Vogue and SWV, performed in Alicia Keys' tribute to girl groups. Watkins, Thomas, and Keys performed "Waterfalls". TLC will also be presenters at the BETJ Virtual Awards on November 25, 2008
Future solo endeavors
On August 14, 2007, Watkins spoke with fan site, 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 also interested in making. 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, Watkins 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.
Thomas' debut solo album titled, Bi-Polar is scheduled to be released sometime between late 2008 and mid 2009. The first official buzz 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 made appearances 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.
In honor of Left Eye, a compilation album is set to be released in early 2009, under the name "Eye Legacy". The album will feature old and unreleased material in remixed form. Confirmed guests on the album include TLC, Tupac Shakur, Lil Mama, Chamillionaire, Missy Elliott, and Bobby Valentino. The first single from the album is rumored to be "Let's Just Do It" featuring TLC and Missy Elliott.
Discography
Albums
- 1992: Ooooooohhh.... On the TLC Tip
- 1994: CrazySexyCool
- 1999: FanMail
- 2002: 3D
- 2004: Now and Forever: The Hits
Tours
- 1993-1994: (as opening act) MC Hammer's Too Legit to Quit Tour
- 1994-1995 & 1996: Tours co-headlining with Boyz II Men
- 1999-2000: FanMail Tour
Awards and nominations
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Song or Album |
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| 1994 | Nominated | Grammy Award | Best R&B Song | "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg" |
| 1995 | Won | Best R&B Album | CrazySexyCool | |
| Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal | "Creep" | |||
| 1997 | Nominated | Record of the Year | "Waterfalls" | |
| Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal | "Waterfalls" | |||
| 1999 | Won | Best R&B Album | Fanmail | |
| Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal | "No Scrubs" | |||
| 2003 | Nominated | Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocals | "Girl Talk" | |
| 2004 | Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocals | "Hands Up" | ||
| 1995 | Won | MTV Video Music Awards | Video of the Year | "Waterfalls" |
| Best Group Video | "Waterfalls" | |||
| Best R&B Video | "Waterfalls" | |||
| Viewer's Choice | "Waterfalls" | |||
| Nominated | Best Special Effects | "Waterfalls" | ||
| Best Editing | "Waterfalls" | |||
| Best Direction | "Waterfalls" | |||
| Best Cinematography | "Waterfalls" | |||
| Best Art Direction | "Waterfalls" | |||
| Breakthrough Video | "Waterfalls" | |||
| 1999 | Best Group Video | "No Scrubs" | ||
| Best Hip Hop Video | "No Scrubs" | |||
| Viewer's Choice | "No Scrubs" | |||
| 1996 | Won | Billboard Music Award | Artist of the Year |
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| R&B Artist of the Year |
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| R&B Single of the Year | "Creep" | |||
| 1997 | Nominated | American Music Award | Favorite Soul/R&B Album | CrazySexyCool |
| Favorite Soul/R&B Band, Duo or Group |
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| Favorite Artist of the Year |
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| 2000 | Won | Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Soul/Rhythm & Blues |
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| 1996 | Won | Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards | Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo | "Creep" |
| Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year - Group, Band or Duo | CrazySexyCool | |||
| 1997 | Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo | "Waterfalls" | ||
| 1999 | Aretha Franklin Award (Entertainer of the Year) |
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| Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo | "No Scrubs" | |||
| Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year - Group, Band or Duo | Fanmail | |||
| 2003 | Nominated | Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo | "Girl Talk" | |
| Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year - Group, Band or Duo | 3D | |||
| 1997 | Won | Soul Train Music Award | 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" | |||
| 1999 | Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo | "No Scrubs" | ||
| Best R&B/Soul Album - Group, Band or Duo | Fanmail | |||
| 2003 | Nominated | Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo | "Girl Talk" | |
| 2003 | Nominated | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Duo or Group |
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See also
- List of best-selling music artists in the United States
- List of best-selling girl groups
- List of best selling female R&B groups
References
- ↑ "Billboard Greatest Trios of All Time". Billboard. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
- ↑ Singers Room
- ↑ RIAA Top 100 Certified Artists
- ↑ "The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved on 2008-11-17.
- ↑ "Billboard's Greatest Trios of All Time". billboard.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-27.
- ↑ "T-Boz: Singer". people.com (2000-05-08). Retrieved on 2008-10-26.
- ↑ Jones, Solomon. "Over the Waterfall". philadelphiaweekly.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-27.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Artist Chart History - TLC". billboard.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-27.
- ↑ Henriques, Diana B. and Samuels, Anita M. (February 5, 1996). "Does Going 'Broke' Mean Artist Really Doesn't Have Any Money?". New York Times.
External Links
- Cyber TLC World
- TLC at Allmusic
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