En Vogue: Difference between revisions
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===April 2008=== |
===April 2008=== |
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As of April 2008, Dawn Robinson has returned to En Vogue to perform with the group for several dates, giving hopes to their fans worldwide that a reunion is eminent. |
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Rhona Bennett, Maxine Jones, Cindy Herron-Braggs, and Terry Ellis are recording the sixth En Vogue album. According to their official Myspace page they are preparing for several late summer 2008 tour dates. |
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==Filmography== |
==Filmography== |
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Revision as of 16:02, 24 April 2008
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2007) |
En Vogue |
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En Vogue is a Grammy nominated American female R&B vocal quartet assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.
En Vogue has sold over 20 million albums and singles worldwide. They have won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of 7. According to Billboard magazine, they were the 18th most successful act of the 1990s.
Biography
The original members were former Miss Black California Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson, and Terry Ellis. The group was formed in Oakland, California in 1988. Their story began when the production duo of Foster and McElroy brainstormed on the concept of putting together a modern-day, original R&B girl group for the 1990s. After they studied various girl groups, they chose to experiment with welding the female R&B/soul group heritage with hip-hop/new jack swing rhythms. They were looking for singers with strong voices who looked salacious and intelligent. The two held auditions and resolved on the official membership of Herron, Jones, Robinson, and Ellis. Prior to the group's official name, they were primarily called For You. They shifted to Vogue and ultimately En Vogue after learning of another group having a very similar name.
1990-1991: Born To Sing
Born To Sing was released on April 3, 1990 . The album charted at number 21 on the Billboard 200 and number 3 on the Billboard R&B.
The first single, "Hold On", became a crossover, pop smash hit, reaching #2 on the pop charts and #1 on the R&B charts. It also hit #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. It later made #5 in the UK after receiving massive radio airplay and becoming a huge club hit all over Europe. The album's next two singles, "Lies" and "You Don't Have to Worry", both went to #1 on the Billboard R&B Charts. "Lies" also became a Top 40 hit on the pop charts. While the last single, "Don't Go", charted at #3 on the Billboard R&B. The album was later certified platinum by the RIAA.
The group's smash "Hold On" was awarded a Billboard Music Award for R&B Single of the Year, a Soul Train Award for R&B/Urban Contemporary Single of the Year, Group, Band or Duo and nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group .
A remix album, Remix To Sing, followed later within the next year.
In 1990, En Vogue signed an endorsement deal to appear in a Diet Coke commercial directed by Spike Lee.
1992-1996: Funky Divas and Runaway Love
In 1992, En Vogue released Funky Divas which was more successful than their debut, going multi-platinum and garnering positive reviews. The album debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Billboard R&B.
The first two singles, "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" and "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" (a cover of one of Aretha Franklin's songs written by Curtis Mayfield for the movie Sparkle), both went number 1 on the R&B charts.
The next single, "Free Your Mind" (using George Clinton's chorus line with permission) went top ten. The last two singles "Give It Up Turn It Loose" and "Love Don't Love You" both were top 40 hits.
"Free Your Mind" is an unusual song from an R&B vocal group. It features a very hard rock sound with wailing guitar leads, heavy drums, and harsh singing. The sound is close to Sugar Ray's first album. The song opens with a spoken sentence, "Prejudice. Wrote a song about it, like to hear it? Here it goes..."
The album went on to sell more than three million copies, won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Album, and was nominated for five Grammy Awards. The dazzling video for "Free Your Mind" earned the group three MTV Video Music Awards for Best Choreography, Best Dance Video, and Best R&B Video. They were also honored with Soul Train's prestigious Entertainer of the Year Award, graced the pages of Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Essence among other major publications.
In 1994, they returned to the top ten again backing the female pop-rap trio Salt-N-Pepa on their hit "Whatta Man" (a reworked cover of "What A Man" by Stax Records recording artist Linda Lyndell). With their audience clamoring for more, En Vogue released a six song EP, Runaway Love, that year. The EP debuted at number 49 on the Billboard 200 and number 16 on the Billboard R&B charts.
They struck an endorsement deal to be in a Converse commercial and won awards at the American Music Awards, Soul Train, and Lady of Soul Awards shows. Relentless touring included a spot opening for Luther Vandross' 1993 sold-out tour. Among the numerous countries toured were England, Germany, the Netherlands and France which confirmed the group's live vocal and performing prowess.
They also made appearances in TV shows during 1993: In Living Color, A Different World, and Roc (they also sang the show's theme song for seasons 2 and 3, which was composed by their producers, Foster & McElroy).
They were also tapped to sing another theme song composed by Foster & McElroy. This one was for the ABC series Hangin' With Mr. Cooper. Cast members Dawnn Lewis and Holly Robinson Peete also sang the theme with En Vogue, and this theme was only used for the first season.
1997: Robinson leaves the group...
The group took a three-year hiatus from recording as a group before their next LP. Herron focused on motherhood. Jones wed. Ellis made her solo debut with the release of Southern Gal in 1995. Robinson chose to leave the group for a solo career in April 1997 after lengthy negotiations to keep her membership with En Vogue and also plan a solo career.
1997-1999: EV3
En Vogue, now made up of three original members, went on to releaseEV3. "EV3" debuted at number 8 on both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard R&B charts.
The Albums first single, "Don't Let Go" which was also contributed to the soundtrack for "Set It Off" went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and to number 1 on the Billboard R&B Charts. The single was certified platinum by the RIAA. The song, featuring Dawn Robinson on lead vocals, was the last recording released by all four original members.
The second single off "EV3" was the Babyface produced "Whatever", the song went to number 16 on the Hot 100, to number 8 on the R&B charts and to number 5 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart,(Dawn Robinson's vocals from the original cut were used on a dance remake of the song, including the second bridge and outgoing ad lib) . The single was certified gold by the RIAA.
En Vogue had to move on without Dawn and had to re-record some of the lead-vocals on EV3. Their first single "Whatever" was successful but didn't follow the success of the group's earlier hits.
The album's last single "Too Gone Too Long" which was produced by David Foster and written by Diane Warren was a top forty hit on the Hot 100 and top thirty hit on the R&B charts.
There was a world tour planned for promotion of the album but was canceled due to poor ticket sales. To this day the reason for the downfall of the divas can't be named, but one may argue that the lack of continuity musicwise on EV3 contributed to it. Cindy said in an interview: "I couldn´t say that I loved our last album. I didn´t love that EV3-album, but there were reasons why. We worked with a whole lot of different producers, and the record didn´t have any continuity. Besides, it´s hard to write for us." Another reason may have been that Dawn Robinson sang lead on the international hit, "Don´t Let Go (Love)" - the single which was responsible for the success of En Vogue in the mid-90s. Fans were confused to see En Vogue as a trio. Ivan Matias, who wrote and produced "Don't Let Go (Love)" in addition to writing and producing half of the EV3 album offered his perspective in response to Cindy's comment in an interview stating, "There were many circumstances around the making of EV3 that caused it not to be the success it could have been. Obviously, the climate was such that a member was lost during the making of the album. I suspect that had the album been more successful, Cindy might have had a different perspective on it. The ladies are indivdually talented but, it was the collective force that made them a cut above the rest. The only thing that EV3 was missing was the fourth member that we had all become used to. If and when those girls reunite, the other female groups had better sit down and take note!"
The group was nominated for another Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and won the Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B, Rap or Soul Single by Group, Band or Duo. Even though the album was released with the three original members, Dawn's leads and background vocals remained on some of the songs on the album, even though they re-recorded some of the songs without Dawn.
In 1998, En Vogue enjoyed slight success with the single "No Fool No More", a song featured on the "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" soundtrack. The single reached number 57 on the Hot 100 and number 37 on the R&B charts.
In 1999, the group released their first greatest hits compilation, The Best Of En Vogue.
2000: Masterpiece Theatre and Leaving Elektra Records
Masterpiece Theatre was released on May 23, 2000. The album debuted on the Billboard Hot 200 at number 67 and number 33 on the R&B charts. Masterpiece Theatre originally titled, "Something New, Something Old, Something Borrowed, Something Cool", found the trio taking classical compositions and adding their sassy, R&B flavor. The only single, "Riddle", peaked at number 92 on the Hot 100 and at number 95 on the R&B charts. As a result of poor sales, Elektra dropped En Vogue from their label.
2001-2003: New member and The Gift of Christmas
In 2001 Amanda Cole joined En Vogue soon after Maxine Jones left the group to spend more time with her daughter. Ellis, Herron and Cole released a holiday album, "The Gift of Christmas". Soon after the holiday album, Cole left the group and was replaced with Rhona Bennett. Meanwhile, Robinson's first solo CD Dawn was released in early 2002. During the latter part of 2003, En Vogue toured Europe with Maxine Jones rejoining the group to fill the place of Cindy Herron who was on maternity leave.
2004: Soul Flower
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In 2004 En Vogue — now made up of Ellis, Bennett and Herron — released "Soul Flower" on independent label 33rd Street. The album failed to chart on the Billboard 200 but was number 47 on the R&B charts. The first single, "Losin' My Mind" failed to chart anywhere, while second single "Ooh Boy" only charted at 109 on the Hot 100 and 101 on the R&B charts.
2005-2006: Dawn Returns
In 2005, the original four signed a new management deal with one of the largest management firms, The Firm Management Group. In September 2005, the original members of En Vogue joined Salt N Pepa for the girl groups' first ever joint public performance of their respective 1993 chart-topping hit, "Whatta Man", backed by The Roots, for VH-1's "Hip Hop Honors" show and a brief tour. They also earned another Grammy nomination for the single So What the Fuss, featuring Stevie Wonder and Prince, the group also appeared in the single's music video. After failing to agree on business issues, Dawn Robinson chose not to return to En Vogue for a reunion temporarily, and as a result En Vogue was let go from The Firm.
2006-2008
En Vogue continued to perform spot dates in North America with Terry Ellis, Maxine Jones, Cindy Herron and Rhona Bennett. This line-up also saw the group return to Europe and Japan for a few concerts. En Vogue teamed up with Belgian singer Natalia for a song called "Glamorous" in 2008, the single reaching No.2 in Belgium charts and will be followed by a dvd.
April 2008
As of April 2008, Dawn Robinson has returned to En Vogue to perform with the group for several dates, giving hopes to their fans worldwide that a reunion is eminent.
Filmography
En Vogue has appeared in Sesame Street specials including Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: A Musical Celebration in 1993 and Elmopalooza in 1998. In Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: A Musical Celebration the four original members sang "Adventure" about their adventures with some of the Sesame Street characters. The second song was "I Want a Monster"; a song about having a monster as a playmate. It appeared on Elmopalooza and was recorderd after Robinson's departure- featuring Terry Ellis, Maxine Jones and Cindy Herron.
Discography
See: En Vogue discography
- 1990: Born To Sing
- 1991: Remix to Sing
- 1992: Funky Divas
- 1994: Runaway Love EP
- 1997: EV3
- 1999: Best of En Vogue
- 2000: Masterpiece Theatre
- 2001: Very Best of En Vogue
- 2002: Gift of Christmas
- 2004: Soul Flower