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En Vogue is a Grammy nominated American female R&B^[1] vocal quartet assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy^[2]. To date, En Vogue has sold over twenty million albums and singles worldwide^[3]. They have won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven. According to Billboard magazine, they were the eighteenth most successful act of the 1990s.

Biography

Assembled in Oakland, California in 1988, the original members are Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson, and Terry Ellis. The inspiration behind the group came when the production duo of Foster and McElroy sought to put together a modern-day girl group in the tradition of past girl groups of the 1950s and 1960s. Looking for singers with strong voices, who looked salacious and were also intelligent, auditions were held, resulting in Herron, Jones, Robinson, and Ellis all making the final cut. Prior to the group's official name, they were primarily called "For You." They shifted to "Vogue," but ultimately settled on En Vogue, upon learning that another group had already claimed that name.

Music

1990-1991: Born to Sing

Born to Sing (1990)

Born to Sing was released on April 3, 1990 . The album charted at number twenty-one on the Billboard 200 and number three on Billboard's R&B Albums Chart. The first single, "Hold On", became a crossover pop hit, reaching number two on Billboard's Hot 100 singles charts, and number one on both the R&B singles and Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts. It later went top five in the UK, and became a hit in Europe. The next two singles, "Lies" and "You Don't Have to Worry," each went to number one on the Billboard R&B charts, while the fourth and final single, "Don't Go," charted at number three on the Billboard R&B. The album was later certified platinum by the RIAA.

"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." In 1990, En Vogue signed an endorsement deal to appear in a Diet Coke commercial directed by Spike Lee.

A remix album Remix To Sing was released the following year.

1992-1993: Funky Divas

Funky Divas (1992)

En Vogue's second album, Funky Divas, was released in the spring of 1992. The album debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Billboard R&B and ultimately doubled the take of its predecessor, going multi-platinum and garnering positive reviews. The albums first two singles: "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" and "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" both went top ten pop, and peaked at number one on the R&B charts. The next single, "Free Your Mind" also went top ten. The final two singles "Give It Up Turn It Loose" and "Love Don't Love You" both were top forty hits.

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 music 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." In addition to this, the group were featured in Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Essence among other major publications.

Riding high on the success of Funky Divas, a six-song EP entitled Runaway Love was released in the fall of 1993, spawning the hit "Runaway Love."

The group were signed to an endorsement deal with Converse, and were featured as an opening act on Luther Vandross' 1993 tour. Among the numerous countries toured were England, Germany, the Netherlands and France which confirmed the group's live vocal and performing prowess.

En Vogue also made numerous television appearances on such series as In Living Color, A Different World, Roc and Hangin' With Mr. Cooper (the latter two of which they also sang the show's theme songs.)

1994-1996: Downtime

In 1994, En Vogue were featured vocalists on Salt-N-Pepa's top ten hit "Whatta Man." The following year, they were amongst numerous female vocalists featured on the song "Freedom" for the soundtrack to Panther. Also in 1995, group member Terry Ellis recorded a solo album entitled Southern Gal.

1996-1998: The departure of Dawn Robinson and EV3

EV3 (1997)

En Vogue reunited in 1996 to record "Don't Let Go (Love)" for the soundtrack to the motion picture Set It Off. Released in the fall, it became the groups biggest hit to date; as the single peaked at number two on the Hot 100, number one on the R&B singles chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAA. It, inadvertently, would also be the final En Vogue single to feature group member Dawn Robinson.

In response to the popularity of "Don't Let Go (Love)," the group steadfastly went to work on its third album. As the album was nearing completion, Robinson chose to leave the group in April 1997 after difficult contractual negotiations reached a stalemate. Despite Robinson's abrupt departure, En Vogue resolved to continue on as a trio (forcing the group to re-record some of the tracks on their forthcoming album that had originally featured her on lead vocals.)

EV3, the groups third album, was released in the spring and debuted at number eight on both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard R&B charts. The first single, the Babyface-penned and produced "Whatever" went on to become a twenty pop hit, a top ten R&B hit, while also peaking at number five on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The single later went on to be certified gold by the RIAA. The followup single "Too Gone Too Long" (which was produced by David Foster and written by Diane Warren) performed more modestly, managing to only peak in the top forty. Despite its being certified platinum, and the album being nominated for Grammy Award and a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award, sales of EV3 failed to live up to full commercial expectation. A world tour had been planned, but was canceled due to poor ticket sales.

Masterpiece Theater (2000)

In 1998, En Vogue recorded "No Fool No More" for the soundtrack to the motion picture, Why Do Fools Fall In Love. The following year, a greatest hits compilation, The Best of En Vogue, was released.

2000: Masterpiece Theatre

Masterpiece Theatre, the groups fourth studio album, was released in May 2000. The album debuted at number sixty-seven and thirty-three on the Billboard 200 and R&B Albums Charts respectively. The first (and only) single, "Riddle," peaked at a paltry number ninety-two and ninety-five on the Hot 100 and R&B charts. As a result of poor sales, En Vogue was dropped from the Elektra Record label.

2001-2003: New member

In 2001, original member Maxine Jones left the group to focus on her family. As a result, Amanda Cole joined the group. Ellis, Herron and Cole released a holiday album, The Gift of Christmas. Soon after the holiday album, Cole too 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

Soul Flower (2004)

In 2004, En Vogue (now comprised of Ellis, Herron and Bennett) released Soul Flower on independent label 33rd Street Records. While the album failed to chart on the Billboard 200, it managed to peak at number forty-seven on the R&B charts. The albums two singles: "Losin' My Mind" and "Ooh Boy", however, failed to chart.

2005-2007: Impromptu Reunion

In 2005, after a eight year absence, Dawn Robinson rejoined En Vogue but left again the same year. The original four went on to sign with one of the industries largest management firms, The Firm Management Group. That September, they joined Salt N Pepa for the girl groups' first ever joint public performance of their 1994 hit, "Whatta Man" at VH-1's Hip Hop Honors, and briefly toured. They also earned another Grammy nomination for the single So What the Fuss, which featured Stevie Wonder and Prince. The group also appeared in the single's music video. After failing to agree on business terms, Robinson once again chose to defect En Vogue and Bennett remained. As a result, En Vogue was let go from The Firm. 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 select concert dates. During this time, En Vogue teamed up with Belgian singer Natalia for a song called "Glamorous" where Rhona Bennett's vocals are featured. The single reached No.2 in Belgium charts and will be followed by a DVD release.

2008-present: Dawn returns again; En Vogue Reunited

As of April 2008, Robinson has returned to En Vogue for some dates Bennett for others. She is said to be scheduled to perform with the group on several tour dates, including the 4th Annual Plymouth Jazz Festival in Tobago, alongside such mega-stars as Whitney Houston and Rod Stewart. With the tentative return of Robinson, expectations of En Vogue planning a widescale commercial comeback seems imminent, however premature to confirm.

On June 24, the original lineup of En Vogue appeared on the BET Awards performing with Alicia Keys, along with SWV and TLC. Rhona Bennett, meanwhile, was also spotted on the red carpet at the awards ceremony in support of her group members. With speculation a buzz, En Vogue received the twenty-eighth highest number of hits on the Rock on the Net website for the month of June 2008. The following month, the group ascendeded to being the twelfth position. As of June 30, Dawn Robinson has stated officially via an En Vogue Yahoo! fan site that she will return to En Vogue the following September. Tour dates are yet to be offered on Robinson's official MySpace page.

On August 6, the original members of En Vogue appeared on Los Angeles' KTLA television station and announced that they have reunited and will (initially) do spot dates around the country during the latter part of 2008. En Vogue went on to say that the original line-up will release a new album in mid-2009 as well as a television show. The foursome kicked off the Americana at Brand Concert Series in Glendale, California that same evening. ^[4]

Television and Film

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. In Batman Forever they appeared in a cameo appearance as a group of prostitutes. En Vogue has also appeared in "A Different World" as a group of country bumpkin sisters who want to sing. The group also appeared on more than one episode of the highly acclaimed Charles S. Dutton Fox 90's television show 'Roc", with one of the ladies playing a love interest of Rocky Carrol's character Joey who has to choose between staying with Joey or touring with the rest of the En Vogue ladies. Their song "Live Your Life Today" was used as the theme song for Roc's later seasons.

Discography

See: En Vogue discography

• 1990: Born To Sing
• 1991: Remix to Sing
• 1992: Funky Divas
• 1993: 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

Awards

Main article: List of En Vogue awards

References

External links

• En Vogue at Rock on the Net.