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En Vogue is a Grammy-nominated American all-female R&B vocal quartet assembled by the hit music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, formerly of the disco group Club Nouveau.
En Vogue has sold over 18 million albums and singles worldwide. They have worked with the fashion industries top make-up artists and stylists in addition to avant garde directors and photographers. Among those directors are Mark Romanek, Matthew Rolston and Tarsem Singh. En Vogue has worked exclusively with world renowned choreographers Frank Gatson Jr., La Velle Smith and Travis Payne. They have won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of 7 VMAs. The group was named the second most successful girl group of the 1990s and the 18th most successful act overall of the 1990s according to Billboard magazine.
History
Early years
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.After they found their women, the new group performed a song or two on Foster and McElroy's FM2 album. The group lived together for a while. Robinson suggested that they enter singing contests to remain active. Before the work and recording of their debut album began, one day, they had a singing session. They were in Foster's car, getting warmed up as they prepared to sing "Who's Lovin' You?" by The Miracles. Suddenly, Foster turned on their drum machine accidentally. The girls liked the catchy, funky beats that it made and thought it would be a great idea to sing the lyrics over them. But Foster had a better idea: to write and produce an original answer song called "Hold On". That first single became a crossover, pop smash hit, reaching #2 on the pop charts and #1 on the R&B charts. The single was included on En Vogue's debut album Born To Sing, which was released in 1990 and went platinum. The group's smash "Hold On" was awarded a Billboard Music Award for R&B Single of the Year and a Soul Train Award for R&B/Urban Contemporary Single of the Year, Group, Band or Duo. A remix album, Remix To Sing, followed later within the next year.
Success
Some have compared En Vogue to The Supremes. A notable feature of the group is that they all shared in singing lead, purposely designating no particular singer as the "star." Herron appeared in the film Juice (1992) between albums. The 1992 sophomore attempt Funky Divas was more successful than their debut, going multi-platinum and garnering positive reviews. Though the group was influenced mainly by the R&B genre, other influences included pop, hip hop, reggae, and rock music. The first three singles, "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)", "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" (a cover of one of Aretha Franklin's songs written by Curtis Mayfield), and "Free Your Mind" (using George Clinton's chorus line with permission), all reached the top ten. They returned to the top ten again in 1993, backing the female pop-rap trio Salt-N-Pepa on their hit "Whatta Man". Another LP, Runaway Love, was released that year.En Vogue opened doors for future girl groups as the first black female R&B group to appear on the front cover of Vogue magazine. They struck an endorsement deal to be in a Converse commercial and won awards at the Soul Train and Lady of Soul Awards shows. The group made television guest appearances on episodes of the series A Different World, In Living Color, ROC, and played hookers in the 1995 film Batman Forever. They also appeared on a 1997 episode of The Wayans Bros..
Later years
The group took a three-year hiatus from recording as a group before their next LP. Ellis made her solo debut with the release of Southern Gal in 1995. Robinson left the group for a solo career in 1997, and later joined Tony! Toni! Toné!'s Raphael Saadiq and A Tribe Called Quest's Ali Shaheed Muhammad to form the group Lucy Pearl in 2000. The other members of En Vogue went on to record EV3. Before it was issued in 1997, they contributed one of the album's tracks, "Don't Let Go (Love)", to the Set It Off soundtrack, which became a #2 single. The group's first greatest hits compilation, The Best Of En Vogue, was issued in 1999. The following year, the new studio LP Masterpiece Theater was released. In 2001 Amanda Cole joined the band as a 4th member. Soon after that Maxine Jones left the group to spend more time with her baby daughter. Meanwhile, Robinson's first solo CD Dawn was released in early 2002. At the end of the year, En Vogue's holiday album The Gift Of Christmas appeared. Amanda Cole left the band on summer 2003 to start her solo career. In September 2003 the band started their small European tour and Maxine Jones joined the band again, to fill the place of Cindy Herron, who had just had her baby and was on her maternity leave. En Vogue soon gained another new member, this time Rhona Bennett joined the band. After Herron's break, she and Jones changed places again. The new trio released Soul Flower in early 2004.
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. After failing to agree on business issues, Dawn Robinson chose not to return to En Vogue for a reunion and as a result, En Vogue was let go from The Firm. En Vogue will continue on with members Maxine Jones, Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis and Rhona Bennett and record an album later this year.
En Vogue, currently Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones and Rhona Bennett, is currently touring internationally. Dawn Robinson is preparing for her second solo release.
Members
- Cindy Herron (1990-)
- Maxine Jones (1990-2001, 2003-)
- Dawn Robinson (1990-1996, 2005)
- Terry Ellis (1990-)
- Amanda Cole (2002-2003)
- Rhona Bennett (2004-)
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | US | US R&B | UK | US Sales | World Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Born to Sing | 21 | 3 | 23 | 1.5m | 2.5m |
| 1991 | Remix to Sing | - | - | 57 | 150k | 250k |
| 1992 | Funky Divas | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3.2m | 6.5m |
| 1993 | Runaway Love EP | 49 | 16 | - | 250k | 500k |
| 1997 | EV3 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 1.0m | 2.5m |
| 1998 | Best of En Vogue | - | - | 39 | 200k | 500k |
| 2000 | Masterpiece Theater | 67 | 33 | - | 104k | 500k |
| 2001 | The Very Best of En Vogue | - | - | - | - | 2k |
| 2002 | The Gift of Christmas | - | - | - | - | 3k |
| 2004 | Soul Flower | - | 47 | - | 150k | 150k |
| 2005 | Hold On And Other Hits | - | - | - | - | - |
Singles
| Year | Title | Album | US | US Dance | US R&B | UK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Hold On" | Born To Sing | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 1990 | "Lies" | Born To Sing | 38 | 18 | 1 | 44 |
| 1991 | "You Don't Have To Worry" | Born To Sing | 57 | - | 1 | 94 |
| 1991 | "Don't Go" | Born To Sing | - | - | 3 | - |
| 1991 | "Strange" | Remix To Sing | - | 44 | - | - |
| 1992 | "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" | Funky Divas | 2 | 8 | 1 | 4 |
| 1992 | "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" | Funky Divas | 6 | - | 1 | 16 |
| 1992 | "Yesterday" only single | Funky Divas | 73 | - | 29 | - |
| 1992 | "Free Your Mind" | Funky Divas | 8 | 39 | 23 | 16 |
| 1992 | "Give It Up Turn It Loose" | Funky Divas | 15 | - | 16 | 22 |
| 1993 | "Love Don't Love You" | Funky Divas | 36 | - | 31 | 64 |
| 1993 | "Runaway Love" | Runaway Love * | 51 | - | 15 | 36 |
| 1993 | "What Is Love" | Funky Divas | - | 6 | - | - |
| 1994 | "Whatta Man (Feat. Salt-N-Pepa)" | Runaway Love | 3 | - | 3 | 7 |
| 1996 | "Don't Let Go (Love)" | EV3/Set If Off Soundtrack | 2 | - | 1 | 5 |
| 1997 | "Whatever" | EV3 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 14 |
| 1997 | "Too Gone Too Long" | EV3 | 33 | - | 25 | 20 |
| 1998 | "No Fool No More" | Why Do Fools Fall in Love? Soundtrack | 57 | - | 37 | 46 |
| 2000 | "Riddle" | Masterpiece Theatre | 92 | - | 95 | 33 |
| 2004 | "Losin' My Mind" | Soul Flower | - | - | - | - |
| 2004 | "Ooh Boy" | Soul Flower | 109 | - | 101 | - |
Singles sales
Gold singles in the US
- 1990 "Hold On"
- 1992 "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)"
- 1992 "Giving Him Something He Can Feel"
- 1992 "Free Your Mind"
- 1994 "Whatta Man"
- 1996 "Don't Let Go (Love)"
- 1997 "Whatever"
Platinum singles in the US
- 1990 "Hold On"
- 1994 "Whatta Man"
- 1996 "Don't Let Go (Love)"
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Won Billboard Music Award for R&B Single of the Year ("Hold On"). |
| 1991 | Nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("Hold On") |
| 1991 | Won Soul Train Music Award for Best Single by a Duo/Group ("Hold On"). |
| 1992 | Won a MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography ("My Lovin' (Never Gonna Get It)"). |
| 1992 | Nominated for MTV Video Music Awards Best Group Video, Best Dance Video, Best Direction, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography ("My Lovin' (Never Gonna Get It)"). |
| 1993 | Won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Album (Funky Divas) and was nominated for Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group. |
| 1993 | Nominated for Grammy Awards for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group (Funky Divas); Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group; and Best Music Video, Short Form ("Free Your Mind"). |
| 1993 | Won Soul Train Music Award for Sammy Davis, Jr. Entertainer of the Year. |
| 1993 | Won Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B Album, Group and Best R&B Group. (Funky Divas) |
| 1993 | Won MTV Video Music Awards for Best Choreography, Best Dance Video, and Best R&B Video for "Free Your Mind" and nominated for Video of the Year, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Viewer's Choice, and Best Group Video, also for "Free Your Mind" |
| 1994 | Won American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group. |
| 1994 | Nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("Give it Up, Turn It Loose"). |
| 1994 | Won MTV Video Music Awards for Best Dance Video, Best R&B Video, and Best Choreography for "Whatta Man", and was also nominated in that category for "Runaway Love." |
| 1995 | Nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Whatta Man"). |
| 1995 | Nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("Whatta Man"). |
| 1997 | Nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("Don't Let Go (Love)"). |
| 1997 | Won Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B, Rap or Soul Single by Group, Band or Duo ("Don't Let Go (Love)"). |
| 1998 | Nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Band. |
| 1999 | Nominated for VH1 Fashion Award for Most Fashionable Video (Whatever). |
| 1999 | Named by Billboard one of the 20 most successful artists of the 1990s (Ranked #18). |
| 2001 | Nominated for a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Album: Group, Band or Duo (Masterpiece Theatre). |
| 2004 | Nominated for California Music Award for Outstanding R&B Album of the Year (Soul Flower). |
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
External links
1990s music groups | African American musicians | American female singers | American rhythm and blues musicians | American pop singers | En Vogue | Girl groups | Grammy Award Nominees | Oaklanders | MTV Music Award Winners | Rhythm and blues musical groups | American Music Award Winners | Record producers | Billboard Music Award Winners | Rhythmic Top 40 acts | Soul musical groups
"En Vogue"