TLC **
Exhibitions & Theatrical, Music
ActiveAbout
** Represented in partnership with Action EntertainmentTLC’s influence transcends genres from pop, hip-hop, R&B to fashion and female empowerment. They continue to define generations.
Formed in Atlanta in 1990, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, two girls with spirit, smarts and spunk, had their sights set on a big future. Navigating some connections, they started to work on demos with then up-and-coming producer Jermaine Dupri. Feeling a trio could work better than a duo, a manager recommended Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas to round out the sound, with their nicknames spelling out the acronymTLC. By 1992, the girls had not only been signed, but released their first album,Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip, to both critical and commercial success, selling 4 million copies in the Unites States and yielding 3 top ten singles. Along with their ability to blend funk, hip hop and soul, the ladies put female empowerment at the forefront of their songwriting. Two years later they released their breakthrough album,CrazySexyCool, collaborating, as they had with their first record, Dallas Austin, Babyface and Jermaine Dupri, as well as Sean Combs. Met with critical and commercial acclaim once more,Rolling Stoneranked it as one of the best 500 Albums of all time saying it was “highly enjoyable, incredibly influential and a certified classic.” The album produced 4 top five singles on theBillboardcharts and TLC wonVideo of the Yearfor the song “Waterfalls” at theMTV Awards,making them the first black act to do so.
1999 brought the release ofTLC’s 3rdalbum,FanMail, also produced by Dallas Austin and, yet again, a commercial and critical triumph.All Musicsaid of the album, “Nobody else makes urban soul quite as engaging as this.” Upon the album’s 20thanniversary in 2019, music scribes fromPitchforktoRolling StonetoVibetoBillboardunanimously agreed it was way ahead of its time.
Several months after Lopes’ untimely death in 2002,TLCreleased their last album as a trio,3D. Producers included Raphael Saadiq, Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins and the Neptunes, with Lopes appearing vocally as she had already completed her parts.
Billboardcalled it a “nearly perfect collection,” and the album went double platinum in the United States.
To date,TLC has sold 85 million Records Worldwide, had 4 Number One singles in the US, 10 Top Ten singles in the US, won 4 Grammy Awards, 5 MTV Awards, 5 Soul Train Awards, and 4 Multi-Platinum selling albums, two of them -FanmailandCrazySexyCoolare certified Diamond by the RIAA and they currently have one billion plays on Pandora. It’s no surprise thatTLCis the best-selling American girl group of all time.
After a long break,TLCstepped back in to the spotlight in 2015 with plans to release new music via a Kickstarter campaign. Asking fans to donate, notable admirers such as New Kids on the Block, Katy Perry, Bette Midler and Justin Timberlake made contributions, making it the fastest funded pop music project in Kickstarter history. The duo called their 5thalbumTLC, releasing it in 2017 and leading with the track “Way Back” featuring Snoop Dog. Watkins and Thomas hit the road, touring with Nelly, Flo Rida, New Kids on the Block and others.
The legacy ofTLCis in plain sight for all to see; both Destiny’s Child and The Spice Girls have acknowledged thatTLCpaved the way for their success. Listeners can hearTLC’isms in the current works of Rihanna, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj to name just a few. While all their albums have stood the test of time, it isCrazySexyCoolthat has become the bellwether to girl power, righteousness, pride and tenacity.
An album thatBillboardsaid was “timeless” and theNMEcalled “a game-changing R&B classic” is now going to be the centerpiece of an amphitheater tour. The ‘Celebration of “CrazySexyCoo1” tour will find T-Boz and Chilli performing songs from the iconic album, celebrating the 1990s with audiences around North America. In fact, fans are being encouraged to come to the show dressed from that era. Meant as a celebration of both the album and the time,TLCwill have fellow 90s co-horts Bone Thugs-N Harmony along for the tour plus special guests, which kicks off in September.