En Vogue: Американская вокальная группа

American vocal girl group

En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single "Hold On", taken from their 1990 debut album Born to Sing. The group's 1992 follow up album Funky Divas reached the top 10 in both the US and UK, and included their second US number two hit "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" as well as the US top 10 hits "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" and "Free Your Mind". In 1996, "Don't Let Go (Love)" became the group's third, and most successful single, to reach number two in the US, and became their sixth number one on the US R&B chart. Robinson left the group in 1997 shortly before the release of their third album EV3, which reached the US and UK top 10. Jones left the group in 2001, Amanda Cole joined shortly thereafter. However, in 2003, Cole left the group, and Rhona Bennett joined the group during the recording of their album Soul Flower. In 2005, the original members briefly united before disassembling again. In 2009, the original members once again reunited for their "En Vogue: 20th Anniversary". Shortly after the tour, Robinson and Jones again departed from En Vogue, with Bennett rejoining the group as a trio. En Vogue has sold 20 million records worldwide. The group has won seven MTV Video Music Awards, three Soul Train Awards, two American Music Awards, and received seven Grammy nominations. In December 1999, Billboard magazine ranked the band as the 19th most successful recording artist of the 1990s. They ranked as the second most successful female group of the 1990s. In March 2015, Billboard magazine named the group the ninth most successful girl group of all time. Two of the group's singles ranks in Billboard's most successful girl group songs of all time list, "Don't Let Go (Love)" (#12) and "Hold On " (#23).

In the late 1980s, when they were assembling their 1970 compilation project FM2 for Atlantic Records, Oakland based production and songwriting duo Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy first conceived the idea of a modern day girl group in the tradition of commercially successful female bands that flourished in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Foster and McElroy envisioned an entertainment unit with interchangeable but not identical parts in which every member would qualify to take the lead vocals on any given number. Approximately 3,000 women attended the auditions held in 1988, Originally conceived as a trio, Foster and McElroy decided to create a quartet after hearing the audition of Terry Ellis whose plane had been late from Houston, Texas. At first, they selected the band name 4 U but soon shifted to Vogue, ultimately settling on En Vogue, upon learning that another group had already claimed the Vogue name. After forming, the group began working with their producers on their debut album. Recording began in August 1989 and wrapped up in December of the same year. Born to Sing was released on April 3, 1990. The album peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 3 on Billboard's R&B Albums Chart. The first single, "Hold On," was released to radio in late February 1990 and became a crossover pop hit, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and No. 1 on both the R&B singles and Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts. It later went to No. 5 in the UK and became a hit in Europe. The next two singles, "Lies" and "You Don't Have to Worry," each went to No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts, while the fourth and final single, "Don't Go," charted at No. 3 on the Billboard R&B. The album was later certified platinum by the RIAA. "Hold On" was awarded a Billboard Music Award for "#1 R&B Single of the Year," a Soul Train Award for R&B/Urban Contemporary Single of the Year, Group, Band or Duo and have been 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.

En Vogue's second album, Funky Divas, was released in the spring of 1992. The album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Billboard R&B and ultimately doubled the take of its predecessor, going triple platinum. The album's first two singles: "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" and "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" both went top 10 and peaked at No. 1 on the R&B charts. The next single, "Free Your Mind" also went top 10. The final two singles "Give It Up Turn It Loose" and "Love Don't Love You" both were top 40 hits. The album went on to sell more than five million copies, won an American Music Award for "Favorite Soul/R&B Album," and was nominated for five Grammy Awards. The 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 honored with Soul Train's Entertainer of the Year Award. In addition to this, the group was featured in Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Essence, and other major publications. Riding on success of Funky Divas, a six song EP titled Runaway Love was released in the fall of 1993, spawning the hit "Runaway Love." The group was signed to an endorsement deal with Converse, and was featured as an opening act on Luther Vandross' 1993 "Never Let Me Go" Tour. England, Germany, the Netherlands, and France were among the numerous countries toured. However, according to an article in Vibe magazine, Vandross (by his own admission in interviews) and his entourage clashed with the members of En Vogue during the tour, and he vowed never to work with them again. En Vogue made numerous television appearances on such series as In Living Color, A Different World, Roc and Hangin' With Mr. Cooper (the latter two in which they also sang the shows' theme songs). In 1993, En Vogue was featured on Salt N Pepa's top 10 hit "Whatta Man", from Salt N Pepa's album Very Necessary. The track appeared (slightly edited) on En Vogue's Runaway Love EP.

In 1995, En Vogue was among numerous African American female vocalists featured on the song "Freedom" for the soundtrack to Mario Van Peebles's film Panther (1995). Also in 1995, while band members Cindy Herron and Maxine Jones went on maternity leave, Ellis recorded and released a solo album titled Southern Gal, which spun off the top 10 R&B single "Where Ever You Are." The same year, the band made a cameo appearance in Joel Schumacher's superhero film Batman Forever. In response to the large commercial success of "Don't Let Go (Love)," the group worked on their third studio album. Two further singles released from the album, "Whatever" and "Too Gone, Too Long", entered the top 20 and top 40 the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. While Masterpiece Theatre and "Riddle" fared better in international territories, its poor performance resulted in the release of no further singles from the album and the band was soon dropped from the Elektra company. With Ellis and Herron wanting to continue performing En Vogue, singer songwriter Amanda Cole joined as a performing member after submitting a demo. In December 2002, the trio gave a concert at the Alabama State Fairgrounds in Birmingham, Alabama which was recorded and released, along with bonus footage, on a DVD and live album through Charly Records in 2004. with singer and actress Rhona Bennett joining after being recommended to Denzel Foster through a mutual friend and songwriting partner. During the latter part of 2004, En Vogue traveled three months in Europe as part of the Night of the Proms concerts series, with Jones rejoining the group to fill the place of Herron, who went on maternity leave. The Ellis/Bennett/Jones performing incarnation of the group headlined Lifetime's fifth annual WomenRock! alongside Blondie, Angie Stone, and several others. Performing several of their hits, co headliner Kelly Clarkson joined them for a rendition of "Free Your Mind." In 2005, Herron and Robinson rejoined En Vogue, and Bennett withdrew from the group. The original four signed with one of the industry's largest management firms, the Firm Management Group, and began soliciting material for a new studio album which was expected to be released through Los Angeles based Movemakers and Funkigirl Records. That September, the band joined Salt N Pepa for their first joint public performance of their 1994 single "Whatta Man" at VH1 Hip Hop Honors, and briefly toured together. After failing to agree on business terms, Robinson once again chose to defect from En Vogue, and Bennett returned to complete the quartet. As a result, En Vogue was let go from the Firm and an album full of new original material did not materialize.

[[File:En Vogue live. jpeg|thumb|left|170px|En Vogue performing during the Essence Music Festival in 2009. Complimented by the media, who declared their performance one of the evening's highlights, and with people buzzing about the industry return of the original band, the quartet talked about being united on a permanent basis. In 2009, En Vogue along with singers Beyoncé, John Legend, and Ne Yo, performed at the Essence Music Festival, held at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Again, new material with Robinson failed to materialize, and in 2010, Herron, Ellis, and Jones signed with René Moore's Rufftown Records in a deal that was to include two albums and touring. While the trio finished several songs for a new album, including promotional single "I'll Cry Later" which was sent to select urban adult contemporary radio stations on September 26, 2011, the comeback stalled and Jones left the band once more. While Herron and Ellis continued to tour as En Vogue along with a rejoined Bennett, However, in 2013, Robinson chose not to begin a new group with her former band member and instead joined the cast of the TV One reality show R&B Divas: Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Jones began touring with singers Alison Carney and Maria Freeman as her new lineup of En Vogue, titled En Vogue to the Max. Jones later lost the right to use the En Vogue name after Herron and Ellis had filed suit against her for unauthorized use of the name, and a judge ruled that Herron and Ellis, as holders of the group's LLC, had exclusive rights to the group's name. Jones went solo and began recording her own original material, releasing her debut single "Didn't I" and a new ballad version of the En Vogue hit "Don't Let Go (Love)" with Australian singer Greg Gould. In July 2014, Bennett, Ellis, and Herron signed a new contract with Pyramid Records and began work on the album Electric Café with mentors Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy. In November, the trio appeared on the Lifetime holiday film An En Vogue Christmas in which they played fictional versions of themselves, reuniting to perform a benefit concert to save the nightclub where they got their start. The original movie featured En Vogue's hit singles as well as two new tracks and a rendition of "O Holy Night", later released digitally through En Vogue Records.

In 2016, En Vogue released "Deja Vu," the first promotional single from Electric Café, through their own label En Vogue Records after signing with Entertainment One Music. The following year, they embarked on the For the Love of Music Tour. The European tour launched on April 6, 2017 in Dublin, Ireland and concluded in Bremen, Germany on April 25. Also in 2017, the trio released three further singles from their forthcoming effort, including buzz singles "I'm Good" and "Have a Seat" featuring Snoop Dogg as well as Ne Yo penned lead single "Rocket", the latter of which became their first top 10 hit on Billboards Adult R&B Songs chart in over 20 years. In April 2018, En Vogue began the second leg of their European Tour in support of their seventh full length studio album Electric Café. The same month, the album, their first studio project in 14 years, was released. A blend of neo soul, pop, and contemporary R&B with electronic dance music, the trio worked with Raphael Saadiq, Dem Jointz, Curtis "Sauce" Wilson as well as regular contributors Foster & McElroy on most of the album. Electric Café received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom praised the band for their vocal performances but found the material too generic and uneven. In the United States, the album debuted at number 14 on Billboards Independent Albums and reached the Top Album Sales chart. A second and final single from the album, "Reach 4 Me" became a top 20 hit on US Adult R&B Songs Chart in August 2018. In October 2019, original members Robinson and Jones reunited with Ellis, Herron, and Bennett for an on stage performance to salute music industry executive Sylvia Rhone at the City of Hope Gala 2019, marking the first time all five members performed together. Plans to reunite permanently for another concert tour in support of their 30th anniversary in 2020, failed to materialize when the four original members could not agree on whether Bennett should once again step down as a non original member. In 2021, the group made a cameo in the romantic comedy sequel Coming 2 America alongside Salt N Pepa. In 2022, En Vogue competed in season seven of The Masked Singer as the "Queen Cobras" of Team Bad. The trio narrowly missed out on a spot in the finale of the singing competition as they were eliminated on the week of May 4 alongside Shaggy as "Space Bunny" of Team Cuddly. The same year, the band embarked on the Mixtape Tour alongside New Kids on the Block, Salt N Pepa, and Rick Astley. In 2023, En Vogue performed as the headlining pop group for the 2023 Boston Pops Orchestra Fireworks Spectacular on July 4, 2023.

Year Title Role Episode1993 In Living Color Themselves Episode: "Stacy Koon's Police Academy" A Different World Charity, Faith, Henrietta, Hope Episode: "Mind Your Own Business" Roc The Downtown Divas 3 episodes Sesame Street Themselves "Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: A Musical Celebration" 1998 Sesame Street Themselves Episode: "Elmopalooza" 1997 The Wayans Bros. Themselves Episode: "I Was En Vogue's Love Slave "2008Don't Forget the Lyrics!ThemselvesEpisode: "En Vogue" 2022 The Masked Singer Themselves Season 7 contestants; 3 episodes