En Vogue

Although the band has been relatively quiet in recent years, En Vogue has an impressive list of accolades. With over 20 million albums sold worldwide, a record-setting seven Video Music Awards for a female group, and ranking number two in Billboard magazine’s chart of 90s female groups, En Vogue has made an indelible mark on the world of R&B.

Originally assembled by Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, the band consisted of Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson, and Terry Ellis. Foster and McElroy originally conceived of the idea in 1988 when they believed the music scene was craving an all-female hip-hop meets R&B group. They desired strong personalities and voices mixed with the right sexual and intellectual appeal. Herron, Ellis, Robinson, and Jones fit the bill.

On April 3, 1990, their first album, Born To Sing, hit the shelves and went to number three on the R&B Billboard charts. When the single “Hold On” reached the airwaves, the album exploded. “Hold On” went straight to number one on multiple charts, becoming a crossover sensation. Riding on this success, their subsequent singles, “Lies” and “You Don’t Have to Worry,” also peaked at number one. The album easily went platinum.

With multiple awards, including Grammy nominations, En Vogue released a remixed version of the album entitled Remix to Sing, and they lent their faces to a series of Diet Coke commercials.

Their follow up album in 1992 proved even more successful than their first. Funky Divas went multi-platinum, gained the positive notice of many critics, and peaked at number one on the R&B charts. This album contained their smash success “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It).” Heralding back to their music idols, they also released a cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Giving Him Something He Can Feel.” More awards followed, including an impressive five Grammy nominations.

Appearing in multiple mediums, they also posed for the covers of Rolling Stone, Essence, and Entertainment Weekly.

They scored another hit when they backed the 1994 Salt N Pepa single “Whatta Man.” They also spent the majority of this year touring to great success.

Stopping in the height of their popularity, the band took the next three years off to focus on everything for motherhood to marriage to solo albums. 1997 brought the end of Robinson, who chose to pursue a full-time solo career. Their next album reflected the change and was entitled EV3. It contained the single “Don’t Let Go,” which received massive airtime as well as being featured in the film Set It Off with Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A Fox, and Blair Underwood.

Despite continued success with their singles, cracks began to show when a worldwide tour had to be cancelled due to lagging ticket sales. In order to revive their popularity, The Best of En Vogue was released in 1999 to mediocre sales.

Their 2000 album Masterpiece Theatre failed to produce singles, and they were dropped by their label, Elektra.

After several band member switch ups, Rhona Bennett, Ellis, and Herron released the poorly received Soul Flower in 2004.

Seeing a slight resurgence in their career, the four original members were signed by The Firm Management Group in 2005. Their single, “So What the Fuss,” featured Stevie Wonder and Price and earned them another Grammy nomination. When Robinson could not reach a contractual agreement, the band was dropped from The Firm.

Currently, En Vogue has no plans to reconnect for any future albums, although solo albums are potentially in the works.