TLC

Formation

TLC was formed in 1990 in Atlanta. Record Producer Ian Burke and his client Crystal Jones wanted to form a girl group with a tomboyish, hip-hop image. The original name was "2nd Nature", and the original lineup was Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes, and Crystal Jones. The girls managed to get an audition with Perri "Pebbles" Reid under her company, Pebbitone. She was impressed and renamed the group TLC, first intial of their names. Pebbles arranged an audition with LaFace Records, ran by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and her then husband Antonio "L.A." Reid. L.A Reid saw potential in them, except for Jones. Things began to unravel for Jones after Pebbles denied the group the opportunity to take the home the contracts Pebbitone drafted. Watkins and Lopes signed production, management, and publishing deals with Pebbitone on February 28, 1991, with Pebbles becoming their general manager. The final lineup ended with new member Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, she signed to the group in April 1991. TLC was signed to LaFace in May through the production deal with Pebbitone, and their records were distributed by Arista Records/BMG.

Their dubut album, Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip, was released on February 25, 1992. It's a combination of funk, hip-hop, and R&B. It was a critical and commercial success, being certified quadruple-platinum for shipments of four million copies in the United States. Three singles hit the Billboard Hot 100 in the top ten, "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg", "Baby Baby Baby" at number two, and "What About Your Friends". "Hat 2 Da Back" also made the top 30. TLC would pave the way for groups like Destiny's Child, SWV, 702, and Lopes-produced Blaque. During TLC's first tour as the opener for MC Hammer, Thomas and Lopes found out Watkins had sickle-cell anemia, she had it since she was seven and was extremely ill, causing her to be hospitalized. The two decided to stay with her, resulting in concert cancellations. Watkins became a spokesperson for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America in the late 90s.

CrazySexyCool and bankruptcy

On November 15, 1994, their second album, CrazySexyCool, was released. Rolling Stone ranked it among the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album debuted at number 15, eventually peaking at number three on the Billboard 200 and spent over two years on the chart. The album sold over 11 million copies in the U.S. and received a diamond certification from the RIAA (later certified 12x platinum in 2019). CrazySexyCool sold over 23 million copies worldwide, and became the best selling album by a girl group, the record was beat by the Spice Girls' with Spice in 1996. It only has 4 songs, but they all reached top five on Billboard Hot 100. "Creep" and "Waterfalls" were number one, "Red Light Special" was number two, and "Diggin' On You" at number five. "Waterfalls" put TLC in the height of their career, with their old-school soul-based musical arrangement, and socially conscious lyrics dealing with drugs and unsafe sex, with an introspective rap from Lopes. TLC won an MTV Music Video of the Year Award for "Waterfalls", making them the first black act to win the award. They also won two Grammys, Best R&B Album and Best R&B Perfomance by a Duo or Group for "Creep". They also won Artist of the Year at the 1996 Billboard Music Awards.

All three members filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 3, 1995. Their debts were $3.5 million, some due to Watkins' medical bills and Lopes' insurance payments for the arson incident the year before, she burned football player and then boyfriend, Andre Rison's shoes, and nearly burned their house down after dropping them in the bathtub. The main reason was the group received a less than favorable deal from Pebbitone. All three members stated that they somehow incurred more debt the more successful CSC was. Managers, lawyers, producers, and taxes had to be paid first, leaving them with less than $50,000 a year, despite selling millions of records. Watkins and Thomas said they were so broke they couldn't afford to go broke. TLC sought renegotiation with their LaFace contracts, as they only received 56 cents split three ways per album, and even less per single sold. LaFace refused to renegotiate midway through their contract, causing them to file a bankruptcy petition. Legal debates went on for two years and the cases were settled in late 1996. LaFace eventually renegotiated their contracts, Pebbitone agreed to let them out of their production/management deal in exchange for Pebbitone receiving a percentage of royalties on future releases.

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The group's third album was delayed due to friction with main producer Dallas Austion, whom Thomas had a son with. Austin wanted $4.2 million and creative control to work on the project. Until then, the girls did other projects until they could come to an agreement. Thomas appeared in the film HavPlenty, while Watkins co-starred with Nas and DMX in Belly. Lopes started her own company, Left-Eye Productions, and signed Blaque, a female R&B trio. They released their self-titled album in 1999, and was certified platinum and had two top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100. FanMail was finally released in February 1999. It ranked first on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified 6x platinum for six million copies shipped in the U.S. and sold over 14 million copies worldwide. "No Scrubs" topped the singles charts in the U.S., Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and Canada. "Unpretty" was the group's fourth number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

FanMail received eight Grammy nominations and won three. Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song and Best Perfomance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "No Scrubs". At the Lady of Soul Awards, they received the Aretha Franklin Entertainer of the Year Award. TLC had a PayPerView of their 2000 FanMail Tour, which became the highest grossing televised special at the time. Lopes expressed she felt she couldn't express herself fully during and after the release of FanMail. Many of the songs didn't have her vocals, and her contributions were reduced to periodic eight-bar raps. Entertainment Weekly published a letter written by Lopes, challenging Watkins and Thomas to release a solo album to see who out of the three would do the best. The letter stated:

"I challenge T-Boz "Player" Watkins and Chilli "Hater" Thomas to an album entitled The Challenge... a 3-CD set that contains 3 solo albums. Each will be due to the record label by October 1, 2000... I also challenge producer Dallas "The Manipulator" Austin to produce all of the material and do it at a fraction of his normal rate. As I think about it, I'm sure LaFace wouldn't mind throwing in a $1.5 million prize for the winner."

The group eventually settled the feud and never took up The Challenge. Lopes' first solo album Supernova was released in Europe, and the first-and only- single "The Block Party" reached the Top 20 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was released in America for a few weeks, since it didn't perform well, the album release was cancelled and no further singles were promoted.

Lopes' death, hiatus, current

Lopes filmed a documentary in Honduras from March 30-April 25, 2002, the day she unfortunately died in a car crash. The Last Days of Left Eye was released in 2007 on VH1. Watkins, Thomas, and Austin decided to complete 3D, their last album as a trio. They decided that TLC would retire after the release and promotion of the album, rather than replace Lopes. However, they continued to perform as a duo. Several songs eulogized Lopes, and was released on November 12. 3D hit number six on the Billboard 200 and certified 2x platinum for selling two million copies in the States. It failed overseas, except in Japan, where it reached number 2 and certified platinum by the RIAJ for selling 200,000 copies. "Girl Talk" peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, their lowest-charting lead single ever. "Hands Up" didn't not enter the Hot 100 chart, but it peaked at number seven on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles, and "Damaged" reached 53 on the Hot 100.

TLC's biographical telefilm, CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story, premiered on VH1 on October 21, 2013. Starring Keke Palmer as Chilli, Lil Mama as Left-Eye, and Drew Sidora as T-Boz. Producers include Watkins and Thomas. The premiere broadcast garnered 4.5 million viewers, a five-year ratings high for VH1. In November, three albums charted on the Billboard 200, 20 at number 12, CrazySexyCool at 108, and Now and Forever: The Hits at 169. On January 15, 2015, they announced their plans to release their fifth and final album with the launch of a Kickstarter campaign, the goal was $150,000. The goal was surpassed in less than 48 hours and is the "fastest and most funded pop project in Kickstarter history". New Kids on the Block, Katy Perry, Soulja Boy, Bette Midler, and Justin Timberlake were among artists who donated. In May, TLC toured with New Kids on the Block and Nelly called The Main Event Tour. It was their first tour in 15 years since the FanMail Tour. Their final self-titled album was released on June 30, 2017. It debuted at number 38 on the Billboard 200 Chart, and sold 12,000 album-equivalent units in the first week. It also reached number 20 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. "Way Back" became their fourth Billboard Adult R&B top 10 hit, eventually peaking at No. 8.

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