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T-Boz Cameo In Teaser For ABC’s Girl Group Drama Series ‘Queens’

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Aside from her busy tour schedule on the TLC ‘Celebration of CrazySexyCool‘ tour, T-Boz has lent her time to ABC to star in a Mockumentary on the fictional 90’s hip-hop girl group, The Nasty B’s, for the upcoming drama series, ‘Queens‘, airing on Oct 19.

The promotional trailer is called ‘Beneath The Hits’, a nod to the hit VH1 documentary series ‘Behind The Music’, and features commentary from other real life music stars such as Ashanti, Tyrese and Cam’ron, which adds to the authentic feel you get from a story on a girl group that doesn’t really exist.

In a bid to give it a true taste of 90’s nostalgia, T-Boz opens up about the realities of the music business and her thoughts on The Nasty B’s. “The music industry has a way of swallowing you up and then spit you out, quick”, she says. “But the Nasty B’s? Those girls be jamming”, she adds. “They are seriously talented”.

Tyrese later adds comments about being fond of the many after party’s he experienced during the reign of The Nasty B’s, and Ashanti says she was ‘devastated’ when the group broke up. Cam’ron also appears and will have a reoccurring role in the show.

‘Queens’ follows four women in their 40’s who reunite for a chance to recapture their fame and regain the swagger they had in the 90’s when they were legends in the hip-hop world!

Starring Eve as Brianna aka Professor Sex, Naturi Naughton as Jill aka Da Thrill, Nadine Velazquez as Valeria aka Butter Pecan and Brandy as Naomi aka Xplicit Lyrics.

Taylor Sele as EricJones and Pepi Sonuga as Lil Muffin also star.

‘Queen’ will air on ABC and stream on Hulu from Oct 19.

Watch the official trailer:

Announcement, Appearance, Television, Tribute

Spice Girls’ Mel B Takes On TLC Classic “Waterfalls” For Spain’s ‘Masked Singer’

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The Spice Girls have always been vocal about being huge fans of TLC and were inspired by them. Their influence could be heard on many of the tracks on the debut Spice Girls album, ‘Spice‘, in 1996.

Scary Spice Mel B was unmasked this week on the Spanish version of the popular television show, ‘The Masked Singer‘ (titled ‘Mask Singer Adivina Quién Canta’), where she performed for five weeks as Medusa the Jellyfish.

Melanie B decided to step it up a notch during week 5, and performed a notable TLC classic, 1995’s “Waterfalls“, from the Diamond-certified ‘CrazySexyCool‘ album. Mel even added a portion of Left Eye‘s iconic rap to her performance!

The judges on the panel initially thought that it was Australian star Kylie Minogue under the mask and even thought that it could be Mel’s Spice Girl bandmate, Geri Halliwell!

The British singer assured after being unmasked during her time at the Spanish ‘Mask Singer’ that although she had a bad time due to the tremendous weight of her mask, it was one of the fun things she has done. Mel previously took part in the British version of the show last year.

Mel B’s bandmate, Melanie C, previously worked with TLC member Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes in 2000, where they both scored their first ever UK number one on the single, “Never Be The Same Again“.

Last year, she tweeted about her fond memories of Lisa, saying “Never Be The Same Again, my 1st UK No1 & my collaboration w/ the wonderful Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes. Myself & the @spicegirls were huge @OfficialTLC fans. Couldn’t believe my luck when I had the opportunity to work w/ her. And she was perfect”.

Melanie C finally met T-Boz and Chilli in 2018 for the first time in London, and admitted that she found it very emotional. “I was so excited to meet them and I just burst into tears because it made me think of Lisa”.

What did you think of Mel B’s performance of “Waterfalls”?

Announcement, Appearance, Interview, News, Television

Shamari DeVoe Star of ‘BET Presents The Encore’: “Blaque’s Career Ended When Our Mentor Left Eye Passed Away”

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Shamari DeVoe of the much loved girl group Blaque, founded by Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, is currently starring in the cable television ratings winner, “BET Presents The Encore“, a reality show about nine former R&B artists coming together to form a super girl group!

Along with Shamari on the show are Pamela Long from Total, Kiely Williams from 3LW and the Cheetah Girls, Aubrey O’Day from Danity Kane, LeMisha and Irish Grinstead from 702, Felisha and Fallon King from Cherish and the only solo artist in the house, Nivea.

During the show, Shamari spoke about being thankful for Lisa’s mentorship and how the tragic 2002 passing of Lisa in a car accident in Honduras affected the career of her group, Blaque.

“The first album, ‘Blaque‘, was multi-platinum. And then, we were in the movie, ‘Bring It On‘. We were on top of the world!”, Shamari proudly tells the show’s producers about her career highs. “We had it all”.

Shamari shared the spotlight with her two Blaque group members, Brandi Williams and the late Natina Reed, who passed away in 2012. Blaque were discovered by Lisa’s brother, Ronald Lopes, who introduced them to Lisa and she had them signed up to Left Eye Productions company, eventually leading them to a recording contract with Columbia Records in 1996.

“Blaque are the protégé’s of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes of TLC. She was our mentor — and then she passed away”, Shamari recalls. “That just stopped our whole career”. With the loss of Left Eye, Blaque also lost their biggest cheerleader.

“I definitely felt let down by the industry,” Shamari admits to The Guardian. “There was a point where I lost my passion to ever want to sing again.” Their second album, ‘Blaque Out‘ was scrapped by the label after online leaks, and the third album, ‘Torch‘, was also scrapped in 2003.

However, after heavy public demand in the form of fan petitions over the years, Blaque won back the rights to their recordings from one-time manager Mathew Knowles, and the album finally came out in 2019, 20 years since their debut.

“It feels really good to finally release it,” says Brandi. “And with us able to own these songs now, and our fans still wanting to hear them, I actually think this is perfect timing.”

“We’re doing this for Natina and Lisa”, Shamari adds.

Watch ‘BET Presents The Encore’ every Wednesday 10/9c on BET

Announcement, Appearance, Lifestyle, News, Television

Pandemic Movie ‘After Masks’ Starring T-Boz Scheduled For Release In May 2021

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The beautiful Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins is making her way back into the movies this year! Vision Films are proud to announce the upcoming release of their latest movie, ‘After Masks‘, scheduled for release in May.

As we previously revealed back in October, T-Boz will be playing the role of Cheryl in the film. ‘After Masks’ is a 5-part anthology film, each addressing a different theme, and are seamlessly woven together with interstitial artistic commentary by Narrator, Mitchell Hoog (Saved by The Bell 2020).

T-Boz will star in the chapter, ‘Hold On‘, with a Black Lives Matter theme, directed by Tayo Amos. Synopsis: A spirited black woman’s personal and professional relationships are strained when she confronts the trauma of racist police brutality.

Other stories in the movie include:

Isolation: Winners
Directed by Manaal Khan and featuring Alexandra Rodriguez
An over-zealous, aspiring writer loses herself in routine in order to endure months-long solitude.

Faith: Ushering The Light
Directed by Rebekah Wiggins and featuring Frances Lee McCain, Drea Berg
A conservative Jewish couple struggle to preserve their relationship after the loss of their two-year-old son.

Identity: Clownfish
Directed by Rebekah Wiggins and featuring Lindsay Sparks, Ruth Lieberman
At odds with society’s expectations, a grieving widow slowly supplants her own identity with that of her late husband.

Self: Quarantales
Directed by John Crockett and Brian McCulley and featuring Krista Allen (Baywatch), Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight), Eliza Roberts (Animal House), Debra Wilson (MadTV), Michael Welch (Twilight), Amber Lynn Ashley, Ted Maritz, Brian McCulley, Jason Potter, and John Crockett
During months-long isolation, six individuals confront their inner demons when they are no longer able to hide from themselves.

A bonus chapter, Past Cure, directed by Carmelo Chimera and featuring Robert Picardo (Star Trek: Voyager) will be available exclusively on the DVD.

The film will even feature one of TLC’s greatest tracks from recent years, the thought-provoking “American Gold“, lifted from their last album in 2017, which will serve as the perfect soundtrack to ‘After Masks’.

Despite the movie being filmed by the actors themselves during the stay-at-home order due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, this is not a recorded Zoom call. Co-Executive producer Andrew Burrill hopes that viewers enjoy the movie like a time capsule of the current times.

“We approached ‘After Masks’ with the utmost respect and aimed to create an authentic, living time capsule that reflects a multigenerational and diverse perspective of Covid-19″, he told PR Newswire. “I hope audiences find a moment of truth within After Masks and that our film inspires and provides an opportunity for others to reflect and ultimately follow hope above all else.”

‘After Masks’ will be available on major streaming and cable platforms in the US on May 18 including: iTunes, Microsoft Xbox, Amazon Instant, Google Play, Vudu, Vimeo, Hoopla, and across hundreds of cable providers including Comcast, Spectrum, Charter, Cox, Dish, DirecTV and more.

Canadian cable providers include Rogers and Shaw. The DVD will be available at online retailers including Amazon on June 8.

Everyone has a story. What’s yours?