Music

Announcement, Appearance, Interview, Music, News, Review

T-Boz & Chilli Add Some TLC on Tiana Kocher Single “Same Lame”

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Singer-songwriter Tiana Kocher surprised the world today (April 9) with the release of her new single, “Same Lame“, which appeared to feature some very familiar TLC vocals on the track!

She initially revealed that the single featured T-Boz, and had this to say about the amazing collaboration when she spoke to Clout. “Growing up I’ve always listened to TLC and I consider them one of my biggest inspiration when it comes to my music alongside SWV, Aaliyah, Brandy, Tamia and others.”

Speaking of working with her TLC idols, Tiana says it “was definitely a big ‘pinch me’ moment and I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to work with her and learn from her. We wanted to create the “No Scrubs” of 2021 so this is how the song came about. I want this song to serve as a friendly reminder to always remember your worth.”

TLC fans were quick to notice that Chilli’s distinct tones could also be heard with the harmonies along with T-Boz, leading to Tiana announcing the surprise and updating the credentials on her social media.

The talented singer-songwriter Candace Wakefield also worked on the track with her. Candace worked on various tracks for the final TLC album in 2017.

Tiana collaborated with TikTok to raise money for the Philippine Red Cross through her #DontTripChallenge, which has generated over 24 million views marking an amazing “staying connected” awareness and community campaign, as well as driving much needed funds to the charitable organization.

To learn more about Tiana, check out her website https://www.tianakocher.com/about/

You can hear the full track with TLC below. Let us know your thoughts on the new single!

History, Interview, Music, Review

Kandi: “I Wasn’t Sure ‘No Scrubs’ Would be a TLC Single With Chilli on Lead Vocals Instead of T-Boz”

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Kandi Burruss of the 90’s R&B girl group Xscape and most recently known as a long-term cast member on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta, opened up to Entertainment Weekly this week about some of the mega-hits that she has helped to carve out for other artists during her Xscape downtime.

Along with her group member Tameka “Tiny” Harris, the duo penned a number of Billboard number one hits and Grammy Award winning singles, most notably for their girl group peers, “Bills, Bills, Bills” for Destiny’s Child, and before that, the worldwide record-breaking “No Scrubs” for TLC.

Kandi reflects on the moment record label boss LA Reid got hold of her “No Scrubs” demo, produced by Shek’spere, and immediately wanted it for TLC. “I was like, ‘Cool. Let them have it’, because I always wanted to write for other artists, I just didn’t know how to do it”, Kandi admits.

She then touches on the subtle rivalry the industry placed on girl groups. It was also no secret that Jermaine Dupri wanted himself a group like TLC, and would guide Kandi to sing low like T-Boz. “There’s always that low-key rivalry thing that would go around in the industry. It was like, ‘How are you going to get somebody else to let you write for them, and you’re in a whole other girl group?'”

Despite “No Scrubs” being hugely successful and remains her biggest writing credit to date, Kandi admits that she wasn’t completely sure if the song would make it on the 1999 ‘FanMail‘ album at all.

The main reason for Kandi’s uncertainty was the fact that “No Scrubs” marked the first time the roles had switched on a TLC single, with Chilli leading the vocals on the track instead of the regular formula of T-Boz on lead vocals.

“They were going back and forth on what they wanted to do with the song because that’s the first song that Chilli sang lead on. So that’s why I wasn’t really sure if that song was going to be a first single, or even a single at all. Normally, T-Boz was the lead, so I didn’t know if they were going to keep it”, Kandi said.

LA Reid later ran into Kandi at a party and promised her that he was going to make “No Scrubs” the biggest writing hit of her career. “I’m looking at him like, ‘Okay.’ But in my mind I was thinking, ‘Well Xscape, we’ve had some big records… Whatever you say.’ But he wasn’t lying. He was serious, and he really did.”

Chilli did her thing on “No Scrubs” and helped the song to go down in history as the biggest female anthem in the world, that men can also relate to! The song took on a life of it’s own and Left Eye once called it ‘a national anthem’!

Switching up the vocal format was a smart idea which helped to keep TLC fresh and on top of their game.

Which other TLC songs would you want the girls to have fun with? T-Boz leads on “No Scrubs”? Chilli on “Waterfalls” leads? Let us know!

Music, News, Tribute

Cardi B Gives Us Left Eye Vibes In Her New Music Video “Up”

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Cardi B returns to dominate the music industry in 2021! Fresh from her record-breaking, tongue-in-cheek “WAP” single featuring Megan Thee Stallion, six months ago in 2020, the ‘certified freak’ returns with another smash in the making, in the form of her new single, “Up“.

The accompanying music video doesn’t disappoint either, showing Cardi’s many creative looks and styles, and she once again pays some not-so-subtle homage to Madonna, Marilyn Monroe and the legendary TLC, most notably Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes in particular.

In this music flick, Cardi is dressed in a black studded leather bodysuit, reminiscent to the look TLC rocked in their 1999 smash music video, “No Scrubs“, complete with a hairstyle that you could only previously imagine Left Eye to be wearing.

Cardi is not shy about her TLC admiration, either. She most recently wore a Left Eye-inspired hairstyle in her “WAP” video, and has worn similar styles to tribute Left Eye at her debut Coachella performance in 2018. TLC are big fans of the “Bodak Yellow” rapper and have both praised and entertained the idea of possibly collaborating with her in the future.

“I don’t usually like to collaborate with females, and the reason why is because of Lisa,” Chilli said. “That is just a little weird for me, personally. But I think with Cardi B, she is an exception to the rule. TLC and Cardi B all day long. We’ve gotten a lot of love from Cardi. It’s really an honor.”

“Up” is lifted from Cardi B’s as-yet untitled sophomore album, the follow-up to 2018’s multi-platinum, Grammy-award winning debut album ,’Invasion Of Privacy’. Pre-order the limited edition CD single here.

What do you think of Cardi B’s “Up” and her Left Eye tribute?

Anniversary, Announcement, Music, News

TLC’s “No Scrubs” Reaches Top 10 Most Played 90’s Female Song in 2020

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With 2020 coming to a close, it has become a modern tradition for music listeners and users of the music streaming platform Spotify to share the results of the complete listening pattern for the year.

‘Spotify Wrapped‘ gives a retrospective round-up for each user on their listening habits from the last year. The annual snapshot usually very quickly trends on social media, with each person sharing their individual ‘Spotify Wrapped’ insights.

The best era, the 1990’s, produced some great titles in the list, especially the top female tracks, where TLC scored big, landing at No.2 with their super smash, “No Scrubs“, just behind the Spice Girls‘ “Wannabe”.

Destiny’s Child came 3rd with 1999’s “Say My Name”, making the top 3 a complete all girl group trump. The remaining list comprised of solo artists including Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez and Celine Dion.

“No Scrubs” actually reached a new milestone this year, when it achieved 500 million streams on Spotify. The track was also announced to be x5 platinum by the RIAA. 2020 has been a continued blessing to TLC.

Top streamed ’90s songs by female artists in 2020:

1. “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls (1996)

2. “No Scrubs” by TLC (1999)

3. “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child (1999)

4. “…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears (1998)

5. “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia (1997)

6. “Believe” by Cher (1998)

7. “You’re Still the One” by Shania Twain (1998)

8. “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” by Shania Twain (1999)

9. “Because You Loved Me (Theme from Up Close and Personal)” by Celine Dion (1996)

10. “Let’s Get Loud” by Jennifer Lopez (1999)

Find out what your listening style has been like this year on Spotify and share your results on social media!