Television

Announcement, Appearance, Interview, News, Television

Andre Rison Biopic Featuring TLC Portrayal Finally Released Worldwide

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Andre Rison, the ex-fiancé of the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, kept his word to complete the production on his biopic, ‘Wide Open: The Andre Rison Story‘, and after an exclusive Red Carpet premiere last August in Atlanta, the movie was finally released independently on December 23, 2022 on Rison’s website to rent for a limited time.

As we revealed last year, the actresses that were hired to play the roles of TLC in the Andre Rison biopic are Ashanti Harris as Chilli, Tetisheri Moniz as T-Boz, and Chaz Ridgeway aka Pink B as Left Eye. 

Pink B initially played a cameo role as one of Lisa’s friends in the 2013 VH1 biopic, ‘CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story‘, after losing the role of Left Eye to Lil’ Mama. She was honored to finally get the opportunity to play the role of Lisa in this movie, attributing it to ‘God timing’, now that she is more prepared and took on acting lessons to perfect her craft.

‘Wide Open’ is the story behind NFL Hall of Fame nominated superstar Andre “Bad Moon” Rison’s ambition and determination to make it to the NFL while facing a racially charged environment. It details Rison’s tumultuous relationship with “Left Eye” Lopes, his friendship with Atlanta Falcons teammate Deion “Primetime” Sanders, and other personal and professional milestones.

“Lisa and I eventually discovered most of our arguments and fights came from our childhood trauma, including her burning down my house,” said Andre Rison. “We both experienced our parent’s abusive relationships which are detailed in the movie.”

The film stars Jermel Howard who plays Andre Rison and features a notable cast including Brely Evans, Towanda Braxton, Paris Bennett, Tamika Scott, Dexter Tucker, Kendrick Smith, Althea Heart, Chaz “Pink” Ridgeway, DJ Hershey, Kim Lovette, Lisa Rayam, Roderick D. Barber, Brian “B High” Hightower, Brittany “Diamond ATL”, Mz Shyneka, Mickey “MempHiTz” Wright, Special K, and Uncle Vido.

‘Wide Open’ is directed by Jerry D. May and written and executive produced by best-selling author Derrick Handspike and Andre Rison.

Watch ‘Wide Open’ available to rent for a limited time at AndreRisonMovie.com

Announcement, Interview, News, Television

TLC Announce Australian Tour and Talk 30th Anniversary on Today Show

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TLC are celebrating their 30th anniversary in style this year. Fresh from an overseas tour in UK & Europe earlier this year, and a sold out tour in Hawaii last week, T-Boz and Chilli are ready to return down under in sunny Australia!

Ever since their first Australian venture back in 2014, the girls have become regulars in Oz, performing sold shows both solo and as part of the RNB Fridays lineups over the years. Their last Australian tour was as recent as 2018 for RNB Vine Days.

RNB Fridays has undergone a bit of a makeover this year and has changed the name of ‘Australia’s biggest party’ to Fridayz Live! TLC will be joining the party down under this November on the 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12. Tickets went on sale on August 12.

Joining TLC on the tour will be Macklemore, Shaggy, Ashanti, Craig David, Jay Sean, Lumidee, Dru Hill and Akon amongst others. Hosted by Fatman Scoop and radio personality Abbie Chatfield, whilst Havana Brown and Yo! Mafia will be behind the DJ decks.

Speaking to the Today Show this morning, Chilli explained how much she loves seeing a new generation of younger fans enjoying their music, 30 years later. “It touches both of us in a way, it’s hard to explain, it just pulls at your heartstrings to see little one’s [enjoying TLC music]”, Chilli said. “They weren’t even born when we first came out, in fact, they weren’t even thought about! It’s amazing.”

T-Boz explained how she feels when the reality sinks in that they have been rocking TLC for 30 years. “Everytime someone says it out loud it’s sounds like a whole other lifetime, like wow, three decades”, T-Boz exclaims. “But it’s still a blessing, to still be here selling out tours, doing shows and living life the way that we are, it’s a blessing”.

One of the many highlights in their 30 year career was being the focal point of fashion during the 90’s. “When we set out to do this originally in the beginning we would say things like, ‘we’re gonna be trendsetters, people are gonna dress like us’, but to see it actually come to fruition and happen is a whole other level”, T-Boz states. “We kinda ran the 90’s with the fashion. We would have Donna Karen and people like that would have our silk pajamas [from the ‘Creep’ video] up there like, this is where fashion is going. Just hearing things like that is amazing”.

“Even like the Spice Girls and Scary Spice [Mel B]”, Chilli adds, “it’s an honor that people want to dress like you or be inspired by you”.

Fridayz Live 2022 dates are:

NOVEMBER
Friday 4 – Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
Saturday 5 – Perth, HBF Park
Sunday 6 – Adelaide, Entertainment Centre
Friday 11 – Brisbane, Showgrounds
Saturday 12 – Sydney, Giants Stadium

For more details and ticket information head over to https://fridayz.live

Appearance, News, Television, Tribute

TLC Make Their Superb Debut at Glastonbury 2022

Leon@TLCArmy's avatarLeon@TLCArmy 1 Comment

TLC embarked on their long awaited UK & European Tour 2022 this week, which landed the ladies in a variety of locations for the first time in their 30 year career!

T-Boz and Chilli kicked off the tour in the Netherlands on June 21, followed by a show in Belgium on June 22. They then travelled to the UK to perform at the Glastonbury Festival on June 24, marking their debut at the iconic festival and was only the third time they have performed in the UK.

Their first ever UK show was at KOKO in London in 2017, followed by a headline set at the Mighty Hoopla festival in 2018. Of course, they would have performed their upcoming O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire concert in 2020, but Covid-19 forced the tour to be postponed for two years. The sold out show will now take place on June 28.

“Not only did TLC help invent contemporary R&B and become the best-selling girl group in US history but their lyrics also tackled HIV and sexual harassment”, Glastonbury posted in a statement announcing TLC on the West Holts stage.

TLC performed on the West Holts stage to a hungry crowd of more than 45,000 ready for a dose of top quality 90’s nostalgia from the biggest selling girl group in US history, with over 85 million records sold to date. After a phenomenal introduction by DJ Dubz and the talented band and dancers, TLC grace the stage opening with with debut single, 1992’s “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg”, with the raps of the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes kept intact.

They continued the set with more singles from their debut album, ‘Ooooooohhh… on the TLC tip“, and Chilli took a moment to tell the crowd, “We have wanted to play here for years and years! And finally we are here today”.

TLC then took us on a nostalgic trip to their 1994 sophomore album, ‘CrazySexyCool‘, with a silky performance of “Diggin’ On You” and then their first Billboard #1 single, “Creep”, complete with the infectious horns played by the sensational live band.

Later into the show, T-Boz shared a heartwarming story about her boyfriend who made her feel like she wasn’t good enough for him, which led her to write the 4th #1 TLC single, “Unpretty”, lifted from their 1999 album, ‘Fan Mail‘. “But don’t worry about it, I made sure I kicked his ass to the curb!”, T-Boz reassured the crowd who responded with a roar of cheers.

Chilli pulled the younger girls aside in the audience to have a chat with “Auntie Tee Tee and [Auntie] Chilli” about the do’s and don’t’s when it comes to finding a suitable man when they’re older. And insisted that they must never, ever, ever talk to a scrub! Which led to the pre-climax of the show, the ever-popular 1999 single, “No Scrubs”.

TLC closed the show with their 1995 anthem, “Waterfalls”, and dedicated it to their sister, Lisa. “This is Left Eye’s favorite song, so let’s do this for Lisa”, T-Boz tells the crowd before performing the song.

The Guardian stated that TLC’s crowd outnumbered many of the day’s Pyramid stage sets by far, and they are, undeniably, as important a “legacy” act as anyone playing on the Pyramid this weekend. If TLC were to play Glastonbury again in the future, the success of this show should let the promoter’s know that TLC are more than worth to headline, and to be on the Pyramid stage.

If you still need your live TLC fix before they complete their current tour, you can still catch them at the following dates:

28th June – O2 Shepherds Bush, London, UK
30th June – Roskilde, Denmark
2nd July – Lytham Festival, UK
3rd July – Love Supreme, UK

TLC Glastonbury 2022 Set List

‘Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg’
‘What About Your Friends’
‘Baby-Baby-Baby’
‘Diggin’ On You’
‘Creep’
‘Silly Ho’
‘Fan Mail’
‘Unpretty’
‘Red Light Special’
‘No Scrubs’
‘Waterfalls’

Stream the full TLC set on BBC iPlayer!

Announcement, Appearance, News, Television, Tribute

TLC To Be Portrayed in Andre Rison Biopic ‘Wide Open’

Leon@TLCArmy's avatarLeon@TLCArmy 1 Comment

Andre Rison, the former Atlanta Falcon and previous boyfriend of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, has decided to produce a biopic based on his life, ‘Wide Open: The Andre Rison Story’, after the success of the 2020 Lifetime special, ‘Hopelessly In Love: Lisa Lopes & Andre Rison‘, a documentary that chronicled the ups and downs of their relationship.

Rison announced that the project was in the works last year and subsequently sent out a casting call in August to hire talent in Atlanta to play the various characters in the movie, including Tupac Shakur, Deion Sanders and of course, the members of TLC.

The actresses hired to play TLC are Ashanti Harris as Chilli, Tetisheri Moniz as T-Boz, and Chaz aka Pink B as Left Eye. Pink B has been compared to Left Eye for having very similar looks. She had a small cameo in the VH1 biopic, ‘CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story‘ in 2013, playing a friend of Lil’ Mama, who played Left Eye in that film.

Pink B says that although some people wanted her to get the role of Left Eye in the VH1 biopic, she wasn’t ready at the time. “I’ve experienced a lot and did acting classes and went through a spiritual change so now is better than ever!”, she said on Instagram.

Andre Rison will be directing the film alongside film director Jerry D. May. In a press release, it states that Rison ‘takes off the gloves and gives it to you raw in the real story behind the ESPN, VH1, fluff. Film director Jerry D. May and best-selling author Derrick Handspike teamed up to produce what many are calling one of the most anticipated celebrity biopic films since “The OJ Simpson Story”.’

Rison has an in-depth relationship with TLC. Not only was he the love of Lisa’s life, he was also very supportive of T-Boz and Chilli, helping all three ladies during the infamous lawsuit they went through in 1996 when they filed for bankruptcy.

We look forward to seeing what details he provides for us and how the portrayal of TLC will be in this movie!

Will you be watching ‘Wide Open’?