Announcement, Appearance, Television, Tribute

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

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, Interview, News, Tribute

Left Eye’s New Headstone to be Laid During 50th Birthday week, Update on ‘Supernova’ Album, Hologram and Biopic TV Series

Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes would have celebrated her 50th birthday this week (May 27). Her sister, Reigndrop Lopes, took a moment to touch base with the fans to celebrate Lisa’s milestone birthday!

Just like she did last year for the first time, Reigndrop again decided to celebrate via simultaneous live streams on Instagram and Facebook, where she both offered Q&A sessions with fans and did some trivia questions for fans to win items with Left Eye on it.

Reigndrop revealed that the new one-of-a-kind, 3D-textured headstone, created by Tim Morris aka Tim Cemetery which was announced in 2019, will finally be installed at Lisa’s gravesite at Hillandale Memorial Gardens in Stonecrest, Georgia on May 29.

“The next time you visit the gravesite you will see the new headstone”, Reigndrop announced to the fans. “We are laying it on the 29th”. Tim Cemetery also posted a cryptic message via Facebook on Lisa’s birthday, stating that he was on his way!

Reigndrop, Wanda and Ron Lopes unveil Left Eye’s updated headstone in 2019
Tim Cemetery on his flight to Atlanta to prepare for the instalment of Lisa’s new headstone

Future Left Eye music plans

“The music that we have left from Lisa, I’m probably going to use it for one of her film and book projects, and I’ll probably release a couple more. But I don’t like messing with and changing Lisa’s music as far as remixing it. I don’t like doing that, because she puts so much of her into the songs on “Supernova”, I kinda just want to leave them alone and use them like that. But, I may do a poetry book with her lyrics.”

Covering a Left Eye rap in a TLC song

“Of course [I would], any time! It would just have to be the right opportunity. I would do that in a heartbeat!”

Book plans

“I’m working on Lisa’s book. I’m actually working on two books. One book is a memory book, with people’s memories of Lisa. And one is her biography.”

Biopic TV series

“I’m working on her film which I actually want to be a series. It’s more fitting, because you can’t really fit someone’s entire life story in a 2-hour movie. It’s just not possible. I’ve always thought that, so I want it to be a series. I do not have a release date for it yet, as I am still working with the writer. When I get to the point where I think it’s ready to come out I will let the fans know first. I think I’ll do a documentary with lots of footage and then a series about her life”.

“Supernova” release on streaming platforms

“My family own Lisa’s masters, so you don’t have to go to anyone else to ask them to put it out on streaming. We’re working on it, we’re working on a lot of other stuff, so just be patient. Timing is everything, it’s going to come out when it’s supposed to come out. Just know that your voices are being heard and we’re working on it. A lot of things are happening at the same time which is overwhelming, so we have to pace it out. But it will be out, I promise”.

First time meeting T-Boz and Chilli

That was so long ago! I don’t really remember because when TLC first came out I wasn’t aware of how big the group was, I just saw them as my sisters friends, until TLC became more established I realised how big they were. But yeah, they were like my big sisters. They will always be family”.

Left Eye Hologram

“I’m okay with it but how do you guys feel about a Left Eye hologram? I think it would be dope! I’m definitely for it.”

Keep up with the latest on Reigndrop Lopes on Instragram.

For more info on the work of Cemetery Tim follow him on Instagram.

Do you want to see a Left Eye hologram?

Announcement, Competition, News, Tribute

Funko Europe Launch TLC Pop! Rocks Vinyl Figures

Credit: Megan Dove

The wait is finally over for European fans of TLC who have been patiently awaiting the release of the Funko Pop! Rocks line of TLC figures, which come complete with a set of Chase variants.

The TLC Funko Pop! Rocks are styled as the girls in the iconic “Waterfalls” video! They come with limited editon Chase variants in a translucent style, replicating the scenes of the video where the ladies turn into water!

The pops were initially announced back in October 2020 after news surfaced online about the development of the TLC line. Since then, they received a US release in January 2021 and have since sold out for the time being on the official Funko website.

Fans over in Europe can now finally be reassured that they can now get their own set of TLC pops which were released today on the official FunkoEurope.com site. The European site went live in November 2020, giving Funko fans in Europe some relief at not having to resort to US imports.

We love the attention to detail on these TLC pops. From the iconic sideburns on T-Boz, slick baby hairs on Chilli and the trademark line under Left Eye‘s left eye and ’80’ tattoo on her arm, the number on Andre Rison’s football shirt!

You can order your favourite pops right now on FunkoEurope.com and if you’re lucky enough, you have a 1 in 6 chance of receiving a chase Variant, too!

A BIG thank you to the team at Funko Europe for keeping us updated with the latest official information and for sharing a little ‘TLC’ with us, we appreciate you!

To be in with a chance of winning a regular set of TLC Pop! Rocks figures, simply comment below on this website post and tell us the name of your favourite TLC album!

We’ll close the competition on March 31, 2021 and announce the winner on our social media pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! Good luck!

News, Tribute

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

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?