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TLC on Their Plans For New Music For Broadway Musical and Hopes of Working with Bruno Mars

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TLC blessed fans in the UK on Easter Sunday (April 17, 2022) with an exclusive interview on the Global based radio station Capital XTRA Reloaded to celebrate the stations ‘Legend Sessions’ with a special spotlight on Ludacris and the legendary TLC!

Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas took a trip down memory lane with Mike Panteli to discuss their fashion statements from the early 90’s and how they got started in the group, the biggest-selling US girl group ever, with over 85 million albums sold worldwide!

“I think it was a shock to everybody, especially the way Left Eye was sitting up there [in the “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg” video] in that big bright hat in those bright colours”, T-Boz reminisces about their debut single setting new standards for female’s at that time. “I think we really grabbed people’s attention, with our sound, the look and the way we were dressed. I think we hit the scene at the perfect time, in the perfect way. I think we also made it posisble for people who already dressed that way to feel sexy and not feel like outcasts.”

TLC in 1992

Despite the music scene being heavily dominated by girl groups promoting ‘girl power’ in the late 90’s, Chilli reminds listeners that TLC were indeed the pioneers of girl power from the very beginning. “I think that people knew for sure that we were all about girl power”, Chilli reveals, “and just the way that we hit the scene in the way that we did opened the door for people like Spice Girls and Destiny’s Child“.

T-Boz and Chilli both spoke about their musical upbringing (they both grew up wanting to be stars, but not necessarily in a group), and say that one of the unique thing’s about TLC is how neither of them sound like each other, and they are like three solo artists packaged into one supergroup. “I can sing T-Boz’s parts, but I won’t sound like her”, Chilli laughs. “[T-Boz] can sing my parts, but she won’t sound like me, and we can both rap Lisa’s parts, but we won’t sound like her. So, each girl has her own thing that is so different”.

TLC stand out from the crowd not just because they sing memorable, catchy songs, but because of the unique lead vocals of T-Boz in her deep, raspy tone. “Jermaine Dupri did our first demo and I did background vocals singing deep for Kris Kross“, T-Boz reveals. “He already knew the swag, but what he did do was tell me that I should keep that as my style. He was like, ‘you have a different style, you should do that as your thing’. I sang deep for my audition for my manager at the time, Ian Burke, that’s how he knew I could sing deep”.

The success of TLC went from strength to strength after the debut album. Chilli said she was relieved that they didn’t suffer from the ‘sophomore jinx’ when they released their second album, ‘CrazySexyCool‘ in 1994, which went on to sell over 12 million copies in the US alone and solidified the ladies as a serious group with huge longevity.

“Once the music video to “Waterfalls” was released, that’s when we started really selling [album units]”, Chilli admits. “Because that message [in the music video], people could really relate to it”. Arista boss Clive Davis initially didn’t have faith in releasing “Waterfalls” as a single, but the ladies were able to convince L.A. Reid (TLC’s label boss and owner of LaFace, a subsidiary label to Arista) to take a chance on it and he agreed to commission the multi-million dollar music video, with ground-breaking special effects at the time it was made in 1995.

Panteli dug into the ladies musical archives to find out what their first records were that they bought in their younger days. T-Boz reveals that Michael Jackson‘s “Off The Wall” was her first purchase, whilst Chilli’s selection was more surprising. “The first record that I asked my mom for was Queen “Another One Bites The Dust”, Chilli reveals. ” I wore that thing out! It had scratches on it and everything. She bought me this little record player with psychedelic lights on top when you open it. That was my first record”.

The legendary Prince is another artist that TLC were proudly associated with. T-Boz explains how she was able to work on the cover of his iconic “If I Was Your Girlfriend“. “I was in a nightclub and Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs came up to me and said he has a record that he has for his group Total but he wanted me to have it instead. His producer Chucky Thompson [who recently passed away, Rest in Peace] got together to work on it, and then we finished it off with Dallas [Austin]”.

Prince is notoriously protective of his work and rarely allows permission for artists to cover his work. Howveer, that rule did not apply to TLC! Prince was a huge fan of TLC. “I was so excited”, T-Boz exclaims, “because Prince has been known to say no to everybody, and he said yes to two songs, “Get It Up” (for the Poetic Justice soundtrack) and “If I Was Your Girlfriend”. People still to this day ask us, how did we get Prince to say yes, it’s because he loves us, that’s why!”

TLC have previously stated that they would love to work with Cardi B and Bruno Mars, and that is still applicable to this day. “Right now, I’d still like to have Bruno Mars”, Chilli admits. “I love him. We both love him equally. He is just phenomenal, all across the board”.

So, what’s next in the pipeline for TLC? Well, they have previously teased the production of a Broadway musical, the process has since moved along and made some progress and is closer to becoming a reality. “I’m really excited about the musical”, T-Boz says. “Now, we’re working with a writer and [deciding] on how we want the stage performances to go”.

There is also a chance that there will be some brand new TLC music produced for the project. “I think that we’re going to do some new music for that, mixed with the old”, T-Boz reveals. “I think that it will be something really different and interesting. Even though we have told VH1 stories, behind the scenes, we have just finished an A&E documentary which features stories that we have never told before. We have 30 years of stories to tell, so, why not tell it on Broadway, you know?”.

TLC will arrive in the UK this June as part of their European 2022 tour! Their show in London is now sold out, so get tickets to rest of the tour while you still can!

Tickets available at Livenation.co.uk and Ticketmaster.co.uk

Catch the replay of the Capital XTRA Reloaded TLC special HERE

Interview

TLC On Their Tour Residency Wishes & Future Music Plans!

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Patch: It’s been a little over a year since you released your album, “TLC.” What was it like to work on and release new material after all these years? … And is it really your “final” album?

Chilli: It was like riding a bicycle really. Once you know how to do something that you love, even if you step away for a long time, to come back to it is to pick it up like you never stopped. It was really exciting. It’s the final album, yes, but I wouldn’t say it’s the last of TLC music that you’ll hear from us. We’re open to tons of opportunities. Album wise though, yes, it was definitely the final one.

T-Boz: It’s been an absolute blessing. The studio is my second home really; I’ve never stopped recording. The difference for this was just that it was for our next studio album. It’s always hard doing a new album because it’s so much pressure. The studio part is easy, but the pressure is the hard part. And yes, it’s the final album. It doesn’t mean it’s the end of TLC though, it’s just the final album. We’re still open to singles and soundtracks and Christmas songs. There will still be lots of TLC!

Patch: If you ever recorded another record, what are some artists/groups you’d like to collaborate with?

Chilli: Bruno Mars, definitely.

T-Boz: So many of the artists I’ve dreamed of collaborating with have died in the past few years, so I really need to think about this one. There’s so many great artists out there.

Patch: You’ve headlined or co-headlined several successful tours, including I Love the 90s: The Party Continues Tour in 2017. What do you enjoy most about touring?

Chilli: I just love being on stage. What we do on stage, looking out to the audience and how the music is affecting those fans, from people smil[ing], to people who are crying, to people singing along and dancing, that makes me feel good.

T-Boz: The fans and the energy are the absolute best. Just being able to tour and have sold out shows 26 years later is an absolute blessing.

Patch: What is your favorite song to perform live and why?

Chilli: I don’t have a favorite song to perform, but anything uptempo I really enjoy. I don’t like to slow it down.

T-Boz: I don’t have one to be honest. I love them all. The energy on stage is what I love performing most, more so than the individual songs themselves.

Patch: Would you ever consider a Las Vegas residency?

Chilli: Well, we’re currently working on that. Hoping to lock that down sooner than later!

T-Boz: Absolutely! This has been our dream for years now!

Patch: You were in San Diego not too long ago for the San Diego Pride Festival. What was that experience like, and why is the cause important to you?

Chilli: It was honestly such a great show. It was awesome. And important, because we want our fans to know we love them as much as they love us. Every time we get to perform, we want to make them feel that, and San Diego was just perfect for that.

T-Boz: For us, fans are fans, no matter their sexual orientation, but I love Pride because it allows people to be themselves and stand up for what they believe in. You’re supposed to have pride in who you are, and that’s what Pride is about. Anytime fans are being true to themselves, we want to support that!

Patch: Now you’re headed back to the San Diego area. Your performance at KAABOO in Del Mar is just weeks away. What can fans expect?

Chilli: They can expect a lot of energy. A lot of energy. There’s a lot of choreography. Even on the ballads, we bring the energy and the entertainment.

T-Boz: High energy concert, ton of excitement! Basically, we plan to have a big party together with tens of thousands of people, that’s what this is all about!

Patch: Will you get a chance to enjoy the festival? If so, who are you looking forward to seeing?

Chilli: We’re excited for everyone, but I’m really excited to see Katy Perry! She’s amazing, so it’ll be awesome to see her.

T-Boz: I wish! But my family are waiting for me. I’ve got a little one at home who’s waiting for me, so I’ll be in and out, to be with my family.

Patch: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Chilli: Just that I’m so excited to be a part of this and I hope they invite us again!

T-Boz: I just want to thank the fans for their support over all these years, still coming to see us and selling out all these shows! If it weren’t for them we wouldn’t be doing this anymore.

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Interview

TLC on Cardi B and Why They Don’t Celebrate Left Eye’s Passing

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TLC sat down with Beats 1 on April 25, 2018, the 16th anniversary of the passing of the beloved Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes.

On Cardi B Paying Them Homage

T-Boz: “I know she wore my outfits at the Grammys and she wore Lisa’s hair. It was our whole Grammys-TLC feel when we were on stage, and she said Left Eye on one song, and paid homage to TLC on another song — our “Creep” song and then our name, too. She did it twice and she also paid us love on our page. So a lot of love — it was awesome.”

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On TLC’s Legacy

T-Boz: “It’s really an honor. You never think people are going to be — like, you always wish that, you want that. We would always say, ‘we want to be trendsetters. We want little girls to dress like us.’ But when you actually see them do it for Halloween, and have birthday parties, and generations — the grandma, the mom, and the daughter — all at the concerts. It’s really amazing. We’re blessed to be 25 years in, and people are still doing it.”

Chilli: “We are really blessed. And like she said, as an artist when you’re new coming out, your dream is to be able to have that type of effect — a positive one — on everybody, and to have that longevity. You don’t know if that’s going to be your story, so time tells that, and it has. It’s been 20 plus years, and even Bruno Mars, for that matter — the video that he had featuring Cardi B — it was almost like our “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” video, and he had on a TLC t-shirt! It’s amazing and it’s a blessing for us to see that. It makes us feel really good and lets us know, OK we did it right. We’re still doing it, so yes, it is awesome.”

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On The Anniversary of Left Eye’s Passing

Chilli: “First of all, when you think of the word anniversary — I mean, I know that it’s a date that something took place. But when you think about that, you think of happy times.

When people celebrate the anniversary of a wedding, or a marriage, or a relationship of any kind, and it seems like to me it’s all something cheerful, and there’s nothing cheerful to me about her passing. I mean nothing. We don’t go out of our way to do anything like that. I mean, when her birthday comes around, yes, we talk about that, but not the death.”

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T-Boz: “But we celebrate it all year round. I mean really because we always incorporate her in everything we do. We always keep her memory alive. We showcase the great things, like why people loved her. So yeah, like when anybody else’s mom or sister dies, I don’t know a lot of people who celebrate cake or anything.”