TLC have exclusively teamed up with sports federation NBA and TNT which is launching a brand new music platform called ‘The Sum‘, which promises to offer once in a lifetime opportunities for music and sport fans to join forces and sing live on national television with their favorite artists!
The NBA is set to make history with it’s inaugural In-Season Tournament, and T-Mobile Arena’s Toshiba Plaza will be the ultimate destination for fans to soak in the excitement.
The Semifinals on Thursday, December 7, promises a day filled with basketball thrills, unforgettable moments and a highly anticipated All Star Music Battle featuring legendary Grammy Award-winning artists TLC and Nelly!
Fans will have a unique opportunity to be part of this experience by applying for a chance to sing alongside TLC or Nelly live at Toshiba Plaza!
Event Highlights:
Date and Time: Thursday, December, 7, 2pm. – 6pm. PST
Location: T-Mobile Arena’s Toshiba Plaza, Las Vegas
2:00 pm. PST: Fan Check-In Location: Park MGM Hotel and Casino Get Your Collectors NBA “The Sum” Gear.
2:30 pm. – 4:00 p.m.: Fan & Artist Rehearsals Location: Park MGM, Presidio Ballrooms 4 and 5 Fans rehearse LIVE with their selected Artist and get ready for the show.
4:15 pm.: Fans In Position and Warm Up Location: Toshiba Plaza, T-mobile Arena Fanzone
5:00 pm.: Showtime Live Performances by Nelly and TLC!
In a groundbreaking move that intersects pop culture, sports, and music, Nelly and TLC will engage in a head-to-head singing battle as part of the new reality competition, “The Sum: All-Star Music Battle.” Fans have a unique opportunity to be part of this experience by applying for a chance to sing alongside TLC or Nelly live at Toshiba Plaza HERE!
Get Involved!
The performance will be taped as part of a new TNT reality TV competition called “The Sum: All-Star Music Battle.”
“We created ‘The Sum’ as not only a show, but a multifaceted platform for sport, entertainment and music lovers,” Alex Katz, co-founder of Anagram Studios, said. “While most concert goers may not sing as well as their favorite artist, singing alongside other fans creates a beautiful bond, and in turn, a heartwarming sound. Our company believes in the power of togetherness, and we look forward to The Sum uniting fans and artists in song around the world.”
Per “The Sum’s” description, “‘The Sum’ is an original concept based on the best part of any concert — fans singing along with the artists, also known as ‘the common chorus effect.’ In ‘The Sum,’ fans share the spotlight with their favorite music stars by performing a song together.”
TLC seem to be getting comfortable with endorsing sports establishments as of late. Last week, the legendary group were surprise special guests at the Altanta Falconsv New Orleans Saints game on November 26, where a number of the biggest hip-hop stars from Atlanta performed together to celebrate 50 years of hip-hop!
T-Boz and Chilli were honored to participate and represent for their sister, the late, great Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, whose talents and contribution to hip-hop did not go unmissed, as she paved the way for many other rappers that came after her.
TLC graced the pitch at the end of the first quarter and graciously performed a segment of their global smash, “Waterfalls“, with Left Eye’s rap playing out beforehand.
Who will you choose to perform with LIVE in Las Vegas?!
Global superstar Janet Jackson took to her Instagram today (Nov 15) to reveal that she is planning to take her lucrative ‘Together Again‘ tour overseas to her fanbase in Asia!
The tour, which has generated over $51m in gross profit as present time, will take Ms Jackson across four dates in Asia and two in Hawaii.
Janet will start the tour at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Manila, Philippines, on March 13. Three days later, she will head to Nagoya, Japan, where she will perform at Port Messe (March 16) and then at Jo Hall in Osaka (March 17) the day after. Janet Jackson will round out her Asia shows in Yokohama at the K Arena on March 20.
Janet won’t be alone on the Japanese stretch of the tour, as she has invited her friends and iconic superstars TLC to join her as special guests at the three dates she is performing at in Japan!
Janet Jackson accepts her Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction (2022)
T-Boz and Chilli will bring their energetic performances to the tour and prove why they were the perfect candidates to include on the tour, with TLC sharing a very similar fan base to Janet!
This also marks the first time TLC and Janet Jackson have been involved in a tour together. TLC has always been open about how much Janet has inspired them and their careers. “I grew up trying to dance like Janet”, Left Eye once confessed during an interview in London in 1995.
T-Boz with Janet Jackson at the ‘Velvet Rope’ album launch party (1997)T-Boz and Janet Jackson backstage (1993)Chilli with Janet Jackson backstage (1993)
Left Eye also explained why she loves Janet Jackson so much. “Other than my father, when I was a teenager, Janet Jackson was a big influence on me”, she reveals. “I rented her videos and I copied her dance steps. Whenever I went to auditions, I copied her dance steps in the auditions. I mean, I had the one key in my ear, like the key she used to wear, with the black baseball cap. This is when Rhythm Nation came out. I was a HUGE Janet Jackson fan, I even felt that I looked like her.”
Left Eye felt she looked like Janet Jackson in her younger days
During press interviews for MTV’s 20th anniversary, ‘MTV 20’, in 2001, whilst discussing the topic of Janet Jackson, Chilli reveals, “For young girls, like myself at the time, I looked at her and I was like, ‘now, that’s how I’ve got to do it'”.
T-Boz, in particular, has grown close to Janet, after she would often visit and send T-Boz flowers when she would become sick in the hospital after a sickle cell crisis. Eaged-eyed fans also spotted T-Boz in the audience during the taping of Janet’s ‘Velvet Rope’ tour in 1998.
Usher, T-Boz and Janet Jackson at the CBS ‘Velvet Rope’ special (1998)
Tickets to Janet Jackson’s ‘Together Again’ concert in Manila will go on sale on November 25, while tickets to all three of her Japan tour dates will be available on January 13. Tickets and more information can be found at Janet’s official website.
‘Together Again’ 2024 Asia tour dates:
March 2024: 13 – Manila, Philippines – Smart Araneta Coliseum 16 – Nagoya, Japan – Port Messe (with TLC) 17 – Osaka, Japan – Jo Hall (with TLC) 20 – Yokohama, Japan – K Arena (with TLC)
TLC fans love it when the girls are given props for inspiring other artists, as their style has always been so trendsetting and fashionable. So, it was pleasant to see the talented rap superstar GloRilla paying homage to the late, great Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes!
GloRilla decided to show some love to Left Eye this week at the BET Hip Hop Awards 2O23, by taking inspiration from Left Eye’s wardrobe that she wore at the Source Hip Hop Awards 1999, designed by her late uncle, Kyle Young.
Left Eye wore a brown suede outfit with a fur skirt and a thigh-high slit. She completed her unique outfit with a pair of knee-high, square-toe boots and drop earrings. As detailed by Popsugar, Glorilla’s skirt featured a strip of fabric around the waist mirroring her top, similar to Left Eye.
The skirt also included a thigh-high slit that exposed her pointed-toe boots. Though GloRilla’s colour scheme was noticeably darker than the original, her outfit was a beautiful nod to Left Eye from every angle. GloRilla even took a moment to pose for the camera with her arms outstretched, just like Left Eye did.
Fans immediately noticed the similarities between Glo’s outfit and Left Eye’s outfit and began posting about it on social media. GloRilla’s stylist EJ King soon confirmed that the similarities were indeed correct and that he thrives on seeing artists pay homage to Left Eye and TLC, as he too is a fan.
“When Glo said that she wanted to pay homage to Left Eye, I was excited to bring it to life”, EJ said on his Instagram post. “I think it’s so important and special to give the legendary girls their flowers and respect. And with it being the 50th year of Hip Hop, what better way to do it”. He went on to thank the team that helped him make the outfit on short notice — Daniel’s Leather and Angel Brinks.
GloRilla also posted the side-by-side image of herself and Left Eye with their outfits to further confirm who she was paying homage to.
EJ further stated his feelings on the homage on our Instagram post. “I get so overjoyed when I see Left Eye homage and flowers”, he said. “Because she really was that girl!”.
Even Lil’ Mama gave the tribute her seal of approval, saying, “I see what you did there”, on GloRilla’s post. Lil’ Mama has a strong connection with Left Eye, as she played the role of Left Eye in the smash TLC biopic, ‘CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story‘, in 2013.
What are your thoughts on GloRilla paying homage to Left Eye?
‘TLC Forever‘ was three years in the making, initially announced in October 2020 and suffered major production delays due to the covid-19 pandemic. The final outcome was delivered officially to the world with a simulcast on both Lifetime and A&E on June 3, 2023.
The highly anticipated documentary was produced by the One Story Up production company, directed by Matt Kay and executive produced by Roger Ross Williams, as well as Bill Diggins and TLC.
The documentary delivered on it’s promise to delve deeper into the history of TLC, more than they have ever told before, told in the words of T-Boz and Chilli themselves. “And who better to tell it than us, while we’re still here to tell it”, T-Boz told Billboard.
TLC in 2001
The documentary has a unique perspective of capturing the raw reactions of Chilli, T-Boz and Diggins in a private screening, whilst they take time reminiscing about the past, as they watch the footage of themselves and add commentary and thoughts of what they were going through at the time. The footage was largely filmed by T-Boz on a camcorder that she carried around with her as they were on tour in the early days as well as lots of archive, behind the scenes footage, many never seen before.
From the beginning of the documentary, viewers are instantly kept on the edge of their seats, as the scene opens with an emotional T-Boz becoming upset while she reminisces about her struggles with her brain tumor diagnosis and subsequent surgery and recovery. Her main focus was to make it back so that she could continue to be a mother for her daughter, Chase Rolison.
“But she doesn’t want anyone to pity her,” Chilli tells Forbes, adding that she hopes the film will help viewers see that the women of TLC are human, that they aren’t just performers, and that not everything during the height of their career was smooth sailing. “I think that everyone will realize that we’ve never seen this side of Tionne before. I’m always crying, I’m a frequent crier, but in this she cried a lot.”
The synopsis for the documentary is set on documenting TLC’s journey as they prepare to perform at the 2022 Glastonbury Festival, billed as their biggest gig to date. Fans are taken on an emotional roller coaster, as we witness the extra lengths TLC needs to go through in order to get through a show or a tour successfully, ensuring T-Boz gets the appropriate care and rest that she requires to prevent her health from declining.
Diehard fans were delighted to learn than the documentary also touched on the career of TLC beyond the passing of the beloved Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes in 2002. TLC revealed that the industry had turned on them once Left Eye passed and deemed TLC to be over. Although they were unhappy with L.A. Reid forcing them to complete the unfinished ‘3D’ album in favor of a greatest hits, the ladies made the most out of the situation and wanted to do the album justice, both for their fans and for Lisa.
TLC in 2000
In unreleased footage that was not included in the final release of the documentary, TLC can be seen in the studio working on songs for the ‘3D‘ album in 2001 with Raphael Saadiq with an unreleased TLC song, “Us“, playing in the background. T-Boz went on to explain why some of the original songs Lisa had completed before she died weren’t featured on the final release of the album.
“The ironic thing was, we did some songs that was unreleased by Raphael Saadiq, and there was this one song called “Us”, T-Boz explains. “It was talking about something happening to you and it wasn’t your time and thanking God. It was just an eerie song to listen to afterwards [after what had just happened to Lisa], and that’s why we didn’t use it because it was actually a good song, but it kinda spoke on what had just happened to her”.
TLC naturally went on hiatus after the release of ‘3D’ in 2002, giving them the chance to grieve the loss of Left Eye. They completed the album promo in 2003, ending with a performance at Z100’s Zootopia, billed as their final show ever. Fans across the world (including myself) made sure to be there at Giants Stadium in New Jersey to see TLC performing for the first, and potentially, last time, as a duo.
Fans were still hungry for TLC to continue, so they agreed to a reality talent show on UPN called ‘R U The Girl with T-Boz and Chilli‘ in 2005, which followed the ladies on a nationwide search for the perfect girl to perform a new song with them, “I Bet“, which the winner O’so Krispie did during the finale.
TLC in 2003
During the years that followed, Chilli recorded a couple of solo singles, launched her Bags By Chilli fashion line, became a Beachbody spokesperson and featured in her own reality show on VH1, ‘What Chilli Wants‘. T-Boz also recorded a couple of solo demos and during this downtime she encountered severe migraines and was later diagnosed with a brain tumor which took over three years of rehabilitation to become healthy again.
TLC took the opportunity to be the guest for Alicia Keys at the 2008 BET Awards, performing alongside SWV and En Vogue. T-Boz then became a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice in 2009 with Donald Trump, winning $20k for her chosen sickle cell charity in the process. TLC returned to the television screens in 2011 as guest performers on American Idol.
TLC on tour in 2021
T-Boz took part in her own reality show, ‘Totally T-Boz‘ in 2013. During this time TLC were also in talks for a potential comeback to the stage after successful spot dates in Japan and Las Vegas. The ladies were then approached by VH1 to executive produce their record breaking biopic, ‘CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story‘ in 2013.
The success of the biopic brought in a ton of new fans and a new wave of demand for the group. TLC enjoyed success on the festival circuit that year, performing at the Mixtape Festival and Drake‘s OVO Festival. The peak of that success reached when TLC were offered the opportunity to perform on VH1’s Super Bowl Blitz in 2014. With stakes so high, TLC put on the show of their lives and promoters were demanding to book TLC as a result of the high level of production and outstanding performance the ladies provided on the show.
With so many accolades and awards to their name, it would be easy to think TLC have completed their mission to dominate the industry. But not quite yet — as T-Boz says, “we’ve still got a lot to do!” This includes an upcoming TLC Broadway musical that is still in the works, as well as a possible animation based on the music of TLC and possibly a new reality show. Oh, and new music to accompany said projects, of course!
As a diehard fan, I can say that we would love to see TLC finally receive a place on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — long overdue! TLC also deserves a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We’d love to see more Lifetime Achievement Awards, too! Let’s speak these things into fruition and give the biggest girl group in the world their flowers!
TLC on tour in 2023
Catch TLC while you can on tour this summer on the ‘Hot Summer Nights‘ tour with Shaggy, En Vogue and Sean Kingston! Tickets available at Ticketmaster.com
Leon@TLCArmy
TLC-Army.com 