On the eve of the 25th anniversary of TLC‘s record-breaking sophomore album, ‘CrazySexyCool‘, the girl’s decided to coincide the date with a major announcement!
T-Boz and Chilli will be returning to the UK in 2020 to embark on an exclusive one night only performance in London at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on June 29th to celebrate both the 25th anniversary of ‘CrazySexyCool’ and the 20th anniversary of TLC’s first headline FanMail tour 2000.
The show will be TLC’s second headline show in London, following their debut UK concert in 2017 at KOKO London, and their overall third British show, when they appeared at their first UK festival at the Mighty Hoopla in 2018.
The news of the show brings music to the ears of many fans, who have been craving their return to the UK, since the European tour was postponed back in 2017.
And if rumours are to believed, TLC’s British invasion may not stop there, as Chilli hints that there may be talk of TLC making a debut Glastonbury festival appearance.
Speaking to Mark Savage for the BBC this week, when the topic of Glastonbury 2020 was brought up, Chilli said, “Is that what you heard? I heard that too. That’s what I’m hearing,” she giggles, slyly.
“I’m hoping. Fingers crossed, toes crossed, legs crossed. Everything that it’s possible to cross, it’s crossed.”
Tickets for the show are available at 10am on Wed 20 Nov on Ticketmaster. A Live Nation UK presale takes place on Tues 19 Nov. Priority Tickets for O2 customers go on sale Mon 18 Nov at 10am.
VIP packages will also be available.
Package includes:
Standing ticket to see TLC Live
Pre show Meet & Greet with TLC
Personal Photo with TLC
Pre Show Soundcheck & Q&A with TLC
Early entry into the venue
Exclusive TLC organic cotton tote bag including:
Show specific tour poster, autographed by TLC
Badge set designed exclusively for package purchasers
Souvenir TLC Laminate and Lanyard
On site VIP check in and merchandise collection point
TLC is not only the biggest-selling female group in the United States, but their tour stats go unmatched, too. 2000’s ‘Fanmail Tour‘ remains as the highest-grossing tour by a girl group in history, ever.
Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas are ensuring they remain as one of the world’s greatest live acts. Ever since returning to the concert circuit in 2013 after a lengthy hiatus, they have been touring consistently, doing a mixture of spot dates and major tours, both nationally and overseas.
Their current major tour, sponsored by Live Nation, is their fourth tour in five years, and see’s them on the road with rappers Flo Rida and co-headliner, Nelly. The tour kicked off on July 23 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Their home town Atlanta was the second spot on the summer amphitheater tour on July 24.
Flo Rida, TLC and Nelly
TLC’s return to Atlanta was long overdue. The girls last performed in the city at the tail-end of 2017, to celebrate the New Year at the city’s annual Peach Drop celebration at Woodruff Park .
T-Boz and Chilli had promised fans that this tour would be something fresh and exciting to experience, and they kept their word. Everything has been updated and refreshed, from the choreography and stage production, to updated mixes of their hits and additions to the set list with some fan favorites. Proving that they are listening to the feedback from the fans.
Flo Rida opened the night in true Flo Rida style, cranking through his 50-minute set, performing his ever popular hits, “Whistle”, “Right Round”, “Club Can’t Handle Me”, “Wild One“, new track, “Snack“, and his debut hit, “Low“.
Flo Rida at the Cellairis Amphitheater
Nelly, who alternates the closing spot with TLC on different nights, took the second spot at the Atlanta gig at Cellairis Amphitheater at Lakewood. Nelly blazed through his energetic 75-minute with his classics, “E.I”, “Country Grammar”, “Ride Wit Me”, “Hot In Herre”, “Just A Dream” and “Dilemma“.
Nelly has a few surprise guests during his set, in the form of some of Atlanta’s greatest rappers of his era. Jermaine Dupri joined Nelly to perform his 2005 smash, “Grillz“. Big Boi also came out to perform “Kryptonite” with him. T.I. even made an appearance, performing his own smashes, “Whatever You Like” and “What You Know“. Nelly’s cousin, J-Kwon, performed his infectious single, “Tipsy“.
Nelly and T.I. at the Cellairis Amphitheater
TLC, the night’s main attraction, graced the stage at 9:45PM, delivering a solid 75-minute set of nostalgia and some recent bops from their latest release. T-Boz and Chilli, along with Left Eye‘s presence in her original vocal playbacks, kept the majority of the audience on their feet.
The show opened with the classic, “What About Your Friends?“, which featured a new, energetic dance break in the middle. “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg” followed shortly after, before taking things down a notch with the smooth, “Diggin’ On You“.
Things got straight back up with the club anthem, “Silly Ho“, and the “Baby-Baby-Baby” remix. After a moment of thanking fans for their loyalty and support, they launch into “FanMail” and “Joy Ride“, both tracks solely dedicated to the fans.
For the first time in their live shows they sing the hook from “Crooked Smile“, their 2013 collaboration with J. Cole. They have only ever performed the song once before at the iHeart Music Awards that same year. T-Boz gave a few words about her struggles as a young girl before launching into “Unpretty”.
The ladies take a short break, allowing their four talented dancers to do their thing and show the best of their talents.
The medley came next, consisting of a mix of classics and rarely performed tracks that the fans adore, giving each album some appreciation. Starting with “Hat 2 Da Back“, followed by the amazing “Kick Your Game” and “Come Get Some“, concluding with the superb hook to “Girl Talk” from the 3D album.
The girls kept the momentum flowing with performances of the seductive “Red Light Special“, the uplifting “It’s Sunny“, the summery vibes of “Way Back“, and then T-Boz and Chilli talk about a deadbeat guy who is hanging on the passengers side of a car next to them at the traffic lights, before launching into the worldwide anthem, “No Scrubs“.
As they get halfway through their mega smash, “Waterfalls“, the ladies stop and ask the audience to honor their sister, Left Eye, and put the lights on their phone’s up in the air (dubbed as ‘Lights For Left Eye’), as they played her rap in full and danced the classic choreography while her video played out to the crowd.
TLC with Sheree Whitfield
A great start to a phenomenal joint tour with 3 top acts, sharing 12 #1 singles amongst them. Stay tuned for more surprises that may pop-up along the way! The tour concludes on August 31 in Irvine, CA.
TLC spill on some of the embarrassing moments that have happened to them while on tour or a live performance!
Speaking to ET! Live in May, T-Boz and Chilli reveal some of those moments along with their current Live Nation touring partners, rappers Nelly and Flo Rida.
Ever Forgotten lyrics?
Nelly: I sang the whole verse of the song, twice! Back to back on stage!
T-Boz: They be like ‘that’s the second verse twice!’ (Whispers) Shut up!
Chilli: I did that recently, with Weezer. I did. Because I’m not used to anybody singing the verses. So, he was singing the first verse, and I came in on the nose. Then I came in on the second verse, and I was going to sing the first verse again, for the second! I was like, oh my gosh! That was so crazy.
Nelly: But the thing is, if you ever have the pleasure to have been in this thing for as long as we have, and the success, you’re gonna forget some things! Snoop has a teleprompter!
T-Boz: I remember mostly everything I sing, but we don’t sing the one’s I don’t remember! Okay?
Ever Been Injured On Stage?
T-Boz: I’ve had some sprains.
Chilli: I have too.
Nelly: I fell off the stage! They had these speakers set up, and I thought they were set up the same on the other side, and I had on sunglasses so it was dark. So, we look for the neon tape on the stage. On the other side, I thought I saw the tape, but the speakers were in a triangle, and there was a hole right there set up in triangles. And I went, straight down!
T-Boz: Did you get hurt?
Nelly: My ego!
T-Boz: I fell one time, but you just gotta get back up and act like it don’t hurt, but you be dying!
Nelly: You be sore. Sprained my whole front shin up.
Flo Rida: I’ve had multiple falls (laughs).
T-Boz: I’ve never done that in TLC, though. I fell in a play of all things.
Chilli: You did trip once, though.
T-Boz: Yeah, I did on Arsenio. That was Lisa’s fault. She would always hit us in the head with awards and stuff!
Chilli: She was so clumsy! Not just awards — the mics, everything!
Ever had to lip sync?
T-Boz: Remember at the Grammys and the mic’s were broke? This was the most God-awful show. We were supposed to sing live, but the mic’s didn’t fit, and it was live so they just pushed us out there with nothing and played the track.
Chilli: In seconds! So we were like, instead of pretending, let’s just go out there with nothing!
T-Boz: And just sing, because it was live so you just do what you had to do. So they just played the track.
Nelly: They did that with Soul Train. Everybody did lip sync on that. I used to think they were lying, but do you see any chords to any microphones? The band wasn’t plugged in, the guitars weren’t plugged in, I was like, oh man!
Chilli: Top Of The Pops, too. Remember that in London?
Nelly: Overseas a lot.
T-Boz: Yeah, they want you to.
Get tickets to see TLC on tour with Nelly and Flo Rida this summer at LiveNation.com!
Ever wondered how the gorgeous ‘C’ of TLC always looks like the perfect package of perfection from head to toe? You’re about to find out!
Chilli spoke with Go 95.3‘s Auggie & Sophia on today’s show to reveal her tips on how she always looks so amazing, as well as what her favourite TLC song and what’s in store on the upcoming tour this summer.
You’ll have to wait and see! But I will put it to you this way — performing means everything to us. People wanna come out and see us, so we always make sure that we put on a high energy show for eveyone. So, you’re gonna get that.
Chilli’s Secrets To Looking Amazing
Obviously, what I do, and I tell people this all the time, yes working out is very important. If you don’t do it, you get stiff. So, I like to encourage people to do what works for them. I don’t like to jog, I’m not a jogger, but I can dance all day long! When jogging, I’ll be out of breath in like two seconds. If that’s something to a person, then do it.
Even on the days when you have to push yourself a little more, you’ll go ahead and do it. So, for me, I like to work out at home. All of my work outs consist of Beachbody DVD work outs and their programs. Because I’m very petite, so I can’t just do cardio, otherwise I’ll look invisible. I like to incorporate weights. But you gotta eat right.
Vegetarian and Flexitarian Lifestyle
I am a vegetarian and an occasional pescatarian. Like, if I cook salmon for my son or my family, I’ll eat it. Occasionally, I’m a flexitarian (laughs). I love that. Other than that, it’s plant based. I try and stay away from gluten. I don’t have an issue with gluten things, but the gut doesn’t like it. I don’t drink the devil’s juice, at all. I don’t do drugs of any kind, I just never got into anything like that. And that makes a huge difference to ageing, it will definitely speed up the process. I drink a lot of alkaline water, 95% of the time. I try to get good sleep, and I don’t have the stress of a relationship!
Favourite TLC song
I really love “Hat 2 Da Back”. It’s my favourite song because the lyrics describe us to a T. And Lisa’s rap — it’s my favourite rap of hers! It’s so much fun, and the video is fun, I just love that song!
TLC perform at the Twin Cities Pride in Minneapolis on June 22.
Tickets to the TLC amphitheater tour with Nelly & Flo Rida available at LiveNation.com.
Leon@TLCArmy
