The Bite Magazine - Spring 2016 - Issue 15

Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, En Vogue set the standard for future female R&B and pop acts like Destiny’s Child and the Pussy Cat Dolls. EnVogue them- selves were compared to 1960s’ female group The Supremes especially when the quartet became a trio with the departure of Dawn Robinson in 1997 and a duo when Maxine Jones exited four years later. Despite these changes, Terry Ellis and Cindy Herron-Braggs decided to carry on with the addition of new member Rhona Bennett. Keeping the magic alive, En Vogue says they find fulfilment while on stage,“It’s about con- necting with the people. It’s about the energy you received, the love and the reciprocation from the message in the music.” In the summer of 2007 Dawn Robinson reunited with the group to give an explosive performance at the Summer Festival in Tobago and also performed a medley with Alicia Keys, TLC and SWV at the 2008 BET Awards. A year later, the original line-up reunited to perform a string of hits at the Essence Festival in New Orleans and it was reported by The Metro in April 2015 that three of the ladies, Cindy,Terry and Maxine were getting back together to reform with a new face, rapper/vocalist Molly who is said to be “the next big pop star” accord- ing to record label Rufftown Records. Their debut track ‘Go Back to What’s Her Face’ was produced by Rene Moore who has produced music for Michael Jackson, Jay Z and Notorious BIG. EnVogue has been blessed to perform in some amazing places and with other per- sonalities including Bill Clinton’s brother Roger on the song ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ during the inaugural festivities and were awarded the Soul Train Music Award for best performance for ‘Hold On’ in 1991; American Music Award for best soul/R&B album and Grammy Award nomination for best performance for Funky Divas in 1993; platinum record for Born to Sing in 1991; multi-platinum record for Funky Divas in 1993; and MTV awards for the best R&B video, best dance and best choreography video for ‘FreeYour Mind’ in 1993. Speaking on the video for ‘FreeYour Mind’, choreographer Frank Gatson said,“We tried to make En Vogue very womanish, with a very sophis- ticated flair but we didn’t want to make them slutty.” Before coming together as a quartet, the ladies had met on previous paths having pursued acting and singing careers during the 1980s. Herron-Braggs met Jones during the course of a San Francisco stage production and encoun- tered Ellis at a Houston audition, while Jones and Robinson became acquainted at their hairdresser’s.“It seemed a joyous coincidence, then, when the four not only converged at the FM2 auditions but beat other competition to become the sought-after stylish vocal quartet.” Despite the original members not being together, the current line-up of EnVogue still brought their magic to the shores of the UK to play a special show at London Indigo02 in south-east London earlier this year. Terry Ellis and Cindy Her- ron-Braggs along with Rhona Bennett did not disappoint as they showed the audience why they remain the pioneers that paved the way for other female acts that followed after them. As they thrilled fans with a brilliant three-part harmony while dancing backwards in high heels, En Vogue ensured that they had fun as well.The fusion of soul and hip-hop that was hot off the press in the 1990s was underscored in their high-lustre versions of ‘Don’t Let Go (Love)’ and ‘Hold On’ while their cutting loser man down to size hit ‘My Lovin’ (Never Gonna Get It)’ provided nice crisp edges that enhanced the power of their techniques.The ladies tried their hand at rapping Salt-N-Pepa’s lines on ‘Whatta Man’ which was fluid and strong although claiming they could not rap and delivered a lesson in vocal rigour during a cappella intro to ‘Hold On’. During a medley of songs, the ladies also did a 60-second version of ‘Bad Girls’ and ‘Lady Marmalade’. EnVogue will be performing future dates on Saturday 7th May at Neal S. Blaisdell Centre in Honolulu, USA; Friday 3rd June at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Colum- bia, USA; Friday 8th July and Saturday 3rd September at Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, USA. bitemusic