TLC
TLC started off as a female trio called Second Nature. The group was renamed TLC — derived from the first initials of its then three members — Tionne, Lisa and Crystal. Things did not work out with Crystal Jones, and TLC's manager Perri "Pebbles" Reid brought in Damian Dame backup dancer Rozonda Thomas as a third member of the group. To keep the "initial" theme of the band's name, Rozonda needed a name starting with C, and so became Chilli, which was coined by Lopes. Band mate Tionne Watkins became T-Boz, while Lopes was renamed Left Eye. Lopes celebrated her nickname by wearing a black mark; often a wrapped condom, in keeping with the group's promotion of safe sex–later evolving to a black stripe under the eye, and then an eyebrow ring in her left eyebrow.
The group arrived on the scene in 1992 with the album Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip. With four singles, it sold six million copies worldwide and TLC became a household name. 1994 saw the release of CrazySexyCool, which sold over fifteen million copies worldwide and cemented TLC as one of the biggest female groups of all time. TLC's third album, FanMail, was released in 1999 and sold over ten million copies worldwide. Its title was a tribute to TLC's loyal fans and the sleeve contained the names of hundreds of them as a "thank you" to supporters.
During the recording of FanMail, a public conflict began amongst the members of the group. Lopes sent a message to Vibe magazine saying, "I've graduated from this era. I cannot stand 100 percent behind this TLC project and the music that is supposed to represent me." In response to Lopes' comments, Watkins and Thomas stated to Entertainment Weekly that Lopes "doesn't respect the whole group" and "Left Eye is only concerned with Left Eye". In turn, Lopes sent a reply through Entertainment Weekly issuing a "challenge" to Watkins and Thomas to release solo albums and let the public decide who was the "greatest" member of TLC:
| “ | I challenge Tionne 'Player' Watkins (T-Boz) and Rozonda 'Hater' Thomas (Chilli) to an album entitled "The Challenge"... a 3-CD set that contains three solo albums. Each ... will be due to the record label by October 1, 2000...I also challenge Dallas 'The Manipulator' Austin to produce all of the material and do it at a fraction of his normal rate. As I think about it, I'm sure LaFace would not mind throwing in a $1.5 million dollar prize for the winner. | ” |
T-Boz and Chilli declined to take up the "Challenge," though Lopes always maintained it was a great idea. Things were heated between the ladies for some time, with Thomas speaking out against Lopes, calling her antics "selfish", "evil", and "heartless." TLC then addressed these fights by saying that they are very much like sisters that have their disagreements every now and then as Lisa stated, "It's deeper than a working relationship. We have feelings for each other, which is why we get so mad at each other. I usually say that you cannot hate someone unless you love them. So, we love each other. That's the problem."
Read more about this topic: Lisa Lopes