En Vogue poses in the press room at the 2008 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 24, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.
LaBelle was an all female band popular in the 1960′s and 1970′s. The group formed after the disbanding of two rival girl groups in the Philadelphia/ Trenton area. Due to different musical interests the group disbanded in early 1977.
TLC was a 90′s trio that consisted of Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, and Rozanda “Chilli” Thomas. Besides conflicts with management and Lopes “challenge” to write solo projects, the group disbanded to pursue personal projects.
Formally known as the Primettes, the Supremes were formed in Detroit, MN and were the most commercially successful act of Motown Records. In 1967 Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes, and replaced original member Florence Ballard with Cindy Birdsong. Ross left to pursue a solo career in 1970 and was replaced by Jean Terrell. In 1977, the group disbanded after a 18-year run.
Brownstone was popular in the mid-1990s and consisting of group members Monica “Mimi” Doby, Charmayne “Maxee” Maxwell and Nichole “Nicci” Gilbert. They are best known for their 1995 hit single “If You Love Me”. Doby left the group due to health reasons and later revealed strife in radio interviews with the other members.
SWV formed originally as a gospel group in the 1990. They had a series of hits, including “Weak” and “I’m So Into You”. The group disbanded in 1998 to pursue solo careers. They reunited in 2005.
One of Bad Boy’s signature acts during the 1990′s. Total consisted of Kima Raynor, Keisha Spivey, and Pamela Long. The reason behind their break-up is unknown, and since then, the trio have been working on solo acts.
The original line-up of Xscape were sisters LaTocha and Tamika Scott, Kandi Burruss, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, and Tamera Coggins. Coggins left before the group released its first album. The group disbanded to work on solo careers in 1998.
3LW stands for “3 Little Women”. The founding members were Naturi Naughton, Adrienne Bailon, and Keily Williams. Naughton claims that she was forced out of the group after a series of heated arguments with the other members and management.
Despite huge commercial success, the original Destiny’s Child was plagued by internal conflict, as LaTavia Roberson and Letoya Luckett attempted to split off the group’s manager Mathew Knowles. They were soon replaced with Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin; however, in 2000, Franklin was dismissed, leaving them as a trio. The group since then have split up to pursue solo careers.
After uniting for a 20-year anniversary tour, En Vogue’s Dawn Robinson took to Twitter to inform fans that she, along with Maxine Jones, have left the classic ’90s R&B group and is preparing to tour with a “new” incarnation. Other members, Cindy Herron and Terry Ellis wrote a lengthy letter to fans as well to explain their side of the story.
Dear En Vogue fans,
In regards to the recent twitter and Facebook posts alleging that Terry and Cindy have replaced Maxine Jones with Rhona, we would like to respond. Terry and Cindy are not replacing Maxine Jones. We have however asked Rhona to fill in temporarily so that we can continue to bring live shows to our fans. Thus far, Rhona has only done three shows with us since June 2012. The group has always added someone whenever a member has been unable or unwilling to perform or has left the group. Terry and I have not kicked Maxine out of the group. There are always two sides to a story and many internal facts that you the fans aren’t hearing about. In an effort to not air dirty laundry, or appear to point the finger at anyone, we respectfully choose to remain silent on the internal issues. We appreciate you the fans continuing to support EnVogue individually, and as a whole.
Thank you,
Cindy and Terry
Robinson previously left the group to focus on solo endeavors, including 1999s supergroup Lucy Pearl, which featured singer Raphael Saadiq. It is unclear whether Robinson alone has left En Vogue (or been kicked out without being told), or whether she and Maxine have actually formed a separate singing group without informing Cindy and Terry. Very messy indeed, but it wouldn’t be the first messy break-up in girl group history.
Inspired by En Vogue’s split theGrio has compiled images of iconic female groups that have have disbanded over the years.
