En Vogue has sold over 28 million albums and singles worldwide. They have won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of 7 VMAs. The group was named the second most successful girl group of the 1990s and the 18th most successful act overall of the 1990s according to Billboard magazine.
Assembled in Oakland, California in July 1989, En Vogue launched with original members Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson and Terry Ellis. The inspiration for the group came when production duo of Foster and Mc Elroy envisioned a modern-day girl group in the tradition of the 1950s/1960s female trios. The blueprint was based on the plan of recruiting singers who possessed strong voices, noticeably good looks, and intelligence. Auditions were held in 1988, with Herron, Jones and Robinson making the final cut. Like previous girl groups, En Vogue was originally conceived as a trio, but after hearing Ellis audition, Foster and McElroy decided to create a quartet. At first, they selected the name "For You." They shifted to "Vogue", but ultimately settled on En Vogue, upon learning that another group had already claimed the Vogue moniker.
After forming, the group began working with their producers on their debut album. Recording began in August 1989 and wrapped up in December of the same year. Born to Sing was released on April 3, 1990. The album charted at number twenty-one on the Billboard 200 and number three on Billboard's R&B Albums Chart. The first single, "Hold On," was released to radio in late February 1990 and became a crossover pop hit, reaching number two on Billboard's Hot 100 singles charts, and number one on both the R&B singles and Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts. It later went to #5 in the UK, and became a hit in Europe. The next two singles, "Lies" and "You Don't Have to Worry," each went to number one on the Billboard R&B charts, while the fourth and final single, "Don't Go," charted at number three on the Billboard R&B. The album was later certified platinum by the RIAA.
"Hold On" was awarded a Billboard Music Award for "R&B Single of the Year," a Soul Train Award for "R&B/Urban Contemporary Single of the Year, Group, Band or Duo" and have been nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group". In 1990, En Vogue signed an endorsement deal to appear in a Diet Coke commercial directed by Spike Lee.
En Vogue's second album, Funky Divas, was released in the spring of 1992. The album debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Billboard R&B and ultimately doubled the take of its predecessor, going multi-platinum. The album's first two singles: "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" and "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" both went top ten pop, and peaked at number one on the R&B charts. The next single, "Free Your Mind" also went top ten. The final two singles "Give It Up Turn It Loose" and "Love Don't Love You" both were top forty hits.
The album went on to sell more than three million copies, won an American Music Award for "Favorite Soul/R&B Album," and was nominated for five Grammy Awards. The music video for "Free Your Mind" earned the group three MTV Video Music Awards for "Best Choreography," "Best Dance Video," and "Best R&B Video." They were also honored with Soul Train's prestigious "Entertainer of the Year Award." In addition to this, the group were featured in Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Essence among other major publications. Riding high on the success of Funky Divas, a six-song EP entitled Runaway Love was released in the fall of 1993, spawning the hit "Runaway Love."
The group was signed to an endorsement deal with Converse, and were featured as an opening act on Luther Vandross' 1993 tour. Among the numerous countries toured were England, Germany, the Netherlands and France which confirmed the group's live vocal and performing prowess. However, according to an article in Vibe magazine, Vandross (by his own admission in interviews) and his entourage clashed with the members of En Vogue during the tour and he vowed never to work with them again afterwards.
En Vogue also made numerous television appearances on such series as In Living Color, A Different World, Roc and Hangin' With Mr. Cooper (the latter two of which they also sang the show's theme songs.) In 1993, En Vogue were featured vocalists on Salt-N-Pepa's top ten hit "Whatta Man", from Salt-N-Pepa's Very Necessary album. The track also appeared (slightly edited) on En Vogue's Runaway Love EP.
In 1995, En Vogue was amongst numerous female vocalists featured on the song "Freedom" for the soundtrack to Panther. Also in 1995, group member Terry Ellis recorded a solo album entitled Southern Gal, which spun off the top ten R&B single "Where Ever You Are."
In 1996, En Vogue recorded "Don't Let Go (Love)" for the soundtrack to the motion picture Set It Off. Released in the autumn, it became the group's biggest hit to date; the single peaked at number two on the Hot 100, number one on the R&B singles chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAA. It, inadvertently, would also be the final En Vogue single to feature Robinson. One of Robinson's final performances with her bandmates came in October of that year, when the group sang the final National Anthem rendition in the history of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, which came in game five of the 1996 World Series.
In response to the large commercial success of "Don't Let Go (Love)", the group steadfastly went to work on its third album. As the album was nearing completion, Robinson chose to leave the group in April 1997 after difficult contractual negotiations reached a stalemate. Despite Robinson's abrupt departure, En Vogue resolved to continue on as a trio (forcing the group to re-record some of the tracks on their forthcoming album that had originally featured her on lead vocals).
EV3, the group's third album, was released in the spring and debuted at number eight on both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard R&B charts. The first single, the Babyface-penned and produced "Whatever" went on to become a top-20 pop hit, a top ten R&B hit, while also peaking at number five on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. On August 26, 1997, the single was certified gold by the RIAA. The follow-up single "Too Gone, Too Long" (which was produced by David Foster and written by Diane Warren) performed more modestly, managing to only peak in the top forty.
Despite its being certified platinum, and the album being nominated for Grammy Award and a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award, sales of EV3 failed to live up to full commercial expectation. A world tour had been planned, but was canceled due to poor ticket sales. In 1998, En Vogue recorded "No Fool No More" for the soundtrack to the motion picture, Why Do Fools Fall In Love as well as a version of I Want A Monster to Be My Friend for the Elmopalooza special on ABC. The following year, a greatest hits compilation, The Best of En Vogue, was released.
In 2004, En Vogue (now composed of Ellis, Herron and Bennett) released Soul Flower on independent label 33rd Street Records. While the album failed to chart on the Billboard 200, it managed to peak at number forty-seven on the R&B charts. The albums two singles: "Losin' My Mind" and "Ooh Boy", however, failed to chart. Soon after promotion had finished on this album, Maxine Jones returned to En Vogue, turning the group back into a quartet for the first time since 1996. The group teamed with Boyz II Men for select concert dates during the summer of 2004. That same year En Vogue graced the cover of R&B Showcase magazine.
In 2005, after an eight-year absence, Robinson rejoined En Vogue. The original four went on to sign with one of the industry's largest management firms, The Firm Management Group. That September, they joined Salt N Pepa for the girl groups' first-ever joint public performance of their 1994 hit, "Whatta Man" at VH-1's Hip Hop Honors, and briefly toured. They also earned another Grammy nomination for the single "So What the Fuss", which featured Stevie Wonder and Prince (on guitar). The group also appeared in the single's music video. After failing to agree on business terms, Robinson once again chose to defect from En Vogue and Bennett returned. As a result, En Vogue was let go from The Firm. En Vogue continued to perform spot dates in North America with Terry Ellis, Maxine Jones, Cindy Herron and Rhona Bennett. This line-up also saw the group return to Europe and Japan for select concert dates. During this time, En Vogue teamed up with Belgian singer Natalia for a song called "Glamorous" where Rhona Bennett's vocals are featured. The single reached No. 2 in the Belgian charts and was followed by a DVD release of the concert, which went double platinum.
On June 24, 2008, the original lineup of En Vogue appeared on the BET Awards, performing with Alicia Keys, SWV and TLC as a tribute to girl groups of the 1990s. With speculation abuzz, En Vogue received the twenty-eighth highest number of hits on the Rock on the Net website for the month of June 2008. The following month, the group ascended to the twelfth position. As of June 30, Robinson stated via an En Vogue Yahoo! fan site that she had indeed returned to En Vogue. On August 6, the original members appeared on Los Angeles' KTLA television station and announced that they have reunited and would do spot dates around the country during the latter part of 2008. The foursome kicked off the Americana at Brand Concert Series in Glendale, California that same evening. Furthermore, En Vogue performed at the 2009 Essence Music Festival, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. They continue to tour throughout the United States. In October 2010, the band performed their first UK show in 18 years in London.
On September 26, 2011, a new single called "I'll Cry Later" was sent to select urban adult contemporary radio stations. In December 2011, Dawn Robinson left En Vogue once again.
In March 2012, a lawsuit was filed by Wells Fargo Bank against Rufftown, Inc. for breach of contract. On May 8, Cindy Herron announced on their official En Vogue Facebook page that no new album was coming out.[citation needed] En Vogue toured in 2012. In June 2012, Rhona Bennett, who was filling in for Robinson's absence announced on her Facebook page that she was in rehearsals with the group, hinting that she was once again filling in for Robinson.
In August 2012, Maxine Jones, as well as Dawn Robinson, left the group and would begin their own En Vogue with two new members and would be touring, releasing solo albums and potentially another group album. Herron and Ellis would continue to tour as En Vogue with Rhona Bennett. It was also soon announced that the members would take each other to court for use of the En Vogue name; a judge ruled that Herron and Ellis, as holders of the group's LLC, had exclusive rights to the group's name. Herron and Ellis filed suit against Jones and Robinson, demanding $1 million for unauthorized use of the name, though the damages request was ultimately determined to be without merit, as Herron and Ellis could not demonstrate harm done to the company from Jones's use of the name (although Robinson was named in the suit, she was not directly involved in the dispute, as she had surrendered her rights to use the name herself when she departed from the LLC years earlier).
In late 2012, Robinson and Jones announced that they would be starting a new group called "Heirs to the Throne". In 2013, Robinson chose not to begin a new group with Jones and joined the cast of the reality show "R&B Divas: L.A.". In early 2013, Jones began a touring with Alison Carney and Maria Freeman as her new line-up of En Vogue, entitled En Vogue to the Max.
In March 2012, a lawsuit was filed by Wells Fargo Bank against Rufftown, Inc. for breach of contract. On May 8, Cindy Herron announced on their official En Vogue Facebook page that no new album was coming out. En Vogue toured in 2012. In June 2012, Rhona Bennett, who was filling in for Robinson's absence announced on her Facebook page that she was in rehearsals with the group, hinting that she was once again filling in for Robinson.
In July 2014, Pyramid Records announced that En Vogue (Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron-Braggs, Rhona Bennett) will be recording a new studio album. Their first one in almost ten years since their last studio album Soulflower.
Whatta Man
En Vogue Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Uh, hey hey
All right, yeah
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
Gotta say it again now
What a man, what a man, what a man,
He's a mighty mighty good man
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
Yes he is
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
I want to take a minute or two, and give much respect due
To the man that's made a difference in my world
And although most men are ho's, he flows on the down low
'Cause I never heard about him with another girl
But I don't sweat it because it's just pathetic
To let it get me involved in that he said she said crowd
I know that ain't nobody perfect
I give props to those who deserve it
And believe me y'all, he's worth it
So here's to the future 'cause we got through the past
I finally found someone that can make me laugh
You so crazy, I think I want to have your baby
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
Yes he is
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
He's a mighty mighty good man
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
Gotta say it again now
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
My man is smooth like Barry, and his voice got bass
A body like Arnold with a Denzel face
He's smart like a doctor with a real good rep
And when he comes home he's relaxed with Pep
He always got a gift for me every time I see him
A lot of snot-nosed ex-flames couldn't be him
He never ran a corny line once to me yet
So I give him stuff that he'll never forget
He keeps me on Cloud Nine just like the Temps
He's not a fake wannabe tryin' to be a pimp
He dresses like a dapper don, but even in jeans
He's a God sent original, the man of my dreams
Yes, my man says he loves me, never says he loves me not
Tryin' to rush me good and touch me in the right spot
See other guys that I've had, they tried to play all that mac shit
But every time they tried I said, "That's not it"
But not this man, he's got the right potion
Baby, rub it down and make it smooth like lotion
Yeah, the ritual highway to heaven
From seven to seven he's got me open like Seven Eleven
And yes, it's me that he's always choosin'
With him I'm never losin', and he knows that my name is not Susan
He always has heavy conversation for the mind
Which means a lot to me 'cause good men are hard to find
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
He's a mighty mighty good man
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
Say it again y'all
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
I said what a mighty good man
He's a mighty mighty good man
My man gives real loving that's why I call him Killer
He's not a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am, he's a thriller
He takes his time and does everything right
Knocks me out with one shot for the rest of the night
He's a real smooth brother, never in a rush
And he gives me goose pimples with every single touch
Spends quality time with his kids when he can
Secure in his manhood 'cause he's a real man
A lover and a fighter and he'll knock a nucca out
Don't take him for a sucker 'cause that's what he's about
Every time I need him, he always got my back
Never disrespectful 'cause his mama taught him that
I got a good man
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
A mighty mighty good man
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
Yes he is
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
What a mighty good man
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
He's a mighty mighty good man
What a mighty mighty good man
What a mighty good man
En Vogue's iconic song Whatta Man is a tribute to a truly wonderful and perfect man. The lyrics are a celebration of a man who is all the things any woman could ever desire. The opening verse repeats the phrase "What a man, what a man, what a man", emphasizing the sheer magnitude of his greatness. The song is essentially a recollection of how this one man has made a difference in the life of the singer.
The song explains that despite the many men who have treated her poorly in the past, this one man is different. Not only does he treat her with respect and love her unconditionally, but he is also a good father to his children and a responsible member of society. His character is unparalleled, and the lyrics highlight the many qualities that make him an extraordinary human being. En Vogue's vocals and harmonies add depth and richness to the song, perfectly capturing the emotions of the lyrics.
Overall, Whatta Man is a testament to the fact that good men do exist. In a world where misogyny and sexism are prevalent, the song brings to light the importance of respecting women and treating them with love and kindness. The lyrics portray a picture of the perfect man – a man who, despite his imperfections, is everything any woman could ever want.
Line by Line Meaning
What a man, what a man, what a man,
What a mighty good man
Celebrating and acknowledging the greatness of the man
Gotta say it again now
Emphasizing how important it is to repeat how great the man is
He's a mighty mighty good man
Reiterating once more the extraordinary qualities of the man
Yes he is
Affirming and agreeing with the greatness of the man
I want to take a minute or two, and give much respect due
To the man that's made a difference in my world
Showing gratitude and honoring the man who has positively impacted the singer's life
And although most men are ho's, he flows on the down low
'Cause I never heard about him with another girl
But I don't sweat it because it's just pathetic
To let it get me involved in that he said she said crowd
Highlighting the rarity of a faithful man among men and how the singer chooses not to engage in gossip and rumors about cheating
I know that ain't nobody perfect
I give props to those who deserve it
And believe me y'all, he's worth it
So here's to the future 'cause we got through the past
I finally found someone that can make me laugh
You so crazy, I think I want to have your baby
Acknowledging that no one is perfect but commending the man for being deserving of respect and admiration, expressing excitement and love towards him
My man is smooth like Barry, and his voice got bass
A body like Arnold with a Denzel face
He's smart like a doctor with a real good rep
And when he comes home he's relaxed with Pep
Comparing the man's physical and mental attributes to famous identifiable people and highlighting his relaxed character at home
He always got a gift for me every time I see him
A lot of snot-nosed ex-flames couldn't be him
He never ran a corny line once to me yet
So I give him stuff that he'll never forget
Showing appreciation for the man's loving gestures towards her and contrasting his genuine nature with former immature partners
He keeps me on Cloud Nine just like the Temps
He's not a fake wannabe tryin' to be a pimp
He dresses like a dapper don, but even in jeans
He's a God sent original, the man of my dreams
Describing how the man makes her feel and how he is not a fake or a poser but a true original
Yes, my man says he loves me, never says he loves me not
Tryin' to rush me good and touch me in the right spot
See other guys that I've had, they tried to play all that mac shit
But every time they tried I said, "That's not it"
But not this man, he's got the right potion
Baby, rub it down and make it smooth like lotion
Yeah, the ritual highway to heaven
From seven to seven he's got me open like Seven Eleven
And yes, it's me that he's always choosin'
With him I'm never losin', and he knows that my name is not Susan
Expressing how the man treats her with love and respect, unlike previous partners who only wanted to play games, presenting his ability to please her intimately and how she always chooses him because of his loyalty and devotion
He always has heavy conversation for the mind
Which means a lot to me 'cause good men are hard to find
Valuing the man's intellectual abilities and appreciating how difficult it is to find a good man
My man gives real loving that's why I call him Killer
He's not a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am, he's a thriller
He takes his time and does everything right
Knocks me out with one shot for the rest of the night
He's a real smooth brother, never in a rush
And he gives me goose pimples with every single touch
Spends quality time with his kids when he can
Secure in his manhood 'cause he's a real man
A lover and a fighter and he'll knock a nucca out
Don't take him for a sucker 'cause that's what he's about
Every time I need him, he always got my back
Never disrespectful 'cause his mama taught him that
Describing how the man is a great lover and father, a smooth and confident man who is always there to protect and support her, an honorable man with values taught by his mother
I got a good man
Summing up the greatness of the man and expressing gratitude for having a good man in her life
What a mighty good man
Reaffirming the greatness of the man
What a mighty mighty good man
Emphasizing the rarity and extraordinary qualities of the man
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, SPIRIT MUSIC ALPHA, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Herby Azor, Cheryl James, David Crawford
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@NaturalDivineGoddess
"NEVER DISRESPECTFUL because HIS MOTHER TAUGHT HIM THAT!!" Home Training 101
@danmseattle975
God, I LOVE that line! This song might be the best song of the 1990s. It certainly is in the top 5. What a helluva groove!
@pinkrose4322
Exactly! Got to get it from mom.
@Lon.BedStuyforLife
@@danmseattle975 for real!!!
💯👍🏽
@juliebridges4233
That is my favorite line of this song
@fstmr2trd
I can tell you this. We never call our women a B****. Or "bad b****" the disrespect. The sad part is girls call themselves that now a days 😪
@NathanBrooken
I hope someday Salt N Pepa realize how happy they made so many brothers and sisters with this song. So uplifting something that has been sorely missing from our music. God Bless You Ladies.
@Anonymous-kp3jf
Right it's lovely
@nancysorto4769
You ain't lying.
@GingerKC
Let's not forget the main vocals! Enjoy Vogue! Wtf??? 😂 dumb people!