January 7, 2000
By BEN WENER
The Orange County Register
TLC, Christina Aguilera
Where: Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, 2275 Katella Ave. When: 8 tonight Tickets: $35.50-$45.50, with 25 cents of each ticket going to the Sickle Cell Disease Assocation Info: (714) 740-2000
Riding the storm
Now is not a good time for TLC. But, then, there never seems to be a good time for TLC.
Quite simply, it's not easy being a member of the world's biggest-selling female trio. Tragedy and controversy flock to the group like moths to a flame. Talk that the outfit is on the verge of breaking up has been guarded about as well as a child protecting an open cookie jar. And lately the level of bickering among the three in the press would make both the Glimmer Twins and the Gallagher brothers blush.
But that's how it's always been. When glory comes, infamy follows.
First there was a bright beginning in 1991 with the group's 4 million-selling debut and the single "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg." Then serious man trouble and a nasty case of arson followed.
Soon after, the trio would be huger than huge, scoring a raft of gold singles (they now have 10) and a slew of Grammy nominations (of which they racked up six more earlier this week). But then they went bankrupt and became embroiled in legal battles with their manager.
The latest twist is most bizarre. First there was this declaration from the group's most outspoken vocalist, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, in a Vibe article in February: "I've graduated from this era. I cannot stand 100 percent behind this TLC project and the music that is supposed to represent me." She added that she would not say much else until she could "speak freely about the truth and present myself on my solo project."
This while the group's third album, "FanMail," had just come out and was about to scorch the charts courtesy of two red-hot singles, the empowering "No Scrubs," the craftiest hit of the year, and T-Boz's inspired "Unpretty."
Still, mere months later, after letting it all hang out in an episode of VH1's "Behind the Music," Lopes was at it again, this time challenging her partners — Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas — to a solo-album shoot-out.
In a grumpy letter to Entertainment Weekly, Lopes aired her displeasure with the direction TLC was taking, then threw down the gauntlet: She proposed a contest in which each member would record her own album, then let the Billboard charts decide the winner.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the group you're still performing with, especially when it's in the midst of its first headlining tour.
Naturally, most everyone, even casual fans, thinks TLC is on the outs. It's assumed that the ladies simply will muster through this tour, which stops Friday at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, then move on to individual pursuits.
They have enough to keep them occupied, after all. Thomas has a son, Tron, with the group's unofficial fourth member, producer Dallas Austin, and also has something of a burgeoning career in acting after taking a role in 1998's "Hav Plenty." Likewise, Watkins had a role in Hype Williams' "Belly," starring rapper DMX, she has just published a book of poetry called "Thoughts" and she has a movie ("Jellybean") and a cartoon series ("It's a Fly World") in production.
And Lopes, who was the first to find solo fame with her turn on MTV's "The Cut"? Well, whether the rest of TLC follows suit or not, she has a solo album, reportedly titled "Fantasy1.com," due sometime this year.
Sort of makes it hard to give TLC 2000 much credence. And it's showing in fan attendance and the critical response the tour has received, which hasn't been exactly flattering.
Still, Thomas blows it all off.
"Everything is fine with us," she said by phone just before Christmas. "Lisa is just Lisa. She does this all the time. She's always going off about something."
Yeah, but this time Lopes sounds pretty fed up. Sure enough, the more you talk to Thomas, the more she stops trying to save face.
"It used to be no big deal, you know? Everyone got so used to Left Eye always being the rebel, always the one saying something outrageous. But the sad part is that after a while the things she would say did affect us. Certain people didn't want to work with us because of things she said. We had this ridiculous reputation and it only had to do with Lisa, and T-Boz and I are like, 'Whatever, don't say anything and it will blow over.' But that doesn't always work.
"We've even told her stuff like that before, you know, like when people are talking about us. But she just doesn't listen. She does what she wants to do."
TROUBLES AND MORE TROUBLES
That's putting it mildly. It could be argued that Lopes has long been the crux of TLC's persistent problems, dating back to when she wigged out and torched then-boyfriend Andre Rison's $861,000 home. That fit of rage cost her $10,000 in fines, five years' probation and a stint in rehab — and in the long run it contributed to TLC's bankruptcy in 1995, a battle fought mostly with the group's original manager, Perri "Pebbles" Reid, but which was compounded by debts incurred by Lopes' behavior. It's estimated that one-third of the $3.5 million in debts TLC had then amassed stemmed from the arson.
So when Lopes mouths off, everyone listens. "I'd rather not solve all of this through the media," Thomas said. "I would rather sit down and talk about it. But then sometimes you can't do that."
For the record, Thomas won't predict whether TLC will split after this tour. "I have no idea what the future holds," she said resignedly. "There's just too much going on right now to think about that other stuff."
Indeed, if there's a band that has always lived in the now, it's TLC. In a roundabout way, that's partly what has sparked break-up rumors before.
After the group's hip-hop-laced debut, "Ooooooohhh ... On the TLC Tip," blew up big time in 1991, the trio took three years to follow it up. When it did, it was with an entirely new look and sound. That second album, the unstoppable "CrazySexyCool," which was certified diamond status (10 million copies sold) in November, was an enormous success, spawning the massive singles "Waterfalls" and "Creep" and earning two Grammys and four MTV Music Video Awards.
And then TLC disappeared. For almost five years. And those absurdly long breaks between albums have brought more speculation than anything.
Thomas knows it, though she says it still takes her by surprise when people are put off by the wait.
"I know a lot of people thought we had broken up (before 'FanMail' came out), maybe because Lisa was doing 'The Cut' and no one had heard from me because I was pregnant, though no one knew. When it finally came out, people would say to me, 'I didn't think you'd have to wait as long as you had to this time. We thought you'd have this thing out at least a year sooner.' You just never know what's going to happen."
She is quick to point out, though, that the long gaps between releases help give them renewed perspective.
"Everything between the last album and 'FanMail' has changed. Fashion has changed, music has changed. But we didn't stay in the past, even though that's where a lot of people thought they would see us. For us, having Dallas to guide us has always been a blessing. He's always been able to reinvent TLC's sound, put us on the next level. That was why we didn't work with the hot producers at the time when we recorded the album. I know Lisa talks about wanting that, but we just wanted to keep our chemistry tight."
Of course, even as recording began, Lopes was talking trash about Austin, telling reporters at the 1998 MTV Music Video Awards that he "tried to charge us $4.2 million, so he might not be on the project." But after a while, Thomas explained, you have to take what Lopes says with a grain of salt.
"I really hate that she feels the way she feels ... because it breaks our unity, and unity is what got us here in the first place. We went through enough drama when we were with Pebbles, then going through all that bankruptcy stuff ... and now this? We didn't need all that internal drama then, we don't need it now.
"I just have to look at it like, 'Well, that's how she is.' Lisa is very expressive about the way she feels and that can be hard to live with sometimes. When you are in a group you have to agree to disagree about some things if you're going to keep it going. Everyone's ideas cannot happen. You're dealing with more than one person — and she understands that, but she doesn't always like it."
And what if she did finally make good on all her threats and left? "If she ever decides to leave, that's why TLC would break up. It definitely wouldn't be anything else."
As or Lopes' solo-album contest, well, don't count on that happening any time soon either. "We're not interested in the challenge. I think that's really ridiculous. Why would you make your fans choose? Someone might like Chilli, you know, but that doesn't mean they don't like the other two. If someone likes T-Boz a lot, they don't say, 'I like you but I don't like the rest.' They say, 'Where's crazy Left Eye? She still trippin?' "
But at this point, when the trio has popularity to spare, why bother? Why tour at all, when clearly the album's sales are enough?
Thomas is shocked at the notion. "No, no, no. We couldn't ever do that. You put out an album and people expect you to tour. You can venture off and do other things, but the main thing has to remain. I'm a fan, too, you know? If Janet Jackson put out a new album and didn't tour, I'd be upset. Not touring is fine for some groups, but it's just not TLC."
Besides, as hard as it may be to believe, Thomas claims all of this strife dissipates the minute the show starts.
"When we're on stage, everything disappears. The chemistry that we have between us takes over. That's the magical part. Nothing, not TLC or anyone else, can change that. When we're up there performing, everything else is in the past."
