New Jack Swing Hall Of Fame:
En Vogue

If Destiny’s Child had a forerunner, that group would have to be En Vogue. Dawn Robinson, Maxine Jones, Cindy Heron, and Terry Ellis made up this quartet of beautiful Black women. In 1990, their debut single “Hold On” was an instant smash, sending their debut album Born To Sing racing up the charts. Their second single “Lies” was a moderate hit in the summer of 1990. “Don’t Go” was the third single, and “You Don’t Have To Worry ‘Bout A Thing” was a hit for the quartet in the Winter/Spring of 1991.

By the fall of 1991, En Vogue was back with Funky Divas featuring “My Lovin (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” a major hit that sounded like a sonic cousin of “Hold On” (both songs shared the same James Brown “Payback” sample). In the summer of 1992, their second smoldering hit “Giving Him Something He Can Feel” (a remake from Sparkle – video and all) was yet another hit for the group. Then in the fall of 1992, “Free Your Mind” became all the rage, propelled by a dazzling MTV Video Music Awards performance. En Vogue capped off their successful early '90s campaign with “Give It Up, Turn It Loose” and “Runaway Love.”

After that, En Vogue ran into problems. Dawn Robinson had ambitions of becoming a solo artist. However, Terry Ellis was the first to release an album (titled "Southern Gal") in 1995 that fared just OK. In 1996, the group reunited for “Can’t Let Go” from the Set It Off Soundtrack, and then Dawn left for good. En Vogue was never the same without Dawn, and by the time the 90s ended, Destiny Child had for the most part, picked up from where En Vogue left off.