Earlier this
week, VH-1 premiered ‘CrazySexyCool: The
TLC Story,’ a biopic of one of the best-selling groups of all time.
I was super
excited about the movie! I have loved TLC from the time I heard their very
first song in the 90s. As I watched the movie, me and my friend Miracle, traded
our best TLC memories and experiences. It
was then that I realized, or maybe simply remembered, just why I was a superfan.
Like me, the girls were all about sisterhood
and being a leader. And then there was the drama!
While drama
is not my thing, it was a key element in the appeal and success of TLC. I like to think of drama as the fourth member
of the group. There was always something
going on with them: a shady boss, money
issues, men and problems with those men, illnesses, domestic violence, you name
it. And while they brushed each incident
off and kept it moving like nothing happened, there was always the constant
presence of drama. Let’s face it, drama sells!
It wasn’t
until Lisa died that the drama slowed down. The fact that they never replaced
her, or even tried, is a testament to the sisterhood among them. Interview after interview, they’ve always
maintained that they weren’t band mates, or friends, they were sisters. They loved each other, hated each other, worked
on each other’s damn nerves but through it all supported and stood by each other. Their sisterhood was so real you could see it
in their interactions; you can still see it with T-Boz and Chilli. What makes it all the more interesting is
that the girls weren’t friends before joining the group. They each auditioned and were selected for
the role, based on what they could bring to the group. Talk about fate!
The cool thing
about TLC is that the girls were allowed to express their individuality within
the group i.e. Crazy, Sexy, Cool, and together they became pop culture
leaders. They were silly and fun, yet
outspoken about safe sex, girly yet tomboyish, edgy yet classic, sexy yet
respectable, edgy yet classic. They were
videoing and sharing their experiences with their fans long before YouTube even
existed. They lived in a world of ‘why
not’ and encouraged others to as well. And
their girls' demeanors definitely made fans feel like whatever TLC did, they
could do too.
I was one of
those fans. Their songs are a big part
of the soundtrack of my life. I loved
the girls. They seemed like so much fun to hang out with it. I felt like they were my big sisters. I wanted to stand out like they did. I wanted
to dress like them. Hell, I’m still
trying to get abs like them! They were
the ultimate group and they gave their fans one of the best gifts by producing
this movie and I will forever watch it when I’m channel-surfing on a lazy day!
Xoxo,
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