En Vogue’s Terry Ellis On The Group’s Long-Term Success, Upcoming Touring & More
En Vogue — comprised of singers Cindy Herron-Braggs, Terry Ellis and Rhona Bennett — is recognized as one of the top 5 highest-selling American female music groups in history. With over 20 million albums to date, the group’s effortless transition into the digital age is complemented by their effortless chic, leading to over 30 million streams and 26 million-plus YouTube views on their Top 6 hit singles alone. And definitely that has a lot to do with hits like “Hold On,” “Free Your Mind,” “Never Gonna Get It,” “Don’t Let Go” and “Whatta Man (featuring Salt-N-Pepa)” sound great as ever in 2019.
This year En Vogue has been part of the acclaimed Hammer’s House Party tour, which kicked off on April 6th in Tallahassee. Other iconic participating artists this summer — beyond MC Hammer and En Vogue — include Sir Mix-a-Lot, Kid ‘n Play, Sisqo, Doug E Fresh, Tone Loc, Montell Jordan, Tag Team, Rob Base, Young MC, DJ Kool, Biz Markie, Coolio, The Funky Bunch, and the 2 Live Crew. Hit after hit…
I had the pleasure of speaking with En Vogue’s Terry Ellis by phone about Hammer’s House Party and plenty more. Below is a few minutes from our June 2019 chat, while my full interview with Terry will be broadcasted later this month via the Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz podcast. In the meantime, tour dates and more info on En Vogue can be found online at www.envoguemusic.com.
Terry Ellis: Well thank God for social media… We just get a flood of requests in from our fans and our supporters. We do OK even without a record out right now. We’re still able to be consistent and continue to work and we’re really grateful for that.
On whether she ever intended to be a solo artist:
Terry Ellis: Actually, no. It’s funny because I was the only one in the group that had never had any interest in being solo, which is really hilarious. Each of us had solo options as we were… Things changed, the transition that we went through, the process of renegotiating and we went on hiatus.. So I decided to exercise my options because I didn’t want to stop working.
On being the first — or one of the first artists — to do a lot of things:
Terry Ellis: It was all organic. It’s funny you mention those things, because you just made me realize how blessed we really were and what an impact we made in the industry and during that time. The 90s, I mean, was such a huge musical time, which is why I think people are still requesting that music and it made such an impact… So I think all of those different variables had a huge impact on everything being so organic back then.
About the Author
Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."
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