Tionne Tenese Watkins (born April 26 1970 in Des Moines, Iowa) better known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American R&B singer and lead singer of the group TLC. Watkins is also an occasional actress. Career history The Watkins family moved from Des Moines to Atlanta, Georgia, when Tionne was nine years old. After a career as a hair stylist, Watkins auditioned for Atlanta teenager Crystal Jones' music group 2nd Nature. Jones, Watkins, and Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes eventually attracted the attention of Perri "Pebbles" Reid and her husband, LaFace Records chief Antonio "L.A." Reid. L.A. Reid replaced Jones with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, and the group was signed in 1991 as TLC, which would go on to become one of the most successful girl groups in history and sell over 45 million records worldwide. Watkins first showed her lower register in the hit single, "Red Light Special" ("you might as well be honest, cause the