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 body never lies.") She has also proven she can hit a higher note on TLC's single "What About Your Friends" in the introduction "...what..." On a remake of Prince's "If I Was Your Girlfriend", T-Boz used her falsetto for the first time.In addition to her work in TLC, Watkins has done some solo recording, including the singles "Touch Myself" (1996) for the Fled soundtrack, and "My Getaway" (2000) from the The Movie soundtrack. T-boz has also collaborated with other artists over the years. This include singles such as "Ghetto Love" (1996) by Da Brat, "Changes" (1996) by Society of Soul, "He Say She Say" (2000) by Keith Sweat, "Different Times" (2002) by Raphael Saadiq, and "Be Somebody" by Paula Cole.Watkins has also worked as an actress, appearing in Hype Williams' 1998 film Belly. More recently, Watkins also served as one of the executive producers for the 2006 movie ATL featuring the rapper, T.I.. She recently did a video for "It's Good" with YoungBloodZ, which appears at the end of their Chop Chop video.As an author, Watkins released the book Thoughts in November 1999. The book is collection of poems as well as essays discussing her life experiences. In 2005, Watkins opened a children's boutique in Houston, Texas, called Chase's Closet (named for her daughter). The boutique is located in the exclusive River Oaks area of Houston.T-Boz was named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People of the World" by People Magazine twice in 1994 and 2000.On August 14, 2007, T-Boz spoke with fan website CyberTLC World about upcoming plans which included her solo album which she started recording for 3 weeks ago
[1]. She currently has 17 tracks completed and is planning on recording at least 30 songs before she selects the final track listing. Watkins also spoke about a possible TLC movie, which bandmember, Rozonda Thomas, is interested in making. At the moment there is no word whether or not T-Boz and Chilli would play themselves. An upcoming TLC-related television program is also in the works as well as an "uplifting" book that Watkins is currently in the midst of writing.During the interview, Tionne also spoke about TLC's future as a band, stating it was not likely that there will ever be another album from the group but that there will possibly be a farewell tour sometime before she releases her solo project. Watkins has also put in an appearance on Chilli's debut solo single "Gameproof".
Personal life
As a child, Tionne was diagnosed with sickle-cell disease; initially hiding details of her ailment from others, she went public with the disease in 1996 and is today one of the spokespeople for
Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.In August 2000, she married rapper Mack 10. The couple's daughter, Chase Anela Rolison, was born on October 20, 2000. In June 2004, T-Boz filed for divorce and requested a restraining order against Mack 10.
For The Record: Quick News On Ray Charles, 50 Cent, Fantasia Barrino, T-Boz, Incubus & More, from mtv.com
Discography
Singles (as a solo artist)
References
- nndb biography of Tionne Watkins Accessed Dec 6, 2006
- tv.com biography of Tionne Watkins Accessed Dec 6, 2006
- North Carolina divorce law July 2004 Accessed Dec 6, 2006
- H Texas Online Accessed Dec 6, 2006
External links
1970 birthsAfrican-American singersAmerican female singersAmerican film producersAmerican rhythm and blues singersIowa musiciansLiving peopleParticipants in American reality television seriesAmerican ChristiansPeople from AtlantaPeople from Des Moines, IowaTLC membersAmericans of Native American descentTionne WatkinsTionne Watkins
