TLC’S ‘FANMAIL’ CD GENERATES EIGHT GRAMMY NOMINATIONS INCLUDING PRESTIGIOUS ‘ALBUM OF THE YEAR’ RECORD OF THE YEAR

FROM: TODD BRODGINSKI/AMANDA CAGAN/MAGGIE WANG

TLC’S

‘FANMAIL‘ CD GENERATES EIGHT GRAMMY NOMINATIONS
INCLUDING PRESTIGIOUS ‘ALBUM OF THE YEAR,’
‘RECORD OF THE YEAR’ AND ‘SONG OF THE YEAR’;

SECOND LEG OF ‘FANMAIL’ TOUR IS SET TO KICK OFF
FRIDAY, JANUARY 7 IN ANAHEIM, CA

With the second leg of their “FanMail” tour set to kick off in Anaheim, CA on Friday, January 7, TLC—LISA “LEFT EYE” LOPES, ROZANDA “CHILLI” THOMAS and TIONNE “T-BOZ” WATKINS–got the news today that their FANMAILCD (LaFace Records) has generated eight Grammy Award nominations including the key categories of “Album of the Year,” “Record of the Year” and “Song of the Year.” The group’s third CD FANMAIL has sold over 8,000,000 copies and features the #1 singles “No Scrubs” and “Unpretty,” both of which earned Grammy nominations.

On hand in Los Angeles to help announce the nominees, CHILLI said, “We’re surprised and thrilled, and believe that this group has truly been blessed. It really is an honor to be nominated again.” TLC won awards for “Best R&B Album” (CrazySexyCool) and “Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal” (“Creep”) in ’95.

In tour news, the group kicks off the second leg of the FanMail tour (with opening act Christina Aguilera) this Friday, January 7. In a live review in the February issue of Spin, Evelyn McDonnell said “For the past decade, TLC have challenged the usual pop-girl predicaments. They sported condom fashions as teenagers…addressed social issues like AIDS and bulimia, and spread a lot of girl love along the way.” She went on to say: “…nearly two-hour tour de force performance…proved they were the hardest-working girls in showbiz. Their tightly choreographed concert featured a five-piece band, seven dancers, plenty of cybertechnics, and a giant-screen android named “Virtual Vice” (pronounced ‘Vicky’)…TLC‘s audience interaction is no mere pose–a few dozen lucky fans watched the entire show from a pit located in the center stage, and others joined the band for a sing-along of ‘Unpretty.'” Elsewhere, Steve Jones of USA TODAY said, “TLC showed why it has consistently remained a cut above the competition Friday, with a performance (***1/2 out of four) that you’d have to call crazy, sexy and cool…they displayed versatility, edginess and theatrical flair that the average female group can’t touch.”

A complete list of Grammy nominations and tour dates are as follows:

• Record Of The Year, “No Scrubs”
• Album Of The Year, FanMail
• Song Of The Year, “Unpretty”
• Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group with Vocal, “Unpretty”
• Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group with Vocal, “No Scrubs”
• Best R&B Song, “No Scrubs”
• Best R&B Album, FanMail
• Best Short Form Music Video, “Unpretty”

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