How iconic 90s band En Vogue were barred from reaping the rewards of their success by 'predatory' music deals and clashes with a soul legend - as ex-member Dawn Robinson reveals she's homeless and living in her car
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For decades they were considered one of the 90s' biggest girlbands, hitting the charts with songs such as Hold On and Free Your Mind.
But for members of the band En Vogue, their illustrious career has proven less fruitful then some would think, with 'predatory' record deals barring them from reaping the financial rewards.
The group first rose to fame in 1989 when their single Hold On reached number two in the US Hot 100, and their follow-up album Funky Divas reached the top 10 in both the US and UK.
While their 1996 track Don't Let Go (Love) became their most successful single yet, Dawn Robinson decided to leave the group in 1997.
But despite hoping to find success as a solo singer, it seems that Dawn has fallen on hard times, as she revealed this week that she has been homeless for the past three years.
The singer revealed Tuesday in a YouTube video that she had been living in her car after being without a permanent residence for several years.
Despite huge success as one of the 90s' biggest girlbands, En Vogue (pictured in 1991) struggled to reap the rewards of their success, thanks to 'predatory' music bosses
Earlier this week, ex-member Dawn Robinson shocked fans by revealing she's been homeless for three years, and is now living in her car
Since Robinson's exit, En Vogue has existed in various incarnations, with its current lineup consisting of Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones and Rhona Bennett.
En Vogue members have spoken publicly over the years about the dramatic behind-the-scenes machinations that left the women of the group with a 'predatory' contract that kept them from sharing the bounty brought in by their hits singles and LPS.
The group also famously clashed with legendary star Luther Vandross while touring with him in 1993, as the R&B legend issued the group with a string of rules ahead of their shows together.
Despite their battles, En Vogue has continued to tour and perform, and in 2022 they appeared as a group character on the US version of The Masked Singer, and even flew to the UK to perform at the Mighty Hoopla Festival last year.
Proving they could still delight fans after three decades in the spotlight, En Vogue took to the stage as recently as last month to perform at the NBA All-Star Weekend.
Now DailyMail.com takes a look inside the tumultuous history of En Vogue.
En Vogue comes into focus
En Vogue's story began with the songwriters and producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, who were working on a compilation album to be released by Atlantic Records in 1989.
While selecting tracks and artists, the two got stuck on the idea of creating a girl group modeled after acts that dominated the charts in the 1950s and '60s.
They decided to hold auditions, which were attended by around 3,000 women.
At first, Foster and McElroy envisioned a classic trio, and they settled on a lineup featuring Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones and Dawn Robinson.
Herron was an obvious choice for the group, as she had already established herself as an in-demand model and a rising actress.
Prior to that, she had been a pageant queen who earned the titles of Miss San Francisco 1986, and she was named Miss Black California, as well as being the runner-up in the 1986 Miss California pageant.
After getting her start as an actress on screen in the 1980 PBS drama Up And Coming, Herron would later make regular guest appearances as Will Smith's girlfriend on The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air while still a member of En Vogue, and she later appeared in the 1992 Tupac Shakur–starring crime thriller Juice.
In 1989, 3,000 women auditioned for a spot in a new band, and Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones and Terry Ellis to form the group En Vogue (pictured in 1990)
Robinson (pictured with the group in 1992) was approached about the audition at the Summer Jam festival. An associate of the producers told her she looked like a model before asking if she was a singer
Jones had a more obscure background, as she was working as a hairstylist in the Bay Area at the time, though she had previously worked as a background vocalist.
She reportedly wasn't even invited to the auditions but showed up after learning about them from a friend, which proved to be fortuitous.
Robinson had plenty of musical experience when she was selected, as she had been singing in clubs since she was a pre-teen, though she was working a day job in a dentist's office in the late '80s.
But even though she had established musical talent, it was her looks that initially put Robinson on Foster and McElroy's radio, as one of their associates reportedly spotted her at the Summer Jam musical festival in the Bay Area and approached her to ask if she was a model, which led her to get an invitation to the audition.
Robinson later admitted that things could have gone south if her mother or best friend had attended the audition with her as originally planned.
She knew that 'as soon as [she] said [she] was nervous' they would have given in and left with her, but her sister, who ended up going with her in their place, wasn't willing to leave, so Robinson got a chance to wow the producers.
Although Foster and McElroy were looking for a trio, they expanded their vision to a quartet after hearing Terry Ellis, who was late to the original audition after her flight out of Houston, Texas, was delayed.
But after they heard the initial three women joined by Ellis, they opted to stick with the larger group.
En Vogue signed a contract giving them $5K each — worth about $12,800 in 2025 dollars — in advance of recording an album, followed by $5K once the final work was turned in. They also received two cents per album sold
'Predatory' contract
After establishing the En Vogue lineup, Foster and McElroy helped the group since a contract with Atlantic Records, which would release their first LP, 1990's Born To Sing.
The album reached a respectable 21 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and it was a hit on the R&B Albums chart at number three.
Their first single, Hold On, became a hit at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and it topped the R&B Singles and Hot Dance Music/Club Play Charts.
The follow-up singles, Lies and You Don't Have To Worry, also topped the R&B Singles chart, and fourth single Don't Go was also a top 10 hit.
But the four women reportedly saw little of the financial benefits that their label was seeing due to their contract.
It reportedly offered them $5,000 each — worth about $12,800 in 2025 dollars — in advance of recording an album, followed by $5,000 once the final work was turned in.
While speaking with The Jasmine Brand in 2021, Robinson added that the women would each receive two cents per album copy sold, meaning that the biggest single chunk of their payments were determined by how well their albums performed.
Dawn previously shared her concerns after the stingy record deal was kept in place for the band's second album, and the band later claimed they missed out on songwriting royalties
The first album was certified 3x platinum by the Recordings Industry Association of America, meaning it sold at least 3 million copies, which would translate to around $60,000 per member for the first album.
Dawn later said that just the initial payment of $5,000 made her feel 'rich,' but it was still modest compared to what other groups of similar success were making.
And when the ladies were ready to record their sophomore album, they were distressed to realize that nothing had changed money-wise.
The multi-million-selling multi-platinum group would still be receiving $5,000 up front per member, plus a $5,000 bonus and two cents per album sold despite being a hit group now.
At the time, the members said that there 'wasn't time' for them to write any songs for 1992's Funky Divas, even though the entire group had previously been credited as co-writers on several songs on the first LP.
They later alleged that they were told they wouldn't be allowed to write any songs on the follow-up, which meant that they would lose out on any songwriting royalties.
Instead, the royalties would exclusively go to Foster and Thomas, who wrote all of the original songs, though it's unclear if that was the intended strategy, or if time really was a factor in the decision.
The album was another hit, reaching number 8 on the Billboard 200 chart and topping the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart and featuring several hit singles, but the singers didn't see any significant commercial benefit from its massive success, aside from more Grammy nominations.
MC Hammer (picured in 2019) later learned of their deal and reportedly hooked the women up with a lawyer who told them their contract was 'predatory' and urged them to renegotiate
Robinson (pictured in 2019) claimed that her fellow bandmates went to their producers for advice about renegotiating, but they urged them to sit tight
Robinson later alleged that Foster, Thomas, their manager and Atlantic were earning the vast majority of the money coming in from their albums and singles, while the singers were making a relative pittance.
According to DRMS TV, the rapper MC Hammer learned of the groups deal and helped them meet with a business attorney, who declared their contract to be 'predatory,' and suggested they could likely get a new contract that was far more lucrative — and fair.
In a retrospective interview, Robinson complained that when she urged the other members to renegotiate the contract — which applied to all of them equally — their efforts were stymied when Jones decided to seek Foster's advice.
Foster urged her and the other women not to renegotiate.
'For [Foster], it isn't broken. For us, it is broken,' she said. 'For our producers, everything was fine.'
En Vogue's 1993 opening spot with Luther Vandross also led to tensions, as he had restrictions about what they could wear, their stage set up and what TV shows they should perform on
Tangling with Luther Vandross
Although En Vogue was bigger than ever, their reputation took a hit when they signed on as openers for Luther Vandross' 1993 Never Let Me Go Tour.
Although he was ostensibly a fan of their music, they clashed early on over his control of the stage show.
The women weren't allowed to wear any of the colors that Vandross or his band wore, which ruled out most colors that would have suited them.
Then, their fans were upset because Vandross required that their backing band perform on the rotating stage with them, instead of off on a side area where his band performed, which meant that the instrumentalists often blocked the audience's view of the singers.
They eventually fought back, deciding to wear the colors they wanted, and they refused to make a television appearance with Vandross because of fears that they were overexposed after multiple recent appearances.
Relations got so testy that Vandross put up curtains to keep the En Vogue members out of his sight, but when they walked through them before one performance to go to the stage, he called police on the women and accused them of trespassing.
Herron was pregnant during the tour, and she later claimed that Vandross used her pregnancy to claim that she and the other women had wanted to leave the tour, though they denied that claim.
By 1995, the group was able to renegotiate their contract, but Robinson felt abandoned by the label (Herron, Ellis and Rhona Bennett pictured in 2020)
The group was reduced to a trio of Herron, Ellis and Rhona Bennett when Jones also left the band. The full lineup reunited from 2009 to 2011, and then for a one-off benefit show in 2019
Solo tensions
By 1995, the group had finally reached the end of their restrictive contract and were able to renegotiate, but there were further issues pulling them apart.
In 1995, Ellis recorded a solo album, and Robinson was promised her chance to record one shortly afterward, but then the project was was canceled by Atlantic shortly afterward in favor of recording a third group LP.
Robinson later claimed that the label was planning to fire her from the group, and that it intervened to try to stop her from singing lead because she might soon leave the group.
However, her vocal take proved to be the best, so it was left as the lead on Don't Let Go (Love), which became En Vogue's biggest international single and was featured on their third album, 1997's EV3.
Despite the success of the song and album, Robinson left En Vogue after the label had allegedly shown a lack of confidence in her.
Jones later left the group in 2001, and she was replaced by Maxine Cole from 2001 to 2003, before Rhona Bennett filled the spot full time.
The original quartet went on to reunite in 2008, but Robinson again left in 2011, and Jones left shortly afterward, while Bennett returned.
The remaining original members of the group later sued Robinson and Jones for touring as a duo under the En Vogue name, and they won a judgement allowing only Ellis and Herron to use the band name.
The final reunion came in 2019, when the original quartet was expanded to a quintet with Bennett for a benefit concert.
Living on the road
While En Vogue recently confirmed they would be heading back on the road for a European Tour, Dawn has a much less glamorous reality which she explained to fans.
Speaking in a video posted on her YouTube channel, she said: 'If you guys were with me, what in 2020, I did like 105K interviews and in the interim I was living with my parents in [Las] Vegas and that was wonderful until it wasn't.
'I love my mom [Barbara Alexander] but she became very angry and [she was taking] a lot of her anger out on me.
'I was her target all the time and I was like, "I can't deal with this." Like, I respect her too much. I didn't understand it I still don't, It hurt me.'
The eight-time Grammy nominee's manager offered her to stay at his $1,700/month apartment in Los Angeles, but there was 'not enough room' for her since they both owned dogs (her 16-year-old dog Max has since passed away).
While En Vogue recently confirmed they would be heading back on the road for a European Tour, Dawn has a much less glamorous reality which she explained to fans
'So it turned into, "Okay, I'm going to put you in a hotel for the night." And that one night turned into eight months [at $3K/month]. Oh my God, you guys I was like, "No, this is unacceptable,"' Dawn scoffed.
By 2022, Robinson researched 'car life' culture and decided to give it a shot: 'I felt free. I felt like I was on a camping trip. It just felt like it was the right thing to do.'
The Connecticut-born belter spent her first night in her car in Malibu - most likely the Paradise Cove Mobile Home Park - which she called 'scary.'
'But then as I got to know what to do in my car and how to do it, like, how to cover my windows and you don't talk to certain people,' Dawn noted.
'You're careful of telling people that you're alone, as a woman especially, and I'm a celebrity [so] I don't just divulge that to people.'
Robinson immediately enjoyed 'the sense of freedom' that she felt: 'I felt like I was on a camping trip. I just felt like it was the right thing to do. I didn't regret it. You know, a lot of celebrities have lived in their cars.'
Indeed, there's a long list of celebrities who fell on hard times over the years including Hilary Swank, Jewel, Steve Harvey, Kelly Clarkson, Sam Worthington, Drew Carey, Suze Orman, and Tyler Perry.
But don't pity the lyric soprano as living in her car was a choice she needed to make to 'go through this fire' and she has her brother Evin, assistant Niecy, and 'forever mother-in-law' to lean on.
'You may have heard of something called the dark night of the soul,' Dawn explained.
'That's when you go through like a period of isolation, a period of separating yourself from family and friends, and I'm definitely I'm in the trenches of this right now. [But] I wouldn't trade my experiences and what I've gone through for the world.'
Proving she still has her sense of humor, Robinson laughed: 'Just so you guys know, I have a gym membership and I shower there. I'm a Funky Diva but I'm not funky!'
The Free Your Mind hitmaker has been proudly filming her journey for a future documentary and envisions her eventual resurgence.
'I mean society tends to look down on people for living off-grid when I tell you off grid is exactly what a lot of people are going to start doing,' said Dawn, urging her fans to do something 'scary.'
'Would I have an apartment right now if I had a choice? I would. I'm not going to lie, but am I glad that I did this. Absolutely proud of what I've accomplished out here.'
On February 16, En Vogue brought back founding member Maxine Jones - who quit in 2001 to focus on motherhood - to perform with them at the 74th NBA All-Star Game alongside Rhona Bennett (who joined in 2004), Terry Ellis, and Cindy.
En Vogue still averages 1.9M monthly listeners on Spotify, they have 26M YouTube views, and they've sold over 20M records.
The Funky Divas have had many hit songs including Hold On, Free Your Mind, Never Gonna Get It, Giving Him Something He Can Feel, Don't Let Go, and Whatta Man (feat. Salt N Pepa).
The ladies are booked and busy with their next gig happening March 28 at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, CA.
