The Highs and Messy Lows of R&B Group En Vogue

Back in the 1990s, when people listened to their radios, you couldn’t turn yours on without hearing a song by En Vogue. The Oakland, California girls became worldwide sensations for their sexy look and their sultry sound.

They dominated the charts with hits like “Hold On” and “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” but disputes over their bad contract led to a shakeup in the group that tore the original four members apart for good. This week, original member Dawn Robinson revealed that things took a turn for the worse for her after leaving the group, leaving her sleeping in her car for the past three years. The remaining members continue to perform together.

From their chart-topping hits to their royalty disputes and a run-in with Luther Vandross, this is the story of En Vogue.

An Idea for a Girl Group

The idea for En Vogue was born out of a vision by songwriters and producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, who were looking to create a 90s version of the legendary girl groups of the 1950s and 1960s like The Supremes and Martha and The Vandellas. Nearly 3,000 ladies showed up to the group audition. Foster and McElroy originally wanted their group to have three members, choosing Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones and Dawn Robinson. But after hearing Terry Ellis, who showed up late to the audition, after her plane was delayed in Houston, they decided to make an exception.

“Originally when they formed the group only wanted three girls, but once they heard us four singing together and the blend that the four of us had, they decided to choose four members,” Ellis told BuzzFeed in a May 2024 interview. “We were the first to have four members as well as just having a group where there are all lead singers. So that was the first time for something like that. And then after that, the rest is history.”

Getting a Deal

With the group members in place, Foster and McElroy helped them get a deal with Atlantic Records. En Vogue released their first album, “Born to Sing” in 1990. The album was a massive success, reaching number three on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart and 21 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

“Hold On”

En Vogue burst on to the scene with “Hold On,” the first hit from “Born to Sing,” which spent 25 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Even before the first beat dropped, the ladies showed everyone that they could sang, with their mic drop a cappella version of the Motown classic “Who’s Lovin’ You?” written by Smokey Robinson.

And who could forget those body-con black dresses they wore in the music video?

A Bad Deal

En Vogue had success on the charts, but the ladies weren’t seeing the benefits in their bank accounts. In a 2002 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Robinson revealed that each member got a $5,000 advance before recording the album and another $5,000 when it was done.

And their deal for royalties wasn’t much better. In 2021, Robinson shared that the members only got two cents for every album sold.

Songwriting Royalties

The ladies received songwriting credits on their first album. But when it was time to work on their second album, “Funky Divas,” things were different. The group said they were told they couldn’t write songs on the new album and wouldn’t receive any songwriting royalties. The money, instead, went to Foster and Thomas, who wrote all of the songs, according to The Daily Mail.

“My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)“

The ladies scored one of their biggest hits with 1992’s “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)“ from their “Funky Divas” album. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 charts on March 21, 1992, where it spent 30 weeks, peaking at number 2.

Help From Hammer

As the group tried to deal with their bad record deal, they got some advice from another hit-making artist – MC Hammer. In a 2022 interview with The Jasmine Brand, Dawn Robinson said the “Can’t Touch This” rapper paid for the group to have an attorney for a day to sort out any questions they had about their contract.

“MC Hammer was like, ‘Okay you guys are the biggest things on the charts right now and you’re making two cents a record, there’s something wrong with this picture,’” she said. “Because to him it didn’t make any sense that we were the biggest things on the charts but we were making such little money. That blew him away.”

That Time With Luther

The group thought they had scored the opportunity of a lifetime in 1993 when they were invited to go on tour with Luther Vandross, but they realized that everything isn’t always what it seems when the R&B singer put some strange demands in place.

According to Dawn Robinson, Luther insisted the group not wear anything on stage that was too flashy or any of the same colors that his band wore. He even called the police on the group during one tour stop for walking past his dressing room door.

“He didn’t like us very much,” Dawn Robinson said in a 2021 interview with The Jasmine Brand.

“Whatta Man”

In 1994, En Vogue teamed up with legendary rappers Salt-N-Pepa for the ultimate display of girl power with their hit song, “Whatta Man.” The song spent 29 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, peaking at number 3.

Mixing up Members

Since their 1990 debut, En Vogue has had plenty of shakeup within their ranks as members have left (and returned to) the group.

Dawn Robinson left the first time in 1997, just before En Vogue dropped their third album EV3. Another shakeup happened in 2001, when Maxine Jones left the group and was replaced by Amanda Cole. Cole left two years later and was replaced by Rhona Bennett.

The original four En Vogue members got together again in 2005, but Robinson and Jones ultimately left the group for good and was replaced by Rhona Bennett.

Lucy Pearl

After leaving En Vogue, Robinson found a home with Lucy Pearl, a trio she formed with Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest and Raphael Saadiq of Tony! Toni! Tone!. The group is best known for their 2000 hit, “Dance Tonight.”

“The Masked Singer”

In 2022, En Vogue participated as contestants on season 7 of the hit singing series “The Masked Singer.” The ladies revealed themselves to a shocked audience and panel of judges during episode 9. Cindy Herron-Braggs told PEOPLE that the ladies were grateful to be performing on stage together after the COVID pandemic.

“During the pandemic, it honestly felt like live performance was never going to make a comeback,” she said. “It felt like everything’s going to be virtual from here on out. So we’re really grateful to be able to get back out there and be live on stage and have our fans come out and support us. We still love performing and doing what we love to do.”

Dawn’s Confession

On March 12, 2025, Dawn Robinson shared an update on her YouTube channel that left fans of the group shocked – after years of financial setbacks, she’s been living in her car since 2022.

“For the past three, almost three years I have been living in my car,” she said. “I said it. Oh my God it’s out!”

In her video, Robinson said she is proud of her ability to survive on her own and isn’t looking for pity.

“I’m glad that I made this choice because I needed to go through this fire,” she said.

Jermaine Dupri Reacts and Dawn Claps Back

Dawn Robinson probably expected a lot of online reaction to the news she was living in her car. But she had no idea that rapper-producer Jermaine Dupri would add his two cents to the conversation. On an Instagram Live post, he questioned Robinson’s decision, wondering how she could have an assistant if she’s living in her car.

Dawn responded by telling Angela Yee in an interview that she felt attacked by Dupri’s comments, wondering why he would give his two cents when the two barely know each other.

“I remember being around but not directly meeting him. So I don’t even think we said hello and shook hands or gave a hug. So I was shocked,” she said. “Usually artist to artist…we don’t attack each other like that. You would swear that he knows me directly. Like he knows my story. Where you coming from? It was a shock but some people have to just be negative.”

The Future

Despite their challenges, fans want to “Hold On” to En Vogue. Cindy Herron-Braggs told BuzzFeed in 2024, that the current trio plans to keep performing and is ready to record new music.

“Our short-term plan is to continue doing live shows and touring, but we also want to get back into the recording studio,” Cindy told BuzzFeed in 2024. We’re not sure if we would record a whole album just because of the way the things are and the way that artists release music now, but it might be an EP. It’s just a matter of finding the right song and music that we all agree on.

When asked about the possibility of a reunion with the original members, Dawn Robinson told You Know You Got Soul in 2020 that she’d be open to it – as long as Rhona isn’t there.

“I won’t say never. My problem is Rhona being there,” she said. “I think she’s great, she has never done anything to me, she’s not a bad person at all. I do know that she needs to step back if we are going to do a reunion at all. It just needs to be the four of us.”