It's hard to believe, but 12 years ago today, on February 23, 1999
TLC released their third studio album, FanMail which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart and sold over 11 million copies in the U.S. and had two #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, "No Scrubs" and "Unpretty". It won two Grammy Awards (7 nominations) one VMA (6 nominations) one American Music Award for Favorite Band, Duo or Group – Soul/Rhythm & Blues, 2 Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards (including the Aretha Franklin Award for Entertainer of the Year), and two Soul Train Music Awards. It also landed them as the #7 most successful pop act of the 90's in Billboard's final copy of 1999. Late 1999, early 2000 TLC went on a worldwide tour, and had a PayPerView special of their tour which at the time became PayPerView's highest grossing televised special. The tour went on to gross more than $72.8 million dollars according to Billboard which became the highest grossing tour by a female group.
READ MORE ABOUT THIS ALBUM AFTER THE JUMP!
Production, Title and Theme
After a lengthy hiatus following the members of TLC filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 3, 1995, TLC eventually entered recording studios in 1998 to start work on their then-untitled third album with producer Dallas Austin. While Austin contributed the most to the album and moreover served as its executive producer, TLC also worked with producers Antonio M. Reid and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. The album was scheduled for release on November 10, 1998 but was pushed back to February 23, 1999.
The album title was a tribute to TLC's fans after the group's lengthy hiatus. The title came from group member Lisa Lopes, who also coined the group's first two album titles, Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip and CrazySexyCool.
The album took on a new world, futuristic type, style, which was highly popular in the late 90s to early 2000's. This style was effectively portrayed in the albums most popular song "No Scrubs", along with the music video, which embraces a modern emphasis on female strength, and independence. The album also featured a custom font design, cover art with decode-able binary code, along with pictures of the group members in metallic skin tones. The album's CD insert folds out to form a large poster featuring a picture of TLC and the names of thousands of people who sent them fanmail along their career. A limited edition of the album was released, and had an insert with a lenticular version of the cover placed in front of the original booklet in the jewel case. The album contained several tracks featuring vocals by the computer modulated voice Vic-E (vikki), a talking android later featured in the FanMail Tour.
Critical response
Fanmail was a Grammy Award-nominee for "Album of the Year", Reception for the album was positive. While professional reviewers saw "the performances and productions were utterly seamless", the album was praised for the album idea of "requisite slew of formulaic, queasy-listening ballads" and the growth of the group's "the very stuff of R&B — sweat, soul, heat" in their voice. By contrast, Rolling Stone Magazine declared Fanmail as "equal parts steely bitch and sweet sister, superfreak and misty romantic, self-centered coffee achiever and spiritualized earth mama."
Commercial performance
However, TLC's third album became a global success. Fanmail debuted on top of the U.S. Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart. The album remained atop the chart for five weeks, it eventually received a 6x platinum certification by the RIAA with selling over 5.3 million copies domestically, and over eleven million worldwide. While the album entered the top twenty on the majority of the charts it appeared on oustide the United States, it also reached the top ten in New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Although "Silly Ho", was considered to be released as a single at times, Fanmail spawned four singles: The album's lead single, "No Scrubs", became TLC's biggest commercial successes in years, topping the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks charts with spending four consecutive weeks on top. It was eventually ranked two on the Hot 100 1999 year-end charts. Follow-up single "Unpretty" received the same success on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 but reached number four on the "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks" chart. The follow-up single, "Dear Lie" never made it out of the lower half of the Billboard Hot 100. Lisa Lopes wrote 5 of the songs (overall 6 including "I Need That").
Track listing
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "FanMail" Dallas Austin Cyptron 4:00
2. "The Vic-E Interpretation - Interlude" Austin Cyptron 0:18
3. "Silly Ho" Austin Cyptron 4:15
4. "Whispering Playa - Interlude" Austin, Marshall Lorenzo Martin Dallas Austin 0:52
5. "No Scrubs" Kevin "Shekspere" Briggs, Kandi Burruss, Tameka Cottle Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs 3:34
6. "I'm Good at Being Bad" James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Tony Tolbert, Tionne Watkins, Lisa Lopes, Martin, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Belotte, Donna Summer, Morris Dickerson, Charles Miller, Sylvester Allen, Harold Brown, Howard Scott, Lee Oskar, Leroy Jordan Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis 5:39 / 4:38
7. "If They Knew" Austin, Ricciano Lumpkins, Lopes, Martin, Watkins Austin, Lumpkins 4:04
8. "I Miss You So Much" Babyface, Daryl Simmons Babyface, Simmons 4:59
9. "Unpretty" Austin, Watkins Austin 4:39
10. "My Life" Jermaine Dupri, Tamara Savage, Lopes, Martin Dupri (Co-produced by Carl So Lowe) 4:01
11. "Shout" Austin, Lopes, Martin, Watkins Austin 3:59
12. "Come On Down" Diane Warren Debra Killings, Austin 4:18
13. "Dear Lie" Babyface, Watkins Babyface 5:10
14. "Communicate - Interlude" Austin Austin 0:51
15. "Lovesick" Austin, Rozonda Thomas Austin 3:53
16. "Automatic" Austin Austin 4:31
17. "Don't Pull Out on Me Yet" Austin Austin 4:33
Japanese bonus tracks
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
18. "U in Me" Austin Austin 3:50
Known outtakes
"I Need That" - 3:52
Released online by TLC as an album preview. Did not make final tracklisting. Produced by Ricciano Lumpkins for PWPX, LLC. Written by R. Lumpkins, L. Lopes, and S. Chunn
"Let's Just Do It" - 4:47
Recorded by Left Eye with T-Boz on backing vocals. Remixed and released as lead single of Left Eye's 2009 posthumous album Eye Legacy.
Main personnel
Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes - Vocals,Rapping
Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas - Vocals, Lead Vocals
Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins - Vocals, Lead Vocals
Dallas Austin - Arranger, Vocals, Producer, Executive Producer
Babyface - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Drum Programming, Executive Producer
Jermaine Dupri - Producer, Mixing
Debra Killings - Background Vocals
Ricciano "Ricco" Lumpkins-Producer, Engineer, Keyboards, Drum Programming
Charts and certification
These are the peak positions and certifications from chart providers.
Chart (1999) Provider Peak
position Certification
New Zealand Albums Chart RIANZ 6
UK Albums Chart BPI 7 Platinum
U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 1 6x Platinum
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 1
[edit]End of decade charts
Chart (1990-1999) Position
U.S. Billboard 200[4] 84
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