Better Group: TLC vs Spice Girls

[SharkmanthaC 114,698]

49 minutes ago, Trillion Reasons said:

Who are TLC? I don't know them. 

However, Spice Girls have this annoying song called Wannabe... Can we get "None" option please? 

I was so confused.  I thought you were @TeenIdle with that avi. 

[FFXSoul91 1,099]

This is really hard for me because I love and have such nostalgia for both. 

[HookerOnAChurch 6,799]

Spice Girls without any doubt. 

[Bubblegum Bitch 18,934]

4 minutes ago, SamanthaC said:

I was so confused.  I thought you were @TeenIdle with that avi. 

Teen Idle is one of my favorite songs by Marina. 

[Dayman 6,191]

They are extremely different in every way possible. But I would say The Spice Girls if anything. They had more versatility and reach heights only seen previously by The Beatles with how world conquering they were at the time. Wannabe in the main post really sets them up to a disadvantage against TLC though - it's easily their most child like song and harder to take seriously. These are better representations imo to show what their range truly was when writing and performing.

 

[half psychotic 79]

Both great groups but I have to give it to TLC.

[Taide 5,789]

I'll go with the group that shaped the 90's rnb landscape and left marks in the industry, no other girl group has seen since then. In Beyonce's own words:

''TLC has influenced just about every female group that's out there now, and they definitely influenced Destiny's Child.''

Spoiler

 

 

[vertigostick 2,518]

Spice Girls.

[JustJames 1,042]

13 minutes ago, Dayman said:

They are extremely different in every way possible. But I would say The Spice Girls if anything. They had more versatility and reach heights only seen previously by The Beatles with how world conquering they were at the time. Wannabe in the main post really sets them up to a disadvantage against TLC though - it's easily their most child like song and harder to take seriously. These are better representations imo to show what their range truly was when writing and performing

 

I can understand 'liking' the Spice Girls more than TLC, or even looking back now with hindsight as bias and preferring their music, seeing the worldwide success they achieved, etc., and concluding they were the superior group. You can't deny that breaking into the U.S. market is not easy easy for an international act, and to do so as an all-girl group with such a defined brand was a risk and adds a lot to their accomplishments. But, everything the Spice Girls were able to achieve happened only because:

1. The late 90s was a renaissance for pop music; I shouldn't need to get into the Britneys, Christinas, and BSBs of the era, but a quick look at the top 100 songs of 1998/99 as a sample should give you an indication that there was a market for what the Spice Girls were serving: bubblegum, dancey, fun, wide appeal age-wise, etc. "C'est La Vie" by Bewitched, an Irish girl group, was a mainstay of pop radio during the time. Again, that isn't intentional shade at Bewitched or Spice Girls, but their music was reactive.

2. The 90s, and the .com boom as an example, were all about excess; brands began their domination and combining music acts into that was new and allowed them to reach larger markets and earn more recognition as a result. 5 years earlier, and there would have never been a Spice World movie; likely, the identities - each a very calculated branded image - would not have existed. Does anyone think Britney's Pepsi commercial, From Justin to Kelly (American Idol film), etc., would have been such moments in 1995?

3. Once the Spice Girls stopped producing new and relevant music, the acts failed as solo artists. To this day, people crave a reunion tour, etc., for nostalgia, and are little invested in the individual music the girls put out.

TLC: Trendsetters

On the other hand, TLC worked AGAINST the tide their entire career. It's amazing to me just how short that career was, but that only shows the power of their influence when they only released 4 albums between 1991 and 2002, the final one coming after the death of Lefteye. Everything was inspired from the sounds they explored, to the lyrics in which they exposed messages nobody was dealing with, to the visuals of their eras. 

1. POP+HIP-HOP=GOLD: Remember how Pop Music/Top 40 radio transformed over time, but culminated around 10 years ago, to be dominated by R&B influences and hit after hit that blended rap with vocals? TLC was a smooth, R&B vocalist + a raspy, more hip-hop oriented lead + a powerful female rapper. In 1 group. In the 1990s. In 1995 *and* 2000, they had songs nom'd in both Pop and R&B.

2. GAY BEFORE IT WAS COOL: Remember how Gaga said a lot of rappers wouldn't touch her because she was 'too gay'? Do you realize how groundbreaking it was for this group described above to put out a track like Waterfalls in 1994? With an entire verse dedicated to AIDS? With a MV that took visuals to a new level?

3. SELF-LOVING IN 1999: Remember Lizzo and the self-love movement? Do you understand the bravery it took for TLC to speak out against the machine that bankrupted them, to put out a song like Unpretty in 1999 with a music video focused on seeing beauty in yourself?

TLC was revolutionary. That they were able to breakthrough when they did, as successfully as they did, despite so many barriers, is something music fans should be thankful for. I can't help but wonder how much more we could and should have gotten from them, though, had the music landscape been more open to what they were offering, had the right teams in place to manage them and release the right singles and promo, and stayed safe/together.

They released 2 albums, one in 1994 and another in 1999/2000 - two VERY different environments - and scored two #1 songs on each, two Grammy awards for each, three ROTY/SOTY nominated songs, 6 Grammy nominated songs in total... 

CrazySexyCool

1. Amazing run with #1 Creep, #1 Waterfalls, #2 Red Light Special, and #5 Diggin' On You -- such diversity and the 1st three were really deep songs with great messages. 

2. Won R&B Album and Song (Creep); robbed of an AOTY nomination, and a BMV win (Waterfalls).

FanMail

1. Amazing comeback so many years and issues later with #1 No Scrubs and #1 Unpretty. Unfortunately, the music industry wasn't accepting of the lyrics contained in their other songs, that would slay nowadays. 

2. 8 Grammy nominations - which is AMAZING. Again, wins for R&B Album, Song and Performance (No Scrubs); robbed of AOTY, BPDuo/Group (Unpretty), and BMV (Unpretty).

3D

1. Considering the circumstances, they delivered a pretty solid comeback album with 3D. Their songs failed to deliver commercially because, like FanMail, they were too explicit for radio/mainstream. Damaged, the 3rd single, was the most commercially viable, and was able to chart despite the first two underwhelming. Hands Up, the 2nd single, didn't even chart, and was a miss IMO, but the lead Girl Talk was fabulous in the uncensored version. Knowing the limitations, though, something safer should've been chosen. Damaged, Turntables (Tables Turn?), and Girl Talk were all great.

2. Two Grammy noms in a row for Girl Talk and Hands Up, robbed of winning the first IMO.

[Dayman 6,191]

3 minutes ago, JustJames said:

 

I can understand 'liking' the Spice Girls more than TLC, or even looking back now with hindsight as bias and preferring their music, seeing the worldwide success they achieved, etc., and concluding they were the superior group. You can't deny that breaking into the U.S. market is not easy easy for an international act, and to do so as an all-girl group with such a defined brand was a risk and adds a lot to their accomplishments. But, everything the Spice Girls were able to achieve happened only because:

1. The late 90s was a renaissance for pop music; I shouldn't need to get into the Britneys, Christinas, and BSBs of the era, but a quick look at the top 100 songs of 1998/99 as a sample should give you an indication that there was a market for what the Spice Girls were serving: bubblegum, dancey, fun, wide appeal age-wise, etc. "C'est La Vie" by Bewitched, an Irish girl group, was a mainstay of pop radio during the time. Again, that isn't intentional shade at Bewitched or Spice Girls, but their music was reactive.

2. The 90s, and the .com boom as an example, were all about excess; brands began their domination and combining music acts into that was new and allowed them to reach larger markets and earn more recognition as a result. 5 years earlier, and there would have never been a Spice World movie; likely, the identities - each a very calculated branded image - would not have existed. Does anyone think Britney's Pepsi commercial, From Justin to Kelly (American Idol film), etc., would have been such moments in 1995?

3. Once the Spice Girls stopped producing new and relevant music, the acts failed as solo artists. To this day, people crave a reunion tour, etc., for nostalgia, and are little invested in the individual music the girls put out.

TLC: Trendsetters

On the other hand, TLC worked AGAINST the tide their entire career. It's amazing to me just how short that career was, but that only shows the power of their influence when they only released 4 albums between 1991 and 2002, the final one coming after the death of Lefteye. Everything was inspired from the sounds they explored, to the lyrics in which they exposed messages nobody was dealing with, to the visuals of their eras. 

1. POP+HIP-HOP=GOLD: Remember how Pop Music/Top 40 radio transformed over time, but culminated around 10 years ago, to be dominated by R&B influences and hit after hit that blended rap with vocals? TLC was a smooth, R&B vocalist + a raspy, more hip-hop oriented lead + a powerful female rapper. In 1 group. In the 1990s. In 1995 *and* 2000, they had songs nom'd in both Pop and R&B.

2. GAY BEFORE IT WAS COOL: Remember how Gaga said a lot of rappers wouldn't touch her because she was 'too gay'? Do you realize how groundbreaking it was for this group described above to put out a track like Waterfalls in 1994? With an entire verse dedicated to AIDS? With a MV that took visuals to a new level?

3. SELF-LOVING IN 1999: Remember Lizzo and the self-love movement? Do you understand the bravery it took for TLC to speak out against the machine that bankrupted them, to put out a song like Unpretty in 1999 with a music video focused on seeing beauty in yourself?

TLC was revolutionary. That they were able to breakthrough when they did, as successfully as they did, despite so many barriers, is something music fans should be thankful for. I can't help but wonder how much more we could and should have gotten from them, though, had the music landscape been more open to what they were offering, had the right teams in place to manage them and release the right singles and promo, and stayed safe/together.

They released 2 albums, one in 1994 and another in 1999/2000 - two VERY different environments - and scored two #1 songs on each, two Grammy awards for each, three ROTY/SOTY nominated songs, 6 Grammy nominated songs in total... 

CrazySexyCool

1. Amazing run with #1 Creep, #1 Waterfalls, #2 Red Light Special, and #5 Diggin' On You -- such diversity and the 1st three were really deep songs with great messages. 

2. Won R&B Album and Song (Creep); robbed of an AOTY nomination, and a BMV win (Waterfalls).

FanMail

1. Amazing comeback so many years and issues later with #1 No Scrubs and #1 Unpretty. Unfortunately, the music industry wasn't accepting of the lyrics contained in their other songs, that would slay nowadays. 

2. 8 Grammy nominations - which is AMAZING. Again, wins for R&B Album, Song and Performance (No Scrubs); robbed of AOTY, BPDuo/Group (Unpretty), and BMV (Unpretty).

3D

1. Considering the circumstances, they delivered a pretty solid comeback album with 3D. Their songs failed to deliver commercially because, like FanMail, they were too explicit for radio/mainstream. Damaged, the 3rd single, was the most commercially viable, and was able to chart despite the first two underwhelming. Hands Up, the 2nd single, didn't even chart, and was a miss IMO, but the lead Girl Talk was fabulous in the uncensored version. Knowing the limitations, though, something safer should've been chosen. Damaged, Turntables (Tables Turn?), and Girl Talk were all great.

2. Two Grammy noms in a row for Girl Talk and Hands Up, robbed of winning the first IMO.

   I'm not saying anything to discredit TLC. But gotta talk about the fact that points 2 and 3 and even 1 to an extent all apply to The Spice Girls as well.

   On point 1 they literally attempt RnB and Hip-Hop tracks but with a pop approach and a lot of their fundamental sound on Spice is really grounded in that sound, it's RnB, but they do it just wrong enough to make it more Pop sided. The instrumentals productions it becomes much more evident.

   Point 2 and 3 The Spice Girls and TLC overlapped MAJORLY on the Gay before it was cool AND self empowerment. They always talked about Girl Power and what it meant for them and how it was about empowering yourself - yes especially the young girls, but also the boys too. They always made it a point to say yes it's "Girl Power" but that doesn't mean you have to BE a girl to find that empowerment in yourself.

   Then you have "2 Become 1" their third single released and it has a strong message of safe sex - plus it even had it's lyrics changed for the single release. On the album the lyric is "Any deal that we endeavor boys and girls feel good together..." was changed to "One again if we endeavor, love will bring us back together..." specifically because they wanted to be more inclusive towards anyone that was gay and the video itself even features a same sex couple in it. While that is the most on the nose example it was not an odd sight from them.

   I don't think it's fair to say they failed as solo artists either - they actually all had quite decent success. Geri and Mel C being the biggest contenders though. Geri scored multiple number 1 hits under her belt solo! Mel C had a HUGE hit with "I Turn To You" AND "Never Be the Same Again" WITH Left Eye! Mel C shifted away from the top 40 Pop sound and really chased her direction though unlike Geri.

   And once again it is worth noting, The Spice Girls did write all their songs, worked on coming up with the choreography, most of their video concepts and were very hands on in every aspect that made them successful. Wannabe is what they get branded for, but they were so much more than that. Them and TLC were truly on the same wave length for their careers and where they stood on issues and how they performed and created. To me the only big difference - other than visual style - is the larger range of diverse genres in 2 albums alone, and they were all really well done songs honestly. So that's why for me I put TLC and The Spice Girls on the same shelf talent wise, but I place The Spice Girls higher for what I like because I think musically they were more rounded in their influences and it made for more exciting albums that feel more like a tour of what these 5 girls loved individually - but also how they made their influences work together somehow - at least that's how it is for me.