1. A band formed in late 1999, with sound similar to Texas, Corrs, Cardigans and the Cranberrys. 2. Solo artist, formally member of the band TLC. 3. Solo artist from Latvia. Chilli, born Rozonda Ocelean Thomas, was born on February 27th, 1971 in Atlanta, Georgia . Her father, Abdul Ali, was of Arab/Indian descent and her mother, Ava Thomas, was African American. She was teased as a child for her exotic appearance. Later she would become one of People’s 50 Most Beautiful People. Her father abandoned her and her mother so she never got a chance to meet her him until 1996 on the Sally Raphael show. She also discovered she had a brother and a sister who now reside with her. Chilli did not realize that she wanted to sing until she saw Janet Jackson’s “Control” video and sung along at her job as a teen. In the late ’80s, the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins met with Pebbles (read: the wife of La Reid) and formed the group 2nd Nature. After a while the group’s name was changed to TLC, representing members Tionne, Lisa, and Crystal. Crystal was later replaced when L.A. Reid discovered Damian Dame’s dancer Rozonda Thomas. To fit the C, Rozonda was given the name Chilli, because she brought the sauce and the flavor to the group. TLC went on to release their playful debut album ‘Ooooooohhh… On the TLC Tip’ which went 3x platinum. Following the huge success of their debut album the group released the more sultry and sensual album ‘CrazySexyCool’. The album had huge hits such as “Creep”, “Waterfalls”, and “Red Light Special” and went on to sell over 11 million copies worldwide. This is still their most successful album to date. In the midst of recording their new album Chilli had a baby by her longtime boyfriend at the time, producer and friend Dallas Austin. Her son Tron was born on June 3rd, 1997. Their next album ‘FanMail’ followed in the footsteps of their other albums and spawned their huge hit led by Chilli, “No Scrubs”. The R&B single was followed with the Tionne penned pop track, “Unpretty”. The album sold more than 9 million copies worldwide and gave them their first headlining world tour. For the next few years Chilli appeared in many movies including the Nickelodeon film ‘Snow Day’ and VH1’s ‘A Diva’s Christmas Carol’… It was also rumored that she began working on a solo debut with Lenny Kravitz and 98 degrees. When TLC went to record their 4th LP they were enjoying their time together and Lisa Lopes mentioned it was like the “old days”. Unfortunately, Lisa was killed in a car accident in the Honduras where she went to cleanse her spirit. The project was going to be scrapped in favor of a mournful Greatest Hits album until Chilli and T-Boz decided they wanted to continue with the new LP. The CD, named by Lisa before she passed, was called ‘3D’ and was released in November of 2002. The CD spawned two hits, “Girl Talk” and the pop friendly “Damaged”. A year later they released their greatest hits album ‘Now and Forever’ with new tracks by Dallas Austin and Lil’ Jon. In 2004 the group started discussing a reality series to give a fan a chance to appear on a track on a re-released greatest hits album. The talks eventually evolved into the successful reality show ‘R U the Girl with T-Boz & Chilli’ on UPN. The show gave us a look into the life of Rozonda and Tionne and rapper O’ So Krispie of Atlanta went on to win the show. The track “I Bet” was recorded but eventually cut by the label. Chilli’s solo debut album ‘Bi-Polar’ was scheduled to be released in late 2008 and would have featured production from T-Pain, Akon, Battery 5, and Tricky. As of the present, there is speculation over ‘Bi-Polar’ ever seeing release, but after performing with T-Boz at a charity concert hosted by Justin Timberlake in 2009, Chilli is focused on a TLC comeback in 2010. The girls are currently planning their first tour in ten years, and are flirting with the idea of recording a new TLC album. See www.chillifan.com for more info. |
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