En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones.

[10] In the late-1980s, when they were assembling their 1989 compilation project FM2 for Atlantic Records, Oakland-based production and songwriting duo Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy first conceived the idea of a modern-day girl group in the tradition of commercially successful female bands that flourished in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

[12] Approximately 3,000 women attended the auditions held in 1988,[11] with Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones making the final cut.

[13] Conceived as a trio, Foster and McElroy decided to create a quartet after hearing the audition of Terry Ellis whose plane had been late from Houston, Texas.

However, according to an article in Vibe magazine, Vandross (by his own admission in interviews) and his entourage clashed with the members of En Vogue during the tour, and he vowed never to work with them again.

En Vogue made numerous television appearances on such series as In Living Color, A Different World, Roc and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (the latter two in which they also sang the shows' theme songs).

In 1995, En Vogue was among numerous African American female vocalists featured on the song "Freedom" for the soundtrack to Mario Van Peebles's film Panther (1995).

[17] Also in 1995, while band members Cindy Herron and Maxine Jones went on maternity leave, Ellis recorded and released a solo album titled Southern Gal, which spun off the top 10 R&B single "Where Ever You Are."

Released as the soundtrack's lead single in the fall 1996, it became the group's biggest hit yet, selling over 1.8 million copies worldwide and becoming certified platinum by the RIAA.

[20] While Masterpiece Theatre and "Riddle" fared better in international territories, its poor performance resulted in the release of no further singles from the album and the band was soon dropped from the Elektra company.

[22] Cole, who felt increasingly limited vocally and creatively, decided to leave the band in favor of a solo career soon after,[23] with singer and actress Rhona Bennett joining after being recommended to Denzel Foster through a mutual friend and songwriting partner.

[27][28] That September, the band joined Salt-N-Pepa for their first joint public performance of their 1994 single "Whatta Man" at VH1 Hip Hop Honors, and briefly toured together.

[22] The quartet also collaborated with Stevie Wonder and Prince on the backing vocals and music video for "So What the Fuss" from Wonder's 2005 A Time to Love album, which received a Grammy nomination at the 48th award ceremony in 2006.

[27] En Vogue continued to perform with Ellis, Herron, Jones, and Bennett on selected spot dates in North America, Europe, and Japan.

During this time, they teamed with Flemish singer Natalia Druyts on a remix version of her song "Glamorous" which featured lead vocals by Bennett.

Released as the second single from Druyts's third studio-album Everything and More (2007), it reached number two on the Ultratop 50 of the Flemish region of Belgium and launched the six-part Natalia Meets En Vogue feat.

[30] On June 24, 2008, the original lineup of En Vogue appeared on the BET Awards, where they performed a medley with Alicia Keys, SWV and TLC as a tribute to girl groups of the 1990s.

[32] Complimented by the media, who declared their performance one of the evening's highlights, and with people buzzing about the industry return of the original band,[33] the quartet talked about being united on a permanent basis.

[34] In 2009, En Vogue along with singers Beyoncé, John Legend, and Ne-Yo, performed at the Essence Music Festival, held at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

[35] While the trio finished several songs for a new album, including promotional single "I'll Cry Later" which was sent to select urban adult contemporary radio stations on September 26, 2011,[36] the comeback stalled and Jones left the band once more.

[37] While Herron and Ellis continued to tour as En Vogue along with a rejoined Bennett,[35] Jones and Robinson added singer Shaunté Usual to their lineup.

[38] However, in 2013, Robinson chose not to begin a new group with her former band member and instead joined the cast of the TV One reality show R&B Divas: Los Angeles.

[43] In July 2014, Bennett, Ellis, and Herron signed a new contract with Pyramid Records and began work on the album Electric Café with mentors Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.

[44] In November, the trio appeared on the Lifetime holiday film An En Vogue Christmas in which they played fictional versions of themselves, reuniting to perform a benefit concert to save the nightclub where they got their start.

[51] In April 2018, En Vogue began the second leg of their European Tour in support of their seventh full-length studio album Electric Café.

[53][54][55] A blend of neo soul, pop, and contemporary R&B with electronic dance music, the trio worked with Raphael Saadiq, Dem Jointz, Curtis "Sauce" Wilson as well as regular contributors Foster & McElroy on most of the album.

[56] Electric Café received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom praised the band for their vocal performances but found the material too generic and uneven.

The trio narrowly missed out on a spot in the finale of the singing competition as they were eliminated on the week of May 4 alongside Shaggy as "Space Bunny" of Team Cuddly.

[70] In February 2025, En Vogue performed at the NBA All-Star Game 2025 halftime show alongside music acts E-40, Too Short, Saweetie and DJ Cassidy, with former member Maxine Jones rejoining the group.