Compare & Contrast Thursdays

The Supremes vs. En Vogue vs. Destiny's Child

GIRLS GROUPS FROM THEN TO NOW

                                       

Today at work I was listening to En Vogue's Too Gone Too Long, then Destiny's Child's Free, then the playlist ended with the Supremes' I Hear a Symphony. With that, I figured for this compare and contrast Thursday I had to the girl groups from then to now.

The Supremes are considered to be best girl group of all time. They have 12 number one singles that include Baby Love, Where Did Our Love Go, and Love Child. They were the blueprint for many girls groups that came after them. The Supremes brought class and elegence, even through live performances they were classy. The group member included Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard. After Ballard was fired Cindy Birdsong of the Blueblues joined. Then after Diana Ross went solo Jean Terrell become the lead singer. By 1977, the group disbanded.

When I was young, my mother always played Motown around the house. During those times, she would explained to me the Motown Sound that included top-tapping, hand clapping, and tambourine. As a result, when I heard Where Did Our Love Go, I understood what she meant, because the start of the song is just hand-clapping. However, my family loved more the soulful artists such as Sam Cooke, James Brown, and Tyrone Davis. As a result, I started listening to more of the Supremes in my teenage years. As stated before, the Supremes pave the way for groups like En Vogue & Destiny's Child.

Speaking of En Vogue, these four women understood the meaning of singing, they can circles around many girl groups today. En Vogue consist of Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Dawn Robinson, and Maxine Jones. During the early 1990s, En Vogue filled that void of girl groups because during the time male groups were popular. En Vogue reminded me of the Supremes but in a 90s kind of way. This was a group that my whole family liked because they crossed all ages groups.

At 5 years old was the I first noticed En Vogue. During this time, the Desert Storm was going on. As a result, many televisions shows such as A Different World had a episode talking about the war. So this one particular episode, Darryl Bell announced that this episode will be talking about the war, then the next thing I knew these four girls came on and sung the National Anthem. Though Whitney's version was historic, En Vogue blew me away, from the beginning of Maxine's tone to the Terry's last high note. With me falling in love with music, I started to ask a lot about them. So, my mother explained who En Vogue was and they I started listening to their music, 'til this day' En Vogue is a must on my daily playlist. Songs like Hold On, You Don't Have to Worry and Never Gonna Get It(My Lovin) makes me dance now. As previously stated En Vogue made popular male groups take notice because they can SANG, dance, and look good while doing it.

Meanwhile, Destiny's Child members had to be about 9 or 10 when En Vogue became famous. During this time, Destiny's Child was called Girl Tyme with 6 members, but their manager Matthew Knowles decreased the group to 4. The girls included: his daughter Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland, Latavia Roberson, and LeToya Luckett. Finally, the group line-up included Beyonce, Kelly, and Michelle Williams until the group disbanded in 2005.

Destiny's Child debuted in 1997, with the hit No, No, No Part 2. During this time, Janet was my top artist, so I remember on Planet Groove with Rachel when Janet's video came on No, No, No by Destiny's Child would come on after. So, I never play attention until one day I decided to actually listen to the song and I actually liked it. About a month later, there next single With Me was released. I noticed that the girls sung the lyrics fast, which became a formula for the girls. The hits continued like Bills, Bills, Bills, Say My Name, Survivor, and the women's anthem Independent Woman Pt 1. These women became the world-best selling group of all time. However, in their acceptance speech they explained if it wasn't for groups like The Supremes & En Vogue, the group couldn't have existed. They gave the women before them respect.

SIMILARITES OF THE GROUPS

• They each had their own style for the their time period
• They all could sing
• They danced
• They were all beautiful in their own right
• They all had group changes
• They all have their place in history

DIFFERENCES OF THE GROUPS

• The Supremes have 12 number one hits on the HOT 100. While Destiny's Child have 4, and surprising En Vogue has none.
• En Vogue is the only group that has disbanded
• En Vogue had hits with everyone signing lead. Destiny's Child hits were normally sung my Beyonce or Kelly. The Supremes hits were sung by Diana Ross or Jean Terrell
• Destiny's Child is the only group that actually wrote and produced the songs.

MY FAVORITE OF THE THREE

My favorite of the three is En Vogue. I didn't grow up on the Supremes, but I knew their music. As far as Destiny's Child, I was a teenage by the time they came out so I learning about music, to me they didn't appeal to all age groups. For example, my grandmother only knows Destiny's Child because of Beyonce. In addition, majority of the world knows the Supremes because of Diana Ross. When you think of En Vogue you don't think about one person, you know them as a group. As a result, when one of the group members tries to go solo it doesn't work because everyone wants En Vogue not one of them. Beyonce is doing great without Destiny's Child, she knows her history but she doesn't need the group. Like Beyonce, when Diana Ross went solo she did great without the Supremes. Dawn tried from En Vogue, her career never continued. But what I loved about En Vogue was those girls had the best harmony and could sing acapella. When I heard them sing their acceptance speech, hands down they were the best in my eyes. But I am not taking anything from Destiny's Child or the Supremes because they are both great groups. To conclude my mother told me this about En Vogue that I liked, En Vogue could be relevant back in the 60s and they can be relevant now. Well said Mom.

THREE PERSONAL FAVORITES FROM THE GIRL GROUPS

The Supremes-You Keep Me Hanging On
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKQbcJyVKR0&feature=related

En Vogue-Free Your Mind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-Ri0Tk8WQI

Destiny's Child-Independent Woman Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8amAj9Tvaeg

2 REASONS WHY I THINK EN VOGUE IS THE BEST

NATIONAL ANTHEM LIVE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8amAj9Tvaeg

Acceptance Speech Acapella
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sHU2Ee8LOg&feature=related


WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GIRL GROUP???

Comment!!!!