The Funky Rankdown of Soul: En Vogue (Complete!)

[bat1990]

We now cross the 200 point threshold!!

[bat1990]

#9: Ooh Boy


Stats
Points: 203
Average: 18.455
Std Dev: 7.488

Lead Vocals
Terry, Rhona

Charts
US R&B - 101
US Adult R&B - 17

History & Tidbits
The second and final single from Soul Flower, neo-soul jam "Ooh Boy." It's a funky uptempo that's different from the bombastic, usually angry, pop-crossover/rock-tinged R&B for which En Vogue is known. It's a fun little number about being head over heels in love with a good lover. The song however only made a little bit more of an impact that predecessor "Losin' My Mind"'s DOA.

Host Opinion
We have lost our next #1 and it is mine........
I don't remember exactly when I first heard this song in '04, but I fell in love with it. It gets stuck in my head and is so smooth and fun without being trite that I can't get enough. I'm glad enough of you appreciate this song too that it could make the Top 10, because I feared the gem that is Soul Flower would lose out on having any recognition because of it's sadly limited success. [It did not even crack the Billboard 200. ]

Participant Rankings
bat1990 - 1
aerodynamite - 2
SHOOTER - 6
Ginger Spice - 6
castleoblivion26 - 13
divasummer - 16
@quirkyfarang - 17
Ky - 18
Zinc. - 18
@antigonerising - 18

Shame Box
Hashtag Pow - 23


Viewers
Coco Unbridled
T.B.F.
Who The Hell Is Leo?✔

[bat1990]

#8: Giving Him Something He Can Feel


Stats
Points: 222
Average: 20.182
Std Dev: 6.178

Lead Vocals
Dawn

Charts
US - 6
US R&B - 1
UK - 16
Ireland - 23
Germany - 46
Netherlands - 45
Australia - 84
New Zealand - 2

History & Tidbits
We have a large jump in points for #8 - it is also the first song with no rankings in the bottom 10. A modern take on an Aretha classic, "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" was the second single from Funky Divas. The video featured the girls in now iconic red dresses with black arm-length gloves performing for men on stage.

Host Opinion
While not a super favorite of mine, I appreciate it for what it is. Dawn has my favorite voice of everyone and her voice on this is just sublime. That said, I don't usually seek it out and sometimes skip it, but it's a smooth and easy listen when I give it a spin. The video was also sexy as hell, and I say that as a man only attracted to men.

Participant Rankings
Hashtag Pow - 4
divasummer - 4
Ky - 5
Zinc. - 6
@antigonerising - 7
SHOOTER - 8
castleoblivion26 - 11
@quirkyfarang - 15
bat1990 - 15
Ginger Spice - 17
aerodynamite - 18

Viewers
Coco Unbridled
T.B.F.
Who The Hell Is Leo?✔

[bat1990]

#7: Whatta Man
Salt-n-Pepa w/ En Vogue


Stats
Points: 231
Average: 21.000
Std Dev: 8.402

Lead Vocals
Salt, Pepa, Maxine, Dawn, Terry

Charts
US - 3
US R&B - 3
Europe - 18
UK - 7
Ireland - 12
Germany - 39
Austria - 27
Sweden - 37
France - 28
Belgium - 34
Netherlands - 15
Australia - 2
New Zealand - 10

History & Tidbits
A song made in early 90s heaven! The two most recognizable girl groups at the time collaborating on a catchy song that has become a classic used around the world to this day! The song was originally released by Linda Lydell in 1968 as "What a Man" to little success. However, Salt-n-Pepa reworked it into a hip hop song with new verses for En Vogue's EP Runaway Loveand later included it on their album Very Necessary.

Host Opinion
A classic! There's not much to say. You can sing the hook anywhere and people will answer or at least recognize it.

The song would've inched a spot or two higher if it were not for one very low ranking...5, 6, and 7 were within 3 points of each other.
Several Top 3 rankings take a hit including another #1!!!

Participant Rankings
castleoblivion26 - 1
Ginger Spice - 2
Hashtag Pow - 3
Ky - 3
aerodynamite - 6
divasummer - 8
bat1990 - 14
SHOOTER - 14
@antigonerising - 15
Zinc. - 15
@quirkyfarang - 29

Viewers
Coco Unbridled
T.B.F.
Who The Hell Is Leo?✔

[Who The Hell Is Leo?✔]

I heard whatta man yesterday and I enjoyed a lot ! Great to see it can reach #7

[bat1990]

#6: Whatever


Stats
Points: 233
Average: 21.182
Std Dev: 7.167

Lead Vocals
Cindy, Terry, Maxine

Charts
US - 16
US R&B - 8
US Dance - 5
Europe - 95
UK - 14
Germany - 92
France - 12
Flanders - Tip: 17 (like the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart)
Netherlands - 63
Australia - 77
New Zealand - 24

History & Tidbits
The "lead" single from EV3 (since "Don't Let Go (Love)" was from the Set It Off soundtrack). "Whatever" is creepy mid-tempo about being hypnotized by one's strong desire for a lover. The video is set in a plastic surgery operating room out of a horror movie and features the girls in chalky, zombie-like make-up and in various states of procedure. It was the first song since's Dawn's departure and a unique choice for a single. However, the chart performance was a bit disappointing given how well "Don't Let Go (Love)" had performed globally.

Tidbit: Dawn's voice is on some remixes. I guess they had to send out the original vocals to get the remixes done on time and couldn't re-record on the same schedule. Terry's ad-libs of "What-eh-ee-eh-ee-eh-ee-eh-ee-ever" toward the end of the song were done by Dawn originally. Check out the Mousse T Remix to hear.

Host Opinion
A unique song for it's creepiness, I have loved it since the first time I heard it. It points to their genre-hopping strengths and the video is simply a work of art. I actually bought the song on iTunes when I got into them just from watching the video in pre-YouTube days.

Participant Rankings
@antigonerising - 3
@quirkyfarang - 4
Ky - 4
Ginger Spice - 5
Hashtag Pow - 6
bat1990 - 8
Zinc. - 8
SHOOTER - 10
divasummer - 13

Shame Box
castleoblivion26 - 21
aerodynamite - 25

Viewers
Coco Unbridled
T.B.F.
Who The Hell Is Leo?✔

[Deleted]

I should have ranked Riddle higher and I'm not really sure why I didn't. Nonetheless I'm happy to see it made top 10 despite my little brain fart

Ooh Boy is really cute, it just couldn't edge ahead of other, stronger songs IMO. lmao at the shame box, that was cold.

Giving Him Something He Can Feel - a classic! Not much else to say.

Whatta Man - objectively also a classic, but admittedly I was never quite as into this song as most other people were. I remember it having a high burn rate for me back in the day and even now I would have to be in a certain mood to listen to it.

Whatever is the smash that should have been I effing LOVE this song! It was a strong contender for my #1, but ultimately lost out to two admittedly more predictable choices.

[bat1990]

Album Cut #1 (tie): Ez-A-Lee and Right Direction


Stats
Points: 8

Lead Vocals
Ez-a-Lee: Rhona
RIght Direction: Terry, Maxine, Cindy


History & Tidbits
"Ez-a-Lee" is the track between the singles on Soul Flower. It is an R&B/Hip Hop song about being an independent woman who can easily get rid of a lover and find another - a precursor to Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" if you will. [That's for another time and place - DC paralleling En Vogue in certain ways.] Interestingly it was not written or produced by Foster & McElroy.

"Right Direction" is the third track on EV3. It is a country-inspired mid-tempo featuring all three girls on lead - chugging forward like an ancestor of GaGa's "Yoü and I." It was a major stylistic departure for the group.


Host Opinion
"Ez-a-Lee" was my number one so of course I love it! It's a unique track that thunders along with a strong sense of being in control. I love Rhona's performance and think it should've been a single.

I must admit I was not familiar with "Right Direction" but the girls pull off the style change very well! I'm glad it ranked here so I got the chance to hear it and I might have included it if I were more familiar with EV3.


Participant Rankings
bat1990 - 1 "Ez-a-Lee"
Ky - 3 "Right Direction"
SHOOTER - 1 "Right Direction;" 3 "Ez-a-Lee"

aerodynamite
Zinc.
@quirkyfarang
@antigonerising
Ginger Spice
castleoblivion26
Hashtag Pow
divasummer

Viewers
Coco Unbridled
T.B.F.
Who The Hell Is Leo?✔

[bat1990]

#5: Too Gone, Too Long


Stats
Points: 234
Average: 21.273
Std Dev: 6.635

Lead Vocals
Cindy, Terry, Maxine

Charts
US - 33
US R&B - 25
UK - 20
Netherlands - 45
New Zealand - 39

History & Tidbits
"Too Gone, Too Long" is a Diane Warren-penned power ballad about female empowerment. A precursor to the barbs of Whitney's "I Learned From The Best," it deals with a lover who did the speaker(s) wrong and wants to try again, only to be rejected. Featuring Warren's wordy quirks, the girls give an epic vocal performance with dizzying heights of harmony at full belt. The video is another gem in their videography including the shattering of glass solely with their voices at the climax of the song. A mystery for the ages: are some of the ad-libs on the outro from Dawn or just Terry? The world will never know.

Fun Game: Listen through EV3 and try to pin-point Dawn's backing vocals.

Host Opinion
I was floored when this outranked much bigger hits like "Whatta Man," GHSHCF, "Whatever," and "Give It Up, Turn It Loose" and made Top 5. The love for EV3 is strong in this rankdown.
I actually did not recognize this as a Diane Warren song when I first heard it. I could tell once I knew, but Diane kept her usual quirks to a minimum while serving a power anthem. Not much else to say here except I wish it fared better in the charts.

Participant Rankings
@quirkyfarang - 2
SHOOTER - 5
@antigonerising - 5
divasummer - 6
Ginger Spice - 8
bat1990 - 9
Zinc. - 9
Hashtag Pow - 10
Ky - 10
castleoblivion26 - 17
aerodynamite - 26

Viewers
Coco Unbridled
T.B.F.
Who The Hell Is Leo?✔

[bat1990]

NOTE: I decided to go all the way to #4 because the Top 3 scored so many more points than the rest.
Nearly 40 points separates 4 & 3!!

#4: Hold On


Stats
Points: 245
Average: 22.273
Std Dev: 6.930

Lead Vocals
Terry (intro), Cindy

Charts
US - 2
US R&B - 1
US Dance - 1
Europe - 15
UK - 5
Ireland - 18
Netherlands - 10
Australia - 64
New Zealand - 5

History & Tidbits
En Vogue is unleashed upon the world with this aggressive slice of early 90s R&B. The song opens with a rendition of "Who's Lovin' You" lead by Terry, followed by a Cindy lead imploring women to hold on to their love and not let their behavior drive a man away, giving examples from her own experience. The video showed the girls in slinky black dresses and immediately put En Vogue on the map as high fashion to look out for in the early 90s.

Host Opinion
The "Who's Lovin' You" sample really makes the song for me as well as the infection hook. I had the pleasure of seeing them live a few years ago and Terry can still do the intro as well as she did on record. An early 90s classic that, while dated to that period, is still a fantastic listen.

Participant Rankings
Zinc. - 1
divasummer - 1
@antigonerising - 4
Hashtag Pow - 5
SHOOTER - 7
@quirkyfarang - 8
Ginger Spice - 9
bat1990 - 10
aerodynamite - 10
Ky - 16
castleoblivion26 - 25


Viewers
Coco Unbridled
T.B.F.
Who The Hell Is Leo?✔

[bat1990]

You know what, let's do #3 - I have the time. And this way you can all engage in The Great Debate about the final two...

#3: Free Your Mind


Stats
Points: 283
Average: 25.727
Std Dev: 3.101 - The lowest standard deviation of the game! Apparently we're all in agreement about how great this song is.

Lead Vocals
Cindy, Dawn, Terry, Maxine

Charts
US - 8
US R&B - 23
US Dance - 39
Europe - 38
UK - 16
Ireland - 23
Switzerland - 29
Belgium - 37
Netherlands - 15
Australia - 39
New Zealand - 12

History & Tidbits
The third single from Funky Divas, "Free Your Mind" is a rock song calling out stereotypes about black women. It also calls for people to "free [their] minds" so the rest of the progress toward equality and acceptance will follow. It was a rare departure for the group whose subject matter largely focused on romantic relationships. The music video is their most iconic, featuring the girls as fashion models fed up with the stereotypes placed upon them. It was a great moment in female empowerment at a time when the feminist movement was still working to gain traction (compared to today) as well as a feat of genre hopping, touching on Pop, Rock, R&B, and Dance.

Host Opinion
Slays me every time. The epitome of all En Vogue songs - perfectly encapsulates their sense of style and what they stand for as aritsts.

Interestingly, no one ranked this as #1. Only 1 person did not include it in their Top 10...

Participant Rankings
SHOOTER - 2
bat1990 - 3
@quirkyfarang - 3
castleoblivion26 - 3
divasummer - 3
aerodynamite - 4
Zinc. - 5
Ginger Spice - 7
Hashtag Pow - 8
@antigonerising - 8
Ky - 12

Viewers
Coco Unbridled
T.B.F.
Who The Hell Is Leo?✔

[bat1990]

Here we are...the final 2. My Lovin' and Don't Let Go.

Both peaked at #2 in the United States for the same number of weeks. Both have the same number of #1 ranking in this game.

These are their two biggest hits globally as well, though they are very different. One is a pop-oriented down-tempo about working to keep a relationship while the other is a funky R&B jam about a lover who can't get back in. The songs and videos could not be more different, yet here we are.

What do you think? Which one will win?

[Hashtag Pow]

It HAS to be "Don't Let Go."

[bat1990]

I found a mis-type in my spreadsheet that affected a lower set of rankings. I double checked and nothing else is affected.

I typed 29 points twice when entering the last list that was originally incomplete, so "Don't Go" fell by two spots to #19.

[Deleted]

Not at all surprised that it came down to my #1 and #2, but guessing which one will win overall is as tough as it was trying to pick which would be my personal #1. I can't even begin to call it. Hell I'm actually sitting here second-guessing my own submission...did I make the right choice? ahhhh so hard

[Coco Unbridled]

Thank God for the reminders or I would have forgotten how to find my way here!! Yass bitch love the countdown thus far and the write up and all the s**t going on. Keep slaying!!! See u tmrw!

[Coco Unbridled]

Free your mind for the mother f**king win!

[Ginger Spice]

Riddle - This is the first En Vogue song I ever heard. My sister bought Masterpiece Theatre off of hearing "Riddle" once and liking it. I remember that I liked it too (the song), but I never payed that much attention to it. I don't think I even knew the group name (it wasn't very big on the cover), but I remember seeing the artwork. Years later, I discovered "My Lovin'" and "Whatta Man" and I was shocked when I found out it was the same group (minus a member). Once I rediscovered this song, I really enjoyed it (and the video), but I was disappointed with the rest of the album. The concept was neat, but it was better in theory than execution. The song is still a jam, but my one quip is with the lyrics. They're clunky and don't rhyme.

Ooh Boy - This is cute. I need to give this album a listen.

Giving Him Something He Can Feel - This hasn't clicked with me yet. It's alright, but it definitely doesn't stand up to some of their better ones.

Whatta Man - This is a jam and has a classic feel to it. I'm shocked that someone ranked this 29/30.

Whatever - Too much of their material is produced by those Foster & McElroy people, so it's nice that they went elsewhere for this. I'm surprised this wasn't bigger, it's one of their strongest singles for sure and definitely fits in with a lot of R&B hits from the time. I wonder if Dawn leaving had an impact on their chart success.

Too Gone, Too Long - I'm surprised this is top 5 and I definitely wouldn't have placed it over Whatever and Whatta Man, but it's nice to see a song that's so underrated get this much love.

Hold On - This is a great debut single, though admittedly I wish I loved it a bit more than I actually do. It's one of those songs I enjoy when I hear it, but never go out of my way to listen to.

Free Your Mind - This has grown on me since the rankdown started and it would probably be in my top 5 now. I can't get it out of my head.

I'm not sure which of the remaining two songs I'm rooting for. On one hand, "My Lovin'" has been my favorite En Vogue song for years and it's just so undeniable. On the other hand, "Don't Let Go" has been my biggest discovery this rankdown and might even overtake "My Lovin'" as my personal favorite. bat1990 This rankdown has really shown me how much great material the group has aside from the few songs I knew. I found Funky Divas and EV3 the other day for dirt cheap so I've since added them to my collection.

[Deleted]

It has to be "Don't let go". For me, there are not many better r & b songs about...ever!
I remember back in the 90s even though it received a lot of airplay where I was, I never ever grew tired of it.

"My Lovin'" is exceptional aswell but not quite at the same standard.

In fact, I was expecting "Free your mind" to fare a little better - another cracking song.

"Too gone, too long" is one of my favourites off EV3 and am pleased it has done well.

I am the guilty party regarding "Whatta man" - surprised I wasn't placed in Pulse's Naughty Corner!
It's a song that I never ever took to. In fact, I will say I dislike it, whereas many of the newer En Vogue material is not their best, but never outright dislikeable.
I always felt WM was a Salt n Pepa song that En Vogue were invited to sing on. I am not sure if that is true, but the song itself feels more like a Salt N Pepa song rather than an En Vogue song.

No matter which song wins, I would like to thank bat1990 for the sterling efforts. I imagine it is bit of a thankless task when there's not so much interest, due to lack of commerical success for the Voguettes. However, the RD has been flawless with some fascinating stats & info being thrown in too, and has been most enjoyable. So thank you!

[bat1990]

#2: My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)


Stats
Points: 296
Average: 26.909
Std Dev: 3.646 - 2nd lowest of the entire list

Lead Vocals
Maxine, Dawn

Charts
US - 2
US R&B - 1
US Dance - 8
Europe - 7
UK - 4
Ireland - 9
Germany - 23
Austria - 13
Switzerland - 16
Sweden - 19
France - 34
Belgium - 17
Netherlands - 10
Australia - 36
New Zealand - 11

History & Tidbits
The lead single from Funky Divas and the world was never the same...
This song smashed up the charts all over the world in 1992 catapulting En Vogue from an R&B group who managed a pop hit to multi-platinum trend-setting superstars! The breakdown is so iconic it is still referenced today.

Host Opinion
Iconic, classic, it never gets old despite clearly sounding like it's from 1992.

Participant Rankings
SHOOTER - 1
@antigonerising - 1
Ginger Spice - 1
castleoblivion26 - 2
Hashtag Pow - 2
bat1990 - 4
Zinc. - 4
@quirkyfarang - 4
divasummer - 5
Ky - 8
aerodynamite - 13

Viewers
Coco Unbridled
T.B.F.
Who The Hell Is Leo?✔

#1: Don't Let Go (Love)


Stats
Points: 300
Average: 27.273
Std Dev: 4.002

Lead Vocals
Dawn, Maxine, Cindy

Charts
US - 2
US R&B - 1
Canada - 5
Europe - 5
UK - 5
Ireland - 3
Germany - 7
Austria - 9
Switzerland - 4
Norway - 1
Sweden - 6
Finland - 8
France - 14
Wallonia - 4
Flanders - 4
Netherlands - 2
Australia - 3
New Zealand - 10

History & Tidbits
In the summer of 1996, En Vogue reunited to contribute a song to the Set It Off soundtrack. The results showed what might have been if business disagreements had not ensued the following year.
A soulful mid-tempo led by Dawn Robinson which smashed up the charts in every country. Don't Let Go (Love)" hit the top 10 in places where En Vogue hadn't ever charted a single before. The video was simpler affair than the high fashion glam of Funky Divas, but the ladies sold the song well. There's even an alternate cut without movie clips, showing a man playing all four of them in the past and the performance is their reveal and kiss off to him.
The video version was also slightly re-recorded for Terry to do lead on the outro ad-libs instead of Dawn in order for all of them to have lead.

Host Opinion
Simply wonderful. It stands the test of time better than a lot of their discography. Congrats to all for carrying this song over the line!

Participant Rankings
@quirkyfarang - 1
Ky - 1
Hashtag Pow - 1
divasummer - 2
@antigonerising - 2
Ginger Spice - 3
Zinc. - 3
SHOOTER - 3
castleoblivion26 - 5
bat1990 - 5
aerodynamite - 15

Viewers
Coco Unbridled
T.B.F.
Who The Hell Is Leo?✔

[bat1990]

Final Thoughts:

Much thanks to all who participated! En Vogue is a legacy act now, and I was worried about how many submissions I would get. However, what we ended up with provided for a solid list with a few surprises. I hope I met expectations and I learned a bunch for hosting future rankdowns on Pulse. To quite my love Janet, "I hope you enjoy[ed] this as much as I"

One final note: I could not find a good source for Japanese (Oricon) or Canadian chart peaks. Once upon a time I requested a Canadian chart book from the library and dumped as much info into Excel as possible, but that has since been lost to the ages.

[Deleted]

Jun 29, 2017 12:35:42 GMT -5 bat1990 said:

History & Tidbits
In the summer of 1996, En Vogue reunited to contribute a song to the Set It Off soundtrack. The results showed what might have been if business disagreements had not ensued the following year.
A soulful mid-tempo led by Dawn Robinson which smashed up the charts in every country. Don't Let Go (Love)" hit the top 10 in places where En Vogue hadn't ever charted a single before. The video was simpler affair than the high fashion glam of Funky Divas, but the ladies sold the song well. There's even an alternate cut without movie clips, showing a man playing all four of them in the past and the performance is their reveal and kiss off to him.

The same man also "cheated" on Brandy and Monica in "The boy is mine". He sure gets around!

[Ky]

Jun 29, 2017 12:38:55 GMT -5 bat1990 said:

Final Thoughts:

Much thanks to all who participated! En Vogue is a legacy act now, and I was worried about how many submissions I would get. However, what we ended up with provided for a solid list with a few surprises. I hope I met expectations and I learned a bunch for hosting future rankdowns on Pulse. To quite my love Janet, "I hope you enjoy[ed] this as much as I"

One final note: I could not find a good source for Japanese (Oricon) or Canadian chart peaks. Once upon a time I requested a Canadian chart book from the library and dumped as much info into Excel as possible, but that has since been lost to the ages.

Thanks for organizing this awesome journey down memory lane! Wish I would've had more time to comment here at the end. It's a little late, but some thoughts on this latest round:

Riddle - I like just about everything by them, and this is no exception. But here I often wonder if the song woulda been a bigger hit if the dual chorus was a little more focused on the part that is in the background ("too many clues i saw through and now you lose you fool" being the focus of the chorus and moving the counting to the background).

The top 3 is perfect. Even though I ranked Free Your Mind and My Lovin lower, they truly belong at those positions. Don't Let Go is possibly one of my top 5 songs of all time, glad it won out

Very surprised by Too Gone Too Long.

[Deleted]

I did not know for this game or others...so when it is over - and as I don't have anything better to do - here is my top 15 songs




01. Hold On
# 8
02. Lies
# 12
03. You Don't Have To Worry
# 11
04. Don't Go

05. Strange

06. My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)
# 4
07. Giving Him Something He Can Feel
# 5
08. Yesterday

09. Free Your Mind
# 10
10. Give It Up, Turn It Loose
# 3
11. Love Don't Love You

12. Runaway Love (feat. F-Mob)
# 2
13. What Is Love

14. Whatta Man [Salt-n-Pepa w/ En Vogue]
# 9
15. Don't Let Go (Love)
# 13
16. Whatever
# 7
17. Too Gone, Too Long
# 1
18. Let It Flow
# 14
19. No Fool No More

20. Riddle
# 6
21. Love U Crazay

22. Losin' My Mind
# 15
23. Ooh Boy

24. So What The Fuss [Stevie Wonder f/ En Vogue & Prince]

25. Glamorous [Natalia f/ En Vogue]

26. I'll Cry Later

27. Emotions

28. A Thousand Times

29. déjà-vu

30. I'm Good

[bat1990]

Everybody hates "I'll Cry Later" except for me......

[bat1990]

This final list:

30. A Thousand Times
29. I'm Good
28. So What The Fuss
27. Glamorous
26. déjà-vu
25. Emotions
24. No Fool No More
23. Love U Crazay
22. Yesterday
21. I'll Cry Later
20. You Don't Have To Worry
19. Don't Go
18. Strange
17. What Is Love
16. Let It Flow
15. Love Don't Love You
14. Runaway Love (feat. F-Mob)
13. Losin' My Mind
12. Give It Up, Turn It Loose
11. Lies
10. Riddle
09. Ooh Boy
08. Giving Him Something He Can Feel
07. Whatta Man
06. Whatever
05. Too Gone, Too Long
04. Hold On
03. Free Your Mind
02. My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)
01. Don't Let Go (Love)