En Vogue

Released: February 23, 1990

Songwriter: Thomas McElroy Denzil Foster En Vogue

Producer: Thomas McElroy Denzil Foster

[Intro: Terry Ellis]
When I had you
I treated you bad
Wrong my dear
But since, since you went away
Don't you know I sit around
With my head hanging down
And I wonder who's loving you

[Verse 1: Cindy Herron]
Ooh, my first mistake was
I wanted too much time
I had to have him morning, noon, and night
If I would've known then
The things that I know now
I might not have lost the time I complain about

[Pre-Chorus]
Don't waste your time
Fighting blind minded thoughts of despair

[Chorus]
Hold on to your love
You got to hold on
Hold on to your love
Ooh, ooh, baby hold on
Hold on to your love
Oh, you got to hold on
Hold on to your love, ooh

[Verse 2: Cindy]
The art of playing games now
Is not the hearts you break
It's 'bout good love you make
When his heart's on fire
Give him love every day
Remember he needs space
Be patient and he'll give his heart to you

[Pre-Chorus]
Don't waste your time
Fighting blind minded thoughts of despair

[Chorus]
Hold on to your love
You got to hold on, hey
Hold on to your love
You gotta hold on to your love, yeah, hey
Hold on to your love
Oh, baby hold on
Hold on to your love
Baby, hold on

[Verse 3: Cindy]
Trust and honesty too
Must be the golden rule
You'll feel the strength of passion in your soul
Burn so deeply within
Oh, the magic that you share
So sacrifice and show how much you care

[Pre-Chorus]
Don't waste your time
Fighting blind minded thoughts of despair

[Chorus]
Hold on to your love
You got to hold on
Hold on to your love
Don´t let go
Keep the ties
Hold on to your love
Hang on tight, and don't let go
Hold on to your love, ooh
Don't let go
Hold on to your love
Hold on to your love, ooh

[Outro: Cindy + (En Vogue)]
(Hold on to your love)
If you love him, if you need him, really want him
(Hold on to your love, ooh)
Just keep on, just keep on hanging on (Hold on)
Little trust, honesty, golden rule (Hold on)
Feel the strength of passion in your soul
It's burning so deep (Hold on)
Have faith
Just keep the fire burning at home (Hold on)
Hey, yeah
He'll come home to you (Hold on)
He'll be there for you
He'll want to have you (Hold on)
The time, oh (Hold on)
Have a little faith, don't be so blinded... (Hold on)

Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis, Maxine Jones, and Dawn Robinson are the original members of the R&B girl group En Vogue. The group was put together by producers Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster after a talent search in Oakland, California in 1989. Their debut album Born to Sing was released in 1990 and featured the #1 R&B hits “You Don’t Have To Worry,” “Lies,” and their platinum debut single “Hold On,” which also peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and won a Billboard and Soul Train Music Award. Their 1992 follow-up album Funky Divas hit #1 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart and peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 on its way to triple platinum status. The lead single, “My Lovin' (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” helped propel that success as it hit #1 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also featured the #1 R&B hit cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Giving Him Something He Can Feel” as well as the Top 10 pop single “Free Your Mind.”

In 1993, they released the EP Runaway Love and made appearances on the TV shows In Living Color, Roc and A Different World. In 1994, they collaborated with Salt-N-Pepa on their Top 3 platinum single “Whatta Man” and in 1996 they contributed to the Set It Off soundtrack with their hit single “Don’t Let Go (Love)” which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit #1 on the R&B Singles chart.

While working on their third album, Dawn Robinson decided to leave the group due to issues with management. The group decided to go on as a trio and released their third platinum album EV3 in 1997 featuring the Top 10 R&B/Top 20 pop hit “Whatever,” which was produced and co-written by Babyface. They went on to release three more albums—Masterpiece Theatre in 2000, The Gift of Christmas in 2002, and Soul Flower in 2004. During that time, Maxine Jones left the group in 2001 and was replaced by Amanda Cole, and Cole was later replaced in 2003 by Rhona Bennett. While the original four members have reunited for performances throughout the years, the current lineup consists of Herron, Ellis, and Bennett, and they released the single “Déjà Vu” in 2016 and released their album Electric Café in 2018.

more tracks from the album

Born to Sing

From the albums

En Vogue popular songs

Hold OnEn Vogue

En Vogue

Born to Sing