En Vogue

Released: February 24, 2004

Songwriter: Marlon McClain Jana Harris Thomas McElroy Denzil Foster Cindy Herron

Producer: Jara Harris Marlon McClain

[Verse 1: Rhona Bennett]
Crying on the inside
So many men but so unhappy
Gave my love to any man who smiled at me, yeah yeah
I played the game of love with no rules
And when it was all over, I was the fool
Somehow I had to get it right just one time

[Chorus: Rhona Bennett & (En Vogue)]
(For once in my life) For once in my life I was (careful) careful
(For once in my life) Show me how much you care and I'm (thankful) thankful
(For once in my life) I'm so glad I was (careful) careful, yeah
(For once in my life) Now I have a love a so sweet and I'm so (grateful) grateful, yeah

[Verse 2: Terry Ellis]
With a closed heart, I wouldn't let emotions tear me apart
I had to have the upper hand
To be cruel, to be hard, I didn't care to man
And ooh, I was still hurting inside, hanging on to pride
I just about died when you found me and gave me good love
And now I know I did the right thing

[Chorus: Terry Ellis & (En Vogue)]
(For once in my life) Oh, for once in my life I was (careful) careful, yeah
(For once in my life) You've shown me how much you care and I'm (thankful) so thankful, baby
(For once in my life) I'm so glad I was (careful) careful, yeah
(For once in my life) Now I have a love a so sweet and I'm so (grateful) grateful, yeah

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.

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