3LW

3LW (acronym of "3 Little Women") was an American hip hop, pop and R&B girl group that enjoyed a number of modest hits during the early 2000s. Its founding members, Naturi Naughton, Adrienne Bailon, and Kiely Williams, with Jessica Benson, who replaced Naturi after she left the group in 2002. 3LW was signed to the label Epic Records, and later moved to So So Def.

Musical career

3LW (1999-2001)

In 1999, the original line up of 3LW formed. Their first single, "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)", released in the fall of 2000. "No More" was a success and was followed by "Playas Gon' Play" in early 2001. The group's debut album, 3LW was released on December 5, 2000. The album went platinum, selling 1.3 million copies in the US. In the summer of 2001, the group went on the MTV Total Request Live tour along with Destiny's Child, Dream, Nelly, Eve, and Jessica Simpson.

In 2001, 3LW recorded a song with various artists including Michael Jackson, Usher, Beyonce, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey in response to the 9/11 attacks which is What More Can I Give.

3LW spent the first half of 2002 in the studio, recording an album tentatively titled Same Game, Different Rules. The album and its intended lead single "Uh Oh" were presented to the label, who felt it didn't have enough urban radio appeal.

A Girl Can Mack (2002-2003)

Recording a new set of tracks, the group returned in the summer of 2002 with the P

. Diddy-produced single "I Do (Wanna Get Close To You)", featuring Loon. By August, the group was set to release its newest LP, A Girl Can Mack, A Girl Can Mack debuted at #15 on the Billboard 200 with a disappointing 53,000 copies sold in the first week. After the second single released from the album, "Neva Get Enuf", underperformed, auditions were held across the country for a new third member. Jessica Benson made the cut and joined 3LW in December 2002. Jessica's first performance was in 2003 on Live with Regis & Kelly.

Point of No Return (2003-2008)

In fall 2003, 3LW departed from Epic, signing with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label. Also in 2003, two of the group's girls, Bailon and Williams, starred with Raven Symoné in the Disney Channel TV musical The Cheetah Girls.

The group's third studio album was originally called Phoenix Rising, but was renamed Point of No Return. The lead-off single, "Feelin' You", was added on radio stations July 12, 2006. The album was supposed to be released later that year but was pushed back to a 2007 release because of Adrienne and Kiely's involvement with Disney's Cheetah Girls franchise,

Lineup changes

Approaching the time that the group was ready to deliver their second album, Naturi Naughton announced that she was no longer a member of the group.3LW Become 2LW - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News Naughton alleged that she had a number of conflicts and arguments with Bailon, Williams, and their management, which led to a heated argument in August 2002 involving an altercation with KFC food. Not long after, Naughton claimed she was forced out of the group.

Williams and Bailon continued as a duo while using the "3LW" name, causing the press to jokingly refer to them as "2LW". The departure of Naturi greatly affected the group's popularity and album sales. According to a cover story for the October 2002 issue of Sister 2 Sister magazine, Kiely & Adrienne said they received death threats and that they had to beef up security. A Girl Can Macks release date was pushed back a month, but sales were still disappointing. Jessica Benson joined the group shortly after, replacing Naturi.

The trio's third album, Point of No Return had its release pushed back from Summer 2006 to an unknown date. In early 2007, Bailon stated in Girls Life magazine that 3LW was on hold because of the Cheetah Girls project. However, rumors were finally put to rest by Benson on her Myspace in January 2008. Benson confirmed that 3LW officially disbanded, quoting "too much drama" for the reason. Benson added that she is in a new band called Chocolate. 3LW has also been removed from its label's roster.

In 2005, Bailon and Williams joined The Cheetah Girls, which disbanded in 2009 with the girls (Bailon, Williams, and Sabrina Bryan) all wanting to focus on other projects. Bailon announced she is working on her debut solo album, due for a September 2009 release. The album is rumored to feature rapper Jay-Z. Bryan is working on an advice book, however the release date is unknown. In 2008, Williams released a song titled "Make Me A Drink" that failed to do successfully but is still working on a solo album as well as focusing on her acting career. In January 2009, she landed a role in the film The Science of Cool.

Acting career

Besides their singing work, 3LW has appeared as guest stars on Christina Vidal's Nickelodeon show Taina.

After the birth of The Cheetah Girls, Kiely and Adrienne both starred with Raven Symone and Sabrina Bryan in the films The Cheetah Girls as well as its two sequels The Cheetah Girls 2 and The Cheetah Girls 3. Adrienne has also appeared in some episodes of the Disney Channel show ''That's So Raven. Adrienne had a cameo appearance in the movie Coach Carter in 2005, and in 2006 co-starred in the MTV straight to video/television movie All You've Got beside fellow R&B singer Ciara. Kiely played a sorority sister in the 2008 comedy, The House Bunny''. Naturi played rapper Lil' Kim in the January 2009 released movie, Notorious, a big screen biopic on the late Notorious B.I.G. Naturi has also done a commercial for Truth.com, titled "It Must've Been A Typo". Naughton will also star in the upcoming remake of the movie musical Fame, as Denise, due out in theaters September 2009.

Other media

The group was also featured as bonus characters in the 2001 video game NBA Street.

Discography

further 3LW discography

Studio albums

2000: 3LW
2002: A Girl Can Mack
2006: Point of No Return (Unreleased)

Other albums

2002: Naughty or Nice
2005: Neva Get Enuf

Industry Music Artists