3LW

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Biography

3LW ( initialism of " 3 L ittle W omen") was an United States|American hip hop soul and Contemporary R& B|R& B girl group that enjoyed a number of modest hits during the early 2000s. Its founding members were Naturi Naughton , Adrienne Bailon , and Kiely Williams . Jessica Benson later replaced Naughton after she left the group in 2002. 3LW was signed to the label Epic Records , and later moved to So So Def Recordings|So So Def .

Members

Adrienne Bailon - born Adrienne Eliza Bailon on October 24, 1983, Manhattan, New York , U.S.

Kiely Williams - born Kiely Alexis Williams on July 9, 1986, Alexandria, Virginia , United States

Naturi Naughton - born Naturi Cora Maria Naughton on May 20, 1984, East Orange, New Jersey

Jessica Benson - born in 1988, Severn, Maryland

Musical career

3LW (1999–2001)

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

In 2001, 3LW recorded a song with various artists including Michael Jackson , Usher (entertainer)|Usher , Beyoncé Knowles|Beyoncé , Luther Vandross , Celine Dion and Mariah Carey in response to the 9/11 attacks called " What More Can I Give ". In late 2001 they collaborated with Romeo Miller|Lil' Romeo and Nick Cannon for "Parents Just Don't Understand" on the Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (film)|Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius soundtrack.

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 did not have enough urban radio appeal. The tracks from Same Game, Different Rules were leaked to the Internet in MP3 format, and Epic considered dropping the girls. A fan support campaign for 3LW named 'Never Let Go Of 3LW' after their song "Never Let Go" spread to the radio, and the act was retained, despite the album loss.

A Girl Can Mack and downfall (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 (rapper)|Loon . By August, the group was set to release its newest LP, A Girl Can Mack , when member Naughton had left the group for good after heated arguments. A Girl Can Mack s release date was pushed back a month, but sales were still disappointing debuting at #15 on the Billboard 200 with a disappointing 53,000 copies sold in the first week. 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. 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 that 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". 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. The departure of Naturi greatly affected the group's popularity and album sales. 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 early 2003. Without Jessica, the group might have had to split due to "bankruptcy". Jessica's first performance was on Live with Regis & Kelly , followed by a performance on Soul Train .

Point of No Return (2003–2008)

In fall 2003, 3LW departed from Epic, signing with Jermaine Dupri 's So So Def label.

The group's third studio album was originally called Phoenix Rising , but was renamed Point of No Return . The lead-off single, " Feelin' You (song)|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 The Cheetah Girls (band)|Cheetah Girls franchise, and eventually fell off the release schedule. The album delays were caused by image conflicts between both groups. During the success of The Cheetah Girls, Jessica Benson finished High School and contact between parties involving 3LW was limited. As a result, the album was never released. 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 Bailon in an interview with Jonathon Jackson in 2008. Bailon confirmed that 3LW officially disbanded after they were removed from the So So Def roster. Bailon and Williams decided to then pursue The Cheetah Girls (band)|The Cheetah Girls franchise full-time.

However, in January 2009, The Cheetah Girls announced they were splitting to focus on solo projects. Williams stated she "didn't think" there would be any future Cheetah Girl projects, as well as Bailon saying that the franchise was over. However, Bryan has said many times she would never say no to any future Cheetah Girl projects. While Williams and Bryan remain close friends, Williams confirmed via an online chat on her official website that she has not spoken to Bailon since the final date of The Cheetah Girls tours|The Cheetah Girls: One World Tour 2008 citing that she and Bailon were "both busy" and "doing own thing" while original member Naughton and Bailon have since reconciled, as well as Bailon and Benson who reconnected during a Recording Session in Atlanta for Adrienne's solo album. A video of the Reunion can be found on YouTube.

Bailon announced she is working on her debut solo album, due for a Summer 2010 release via Island Def Jam Records . Bryan and Williams are collaborating on a talk show together, which Williams described as "a young version of The View (U.S. TV series)|The View ". In 2008, Williams filmed a music video for her first solo single "Make Me A Drink" in New York City . A teaser of the video was released online in October 2009 with news that the single would be released soon. A full length solo album is currently being recorded and is set to be released in the Summer of 2010 as well, on her family's own Nine Lives Entertainment brand. She has also been cast in three feature films, all set to be released in 2010.

Acting careers

Besides their singing work, the original lineup of 3LW appeared as guest stars on Christina Vidal 's Nickelodeon (TV channel)|Nickelodeon show Taina (TV series)|Taina as Leah, Ria and Gia.

After the birth of The Cheetah Girls, Kiely and Adrienne both starred with Raven Symone and Sabrina Bryan in the film The Cheetah Girls (film)|The Cheetah Girls as well as its two sequels The Cheetah Girls 2 and The Cheetah Girls: One World .

Adrienne has also appeared in several 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 . She also appeared on some episodes of "Keeping up with the Kardashians"

Kiely played sorority sister Lilly in the 2008 comedy, The House Bunny and has been cast in three new feature films, all set to be released in 2010.
Naughton starred in the Tony Award winning Broadway musical Hairspray (musical)|Hairspray as Little Inez from 2005-2008. Naturi played rapper Lil' Kim, in Notorious, a big screen biopic of the late Notorious B.I.G. Notorious opened at #4 at the box office with over $21 million made opening weekend. Naturi has also done a commercial for Truth.com, titled "It Must've Been A Typo". In September 2009, Naughton played a pianist named Denise in the remake of the 1980 movie and TV show musical Fame , which opened up at #3 at the box office. Also she played in the movie "Lottery Ticket" Bow Wow (rapper)|Bow Wow

Adrienne will star as "Vanessa" alongside Ja Rule in the upcoming 2011 movie In Love with A Church Girl . No release date has been officially announced.

Other

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

Adrienne Bailon also has had many appearances in the E& #33; Network's reality TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians as a friend to the Kardashian clan and ex-girlfriend of Rob Kardashian.

In March 2011, 3LW fans launched a worldwide campaign to reunite the original members of the group.

Discography

;Studio albums

2000: 3LW (album)|3LW

2002: A Girl Can Mack

2002: Naughty or Nice

;Unreleased albums

2006: Point of No Return

;Other albums

2005: Neva Get Enuff (album)|Neva Get Enuf

Awards and nominations

Year !! Award
2001
	Soul Train Music Award Win for "Album of the Year"
	BET Award Nominated for Best Female Group
2002
2003

Copyright Citations

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Urban/R&B Music Artists