Eternal (girl group)
| Eternal | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Contemporary R&B |
| founding | 1992 |
| resolution | 2000 |
| Founding members | |
| Easther Bennett Vernie Bennett Kéllé Bryan until 1998 Louise Nurding until 1995 |
|
| Last occupation | |
| Easther Bennett Vernie Bennett |
|
| former members | |
| TJ 1998 | |
Eternal were a British contemporary R&B group from London founded in 1992.
The group consisted of the siblings Easther and Vernie Bennett, Kéllé Bryan and Louise Nurding (now Louise Redknapp), who became one of the most successful British girl groups of all time at home and abroad.
The group produced 15 top 20 hits in the UK between 1993 and 1999; the first was Stay , which also became a top 20 hit in the US . Eternal sold a total of more than ten million records worldwide.
Biography (1992-2000)
Eternal was founded in 1992 by music manager Denis Ingoldsby of First Avenue Records. The group was signed to EMI Records in 1993 .
She entered the music scene in September 1993 with her debut single Stay . The single was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, numbering fourth in the UK and 19th in the US. Her debut album Always & Forever followed on November 29, 1993 and reached number two. It sold over a million copies in the UK, making Eternal the first girl band to break that line. It was the fourth best-selling album in 1994 and contained six top 15 singles including Oh Baby I , a top 5 hit that was released in October 1994.
Eternal's success was quickly noticed. They were named Best Group in 1993 by Smash Hits magazine and were nominated for BRIT Awards in five categories in 1995 , including Always & Forever for Best Album.
In June 1995, Louise left the band to begin a solo career amid controversy that she was the only white member of the quartet. It was speculated that the group's management wanted Louise to leave the group to increase Eternals' chances of success in the US; but this was denied. Louise announced that she wanted to start a solo career and that she had signed the contract with EMI six months before she officially split from the group. She then had considerable success herself.
Eternal returned as a trio to the recording studio, where they recorded the second album Power of a Woman , which came out on November 5, 1995. The LP reached number 6 in the UK and contained four top 10 hits including I Am Blessed and The Power of a Woman .
The band was very popular in Japan , where the song Who Are You? was used in a Toyota advertisement and reached number one in the Japanese singles charts. The commercial was broadcast worldwide.
In March 1996, Eternal released the theme song Someday for Walt Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame . Eternal's version did not appear on the soundtrack in the US; there the song was recorded by All-4-One .
Someday was the first release from Eternals third studio album Before the Rain , which came out on March 17, 1997 and reached number three in the UK album charts. It also featured the first and only number one hit , I Wanna Be the Only One , a collaboration with BeBe Winans . The song was nominated for the BRIT Award, MOBO Award and Capital FM Award for best single and won the latter two prizes, but lost to Never Ever by the All Saints at the BRIT Awards . I Wanna Be the Only One was also the third most played song on British radio in 1997.
On October 26, 1997, Eternal released their greatest hits compilation. It included their 14 consecutive top 15 hits, which was a record for a UK female group at the time. It reached number two and has been sold nearly a million times in the UK. It was the ninth best-selling album in 1997 and the most successful greatest hits album of that year. It contained the song Angel of Mine , the only new single from this album, which would also be the group's final top 10 single. The cover of this Monica song became a number one hit in the US in 1999.
In 1998, Kéllé Bryan was fired from the band. She was told by Easther and Vernie in a letter from their agent to leave the group. The reason given was a breakdown in professional relationships between the sisters and Kéllé.
Easther and Vernie recruited a replacement member named TJ, who left the group after a short stay in the group. The Bennett sisters decided to continue the group as a duo and released What'cha Gonna Do in October 1999. The single reached number 16, its lowest chart position since 1993. A month earlier, Kéllé Bryan's first (and only) single, Higher Than Heaven two places higher.
After What'cha Gonna Do , Easther and Vernie released their fourth album Eternal , which only reached rank 87. Some critics said it could have been the first number one album if they had done more publicity. A second single called Treat Me Like a Lady was planned, but EMI decided against further releases and separated from Eternal. There were different assumptions about the second single release. I Cry Real Tears was released in Spain , but at Children in Need 1999 the sisters sang If She Breaks Your Heart .
In 2006 almost reunited when a tour with a number of R&B artists was planned. In addition to Eternal, the list included Mark Morrison , Dina Carroll , Boyz II Men, and En Vogue . Advance sales for the ten-concert tour began on March 31, 2006. It was supposed to take place in October 2006, but was canceled after just one week due to poor ticket sales. The reunion would only have included Easther Bennett and Kéllé Bryan, as Vernie Bennett would not have been able to attend because of her pregnancy.
In August 2007, a remix album called The Remixes was made available for download from HMV and iTunes. A reunification of the group was discussed again and again in the following years, but it was not finalized until the end of 2013 for the British television program The Big Reunion - without Louise Redknapp.
Solo careers (since 1995)
Louise Redknapp
Louise was the first band member to leave the band for a solo career. She reached a number of top 10 singles and did two tours in the UK from 1995 to 2003. She married soccer player Jamie Redknapp in 1998 and has hosted several television shows including SMTV Live , CD: UK and The Clothes Show . She expressed a desire to return to her solo career. In an interview, she said she hadn't spoken to Easther or Vernie Bennett in years, but saw Kéllé Bryan occasionally.
Kéllé Bryan
As a singer, Kéllé Bryan had only minor success after the departure of Eternal with the single Higher Than Heaven in October 1999, which reached number 14. Her solo album Breakfast in Bed was never released. A second single called I Wanna Know was canceled due to lack of media interest. Bryan has also had health problems since contracting lupus . She also tried a career as a moderator. Prior to 2002, she presented The N List on Nickelodeon with Dave Berry and in 2007 hosted the Glitterball telephone quiz on ITV.
Bryan competed in Celebrity Love Island on ITV but failed to win. She also starred in three traditional Christmas performances. In 2006 and 2007 she played Cinderella, in 2008 in Aladdin Princess Jasmin in Rickmansworth.
Easther Bennett
Easther Bennett recorded a cover of Diana King's song Shy Guy with Aswad , which was released as Cool Summer Reggae in 2002. It only reached number 62. In the same year, Easther provided the background for Girls Aloud's cover version of Stay Another Day , the B-side for their number one hit Sound of the Underground .
She recorded two songs that appeared on compilations. One of them was a We Are Family cover for the soundtrack to the movie Tooth , which appeared in the credits. In 2005 she wrote a song called Offence that was supposed to appear on Mel B's album, LA State of Mind , but it didn't.
Vernie Bennett
Easther's sister, Vernie, retired from the business after breaking up with Eternal. She studied law and had her first child in 2006.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1993 | Always & Forever |
DE85 (5 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK2  × 4
(80 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: November 29, 1993
|
| 1995 | Power of a woman | - | - | - |
UK6th × 2
(38 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: October 30, 1995
|
| 1997 | Before the rain |
DE50 (11 weeks) DE |
AT10 (16 weeks) AT |
CH21 (20 weeks) CH |
UK3 (37 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: March 17, 1997
|
| 1999 | Eternal | - | - | - |
UK87 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: November 8, 1999
|
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1995 | Platinum Celebration |
DE43 (9 weeks) DE |
- | - | - | - |
First published: March 1995
|
| 1997 | Greatest Hits / The Best |
DE47 (8 weeks) DE |
- |
CH21 (11 weeks) CH |
UK2 × 3
(31 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: October 20, 1997
|
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1993 | Stay Always & Forever |
DE79 (9 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK4 (9 weeks) UK |
US19 (20 weeks) US |
First published: September 20, 1993
|
| 1994 | Save Our Love Always & Forever |
DE86 (6 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK8 (7 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: January 3, 1994
|
| Just a Step from Heaven Always & Forever |
DE-DE | - | - |
UK8 (11 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: April 18, 1994
|
|
| So Good Always & Forever |
- | - | - |
UK13 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: August 8, 1994
|
|
| Oh baby I ... Always & Forever |
- | - | - |
UK4th  (15 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: October 24, 1994
|
|
| Crazy Always & Forever |
- | - | - |
UK15 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: December 12, 1994
|
|
| 1995 | Power of a Woman Power of a Woman |
- | - | - |
UK5 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: October 9, 1995
|
| I Am Blessed Power of a Woman |
- | - | - |
UK7th (12 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: November 27, 1995
|
|
| 1996 | Good Thing Power of a Woman |
- | - | - |
UK8 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: February 26, 1996
|
| Someday Before the Rain |
DE92 (3 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK4 (12 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: August 5, 1996
|
|
| Secrets Power of a Woman |
- | - | - |
UK9 (11 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: November 25, 1996
|
|
| 1997 | Don't You Love Me Before the Rain |
- | - | - |
UK3 (7 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: February 24, 1997
|
| I Wanna Be the Only One Before the Rain |
DE14 (22 weeks) DE |
AT6 (13 weeks) AT |
CH7 (31 weeks) CH |
UK1 (15 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: May 19, 1997
feat. BeBe Winans |
|
| Angel of Mine Greatest Hits |
DE85 (5 weeks) DE |
- |
CH44 (3 weeks) CH |
UK4th (13 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: September 29, 1997
|
|
| 1999 | What'cha Gonna Do Eternal |
DE84 (8 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK16 (4 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: October 18, 1999
|
More singles
- 1994: Sweet Funky Thing
- 1995: Who Are You
- 1997: Finally
- 1997: Think About Me
Video albums
- 1994: Always And Forever (UK:platinum)
Tours
- 1994: Always and Forever Tour
- 1995: Good Thing Tour
- 1997: Before the Rain Tour
swell
- ^ Eternal Music . Ladle Bryan . Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
- ↑ http://louise.brigatti.co.uk/sundaytimes0596.html
- ^ Artist Chart History - Eternal . Billboard . Archived from the original on June 25, 2009. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
- ↑ Eternal dropped by label . BBC News . April 4, 2000. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
- ↑ 'It's like going through a divorce': Eternal reunite for new series of the Big Reunion ... without Louise Redknapp , Daily Mail, December 27, 2013, accessed March 19, 2014
- ↑ Jackie Stevens: Eternal struggle for pop star . Daily Mail . April 8, 2005. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
- ↑ a b c Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
